It’s sad.
It’s chaste.
There’s no promise of more.
“Talk to me,” I whisper. “What did they say? Are you in trouble?”
“I was not found guilty of conspiracy or treason,” he says.
Jesus, werethosethe charges?
“But I was found guilty of not properly managing my companion, which allowed him to roam free through Erethar.”
I blink at him and absorb the words. “Wait, what? Me?” I slip out of his arms, my feet hitting the floor, and I take a step back. “I was coming to rescue you, you ass!”
“I know. That was my case,” he says. “Eissa spoke for you as well, to attest to your loyalty. However…”
I hold my breath.
“Loyalty is not enough. A human companion should behave with complete deference.”
“Like a pet,” I sneer.
His shoulders sink. “I would not ask such a thing of you, my Everest. I cannot.”
“So, what happens now?” Something in my stomach tells me it’s bad. It’s really fucking bad.
“I am to prove that you are a subservient companion willing to obey the training and laws of the Vyastil while under contract, or I am to be stripped of my lands, title, and holdings.”
I blink at him. “Are you fucking serious?” I’m pissed for a moment, but it doesn’t last. All I have to do is what? Play sub to Rathyn while other people are watching, and he doesn’t get punished?
“There is only one solution,” he says.
“Well, obviously. I just get on my knees and?—”
“We dissolve our contract?—”
We both freeze and stare at each other.
“I beg your goddamn pardon?” I say after clearing my throat and processing what he just said. “You want to fire me?”
“I do not wish to set you on fire,” he responds quickly.
Groaning, I take a step forward and press my hands to his chest. “You’re a dumbass. You’renotletting me go.”
He looks torn, pained. Like he’s going to cry. His rainbow eyes glitter and shine. His hands reach up and cradle my jaw. “I have no choice. My Everest, you do not understand?—”
“The fuck I don’t. I get it, and you don’t get to decide this for me,” I snap at him. “I know I’m your fucking companion or consort or whatever in Erethar, buthere, we’re partners. Do you understand me?”
He meets my gaze. “Yes, Everest. I do.”
Holy shit, I believe him.
“But,” he goes on, “I cannot ask you to…to behave the way they wish you to behave. I cannot ask you to present yourself as less than me. I understand the pain I caused you when I said it before. I did not know the scope of my feelings until I nearly lost you. And the cost of trying and failing is…” He falls quiet, but then there’s a word in my head in Eretharian, and I know what it means.
I understand now why he’s afraid.
“I need you to trust me,” I tell him. “Because if we don’t do this, I lose you for good. You can’t have human friends, right? And keep your job? And I won’t ask you to give up everythingyou’ve worked for, even if there’s some serious corruption in your government.”
