Asher opened his mouth for an oiyer berry. Only one could fit in his mouth at one time, they were so big. Big and juicy and delicious, and Asher closed his eyes and hummed happily as he enjoyed it.
When he’d swallowed that mouthful, he opened his mouth for another berry, which Vrayl was quick to give him. Once Asher had swallowed that, his hunger no longer felt like an angry living thing.
So he opened his mouth again. “My home colony,” he said. “Where I’m from. Not… not Journey-5. Sometimes a baby gets born wrong, or is born unwanted. A-and that baby gets sent to the kitchens.”
Vrayl’s mouth dropped open. “W-what—?"
Trenet growled behind him. “You… you mean…”
“I was one of the babies that wasn’t born right,” Asher said, staring down, away from Vrayl’s horrified expression. He’d never actually said any of this out loud before. Who would he have told? “My moms decided not to send me to the kitchens, but… but I had to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, or else…” He swallowed hard. “Or else that’s where I would have ended up. That’s why I was on Journey-5. My family sent me away to be safe.”
Trenet’s arms came up to encircle him fully as Trenet nuzzled the top of Asher’s head while emitting that soothing rumble. “Then we are so very, very grateful you were sent to Journey-5, little love.”
“And we will be forever grateful that we found you there,” Vrayl said, reaching out to cup Asher’s cheek. “You’re soincredibly precious to us, dear heart. You were born perfect, not wrong. You are loved and you are valued and you’reours.”
“Our sweet Asher,” Trenet said, tightening his arms minutely, just enough for Asher to feel trulyheld.
Asher felt his lower lip tremble as his vision went blurry. He blinked rapidly to try to clear the moisture from his eyes. How many years had he longed for someone to tell him that? Tell him that he was fine just the way he was. That who he was at his core didn’t have to be a dirty secret.
Vrayl had called himperfect.Asher had been scared and angry and had lashed out as best he could, crying and throwing tantrums because he didn’t understand what was happening or why, and—and Vrayl and Trenet still wanted him anyway. Still… still wanted to take care of him.
They’d seen Asher at his very worst, and still thought he was precious.
He had to clear his throat twice before he felt capable of speech, and then he was struck with not knowing what to say. “I…” His voice wavered. “Could I have more oiyer, please?”
“Yes!” Vrayl said quickly, plucking another berry from the bowl. “Yes, yes, of course.”
“Anything you want,” Trenet said, his deep voice fervent. “Anything you wish from us is yours.”
Asher took a shaky breath. He couldn’t dream of a response to so powerful a promise.
So instead of trying, he simply opened his mouth to allow Vrayl to feed him the next berry.
Chapter 14
Asher ate the bowl of oiyer berries and then felt brave enough to try some purple guita root, some bites of enga, and then attempted a bite of alev. The latter smelled too much like meat for Asher to stomach it though, and smelling it up close when Vrayl offered it killed the remains of Asher’s appetite. But his shrunken stomach felt full enough, with all that he’d eaten. It was a mild discomfort, but—simply a mild one.
Vrayl and Trenet tried suggesting other foods, but Asher shook his head. Not to be combative, but he really didn’t feel up to eating anymore.
“Could I… could I have my humshus?” Asher asked. When he was wearing it, obviously no one would try to feed him. If Asher didn’t want to eat, wearing the gag was the safest way to ensure that. “Please?”
“You’re finished?” Vrayl asked. He seemed disappointed, looking from the untouched alev in his hand back to Asher. “You’re… you’re sure?”
Asher tightened his lips and nodded.
“Alright, sweetling,” Vrayl said, handing the alev to Trenet and then picking something else up from the table. “If you’re done eating. We would never keep your humshus from you.”
The humshus Vrayl held up wasn’t the familiar ball gag that Asher had worn for so many days. Instead this one had a long, phallic attachment. Asher licked his lips. This was the humshus that yshain Lee had inflicted upon him. Asher immediately was hit with a sharp dislike of it.
But… but yshain Lee was the one who’d told Trenet and Vrayl about Asher’s translator not working. He was the reason they could all understand each other now. The reason Asher hasbeen able to hear Trenet and Vrayl call himpreciousandvaluedandperfect.And if Asher was supposed to belong to Trenet and Vrayl, maybe yshain Lee…
Didhebelong to the other two Dresht that had been in that room? Asher had heard two other Dresht voices. Was yshain Lee… truly like Asher?
Just happy. Happy with his Dresht and his position.
Asher played through his memories of yesterday. What had yshain Lee said?I’m Human too, and I came here just like you. So I know how scary it is in the beginning. But I promise it’s going to be okay, Asher. I-I’m giving you this because I know it will help. It’ll make you feel better.
Was yshain Lee… actually not so bad?
