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‘Yeah. That’s what I heard. Now they’re talking about something else.’ He holds his finger up to his lips and tilts his head, the plant reaching out to touch his cheek once more.

This time I’m the one to peel it gently off his skin, rerouting it to the wall. I play with the leaves a bit as Lucie listens, then he turns to me, his eyes a little wide.

‘What’s wrong?’ I demand.

Lucie shakes his head, then moves away from the hole for a second. ‘Dhoryn doesn’t talk to me much. He doesn’t like to speak about where he grew up or anything like that.’

I’m not sure where he’s going with this. ‘Understand. Eissa same way.’

Lucie nods, and his lips part on a heavy breath. ‘Eissa has known him since he was a…’ His hand hovers like he’s not sure what sign he should use. Eventually he signs, ‘born egg child,’ and then fingerspells, ‘HATCHLING.’

I knew he parented Rathyn, but Dhoryn too? It’s impossible to imagine. ‘Did he raise him?’

Lucie shrugs. ‘Don’t know.’ I’m not sure why he looks so bothered, but I don’t have time to ask. ‘Come. They’re finishing up. I don’t want to get caught.’ Lucie stands, and we quickly make our way back to the room we were sitting in before. We situate ourselves on the couch, the pulse in our necks beating frantically. I can see his move beneath his skin, and I reach out and touch it.

He lifts his hand to cover it, a small smile of thanks on his lips.

And then Eissa and Dhoryn appear, Dhoryn eyeing Lucie from head to toe before snapping his fingers and pointing to the place beside him. Eissa’s ears turn downward at that, but he says nothing, just lets Dhoryn take the leash around Lucie’s neck and tug it, bringing him to the front door.

I watch them go, wanting to hug Lucie before he leaves, giving him a proper Deaf goodbye, but he isn’t allowed that. They turn and leave, my heart sinking at the information I just gathered and what it may mean for the future of the Vyastil. And of all humankind.

‘How was it?’ I ask when Eissa continues to stand there, his eyes moving from me to the door.

‘It was fine.’

‘Did you talk about anything important?’ I ask, and he cocks his head.

‘No. Just two old…friends catching up.’

That makes my chest tighten, and my lips curl up in a fake smile. He’s lying to me. That conversation was more than that, but then again, he has secrets. Many of them. But I do too.

My mind flashes to Jyrion before I shove it aside. I don’t want Eissa to know, to see.

I tuck it down and stand up, moving up to Eissa, my hands dragging over his chest, my lips meeting the crook of his neck. He doesn’t need to tell me. I want him to, but I know I’m nothing more than a companion, a human with a cock he enjoys. This will end soon, my time on Erethar coming to a close. I can’t stay here forever.

My lips leave his skin, and I see the flutter of his ears as he meets my gaze. He’s surprised I’m not pushing, not asking for more. But that’s because I already know. Not the whole truth, but enough of it.

‘You look stressed,’ I sign, my hand moving down to touch his slit. I feel him shudder as I push a finger into him. ‘Why don’t you lie down, and I can help you relax.’

I feel his growl as his tail wraps around me, tugging me close. And then he lifts me into his arms and carries me upstairs to his room, where he lays me on his bed, and we feast on one another.

Eissa is almost always gone when I wake, so finding myself pressed against him as I rise to consciousness is…strange. My cheek is pressed to his chest, and I can feel the gentle inhale and exhale in the way his ribs expand and contract, and he’s got a hand in my hair, claws gently tracing lines around my scalp.

I don’t know if he’s aware I’m awake, but I take a moment to simply bask in the feeling of being with him. Everything between us is so…complicated. We had a moment in Vegas that probably should never have happened, and then we were thrown together to save my life, and now…

Well…

Now we’re here, and I’ve fallen for him in ways I can’t describe. He lives in my head, burrowed under my skin, and I know that eventually breaking the contract will leave me shredded and bleeding. But I also don’t know if whatever this is is meant to last.

Monsters outlive humans by centuries, and everything I’ve learned so far is that companions rarely last long. So what does that mean for me?

Do they take and take and take until we have nothing left to give, until we are simply husks, and then discard us back where they found us?

There’s a rumble beneath my chest, and I glance up to see Eissa staring down at me with an expression I can’t read. If I knew better, I’d say it was fury, but I’ve seen him angry before, and this is not it.

Come, my Luca.

His voice gently trickles into my head, a melodic song somewhere between English and Eretharian. I fight the urge to obey, but it only lasts a second before I’m on my hands and knees. Eissa sits up against the headboard, then he draws me over his thighs and tucks me close.