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But it’s bittersweet because when they leave, Eissa coddles me, curling me onto his lap and stroking my hair with his long fingers. I can feel him in my mind, soothing, whispering, and it makes me relax, the anxiety of possibly not seeing my brother for another long stretch dissipating.

Eissa promises me that I will see him again. That he is doing everything in his power so that I can return home.

Not without you.

His gaze moves to mine, and he cups my cheek.

Promise me. Not without you.

It’s then that he gives me a soft nod, and I relax into him. He’s going to find a way to bring me back to my family, for us to be reunited. And he’s going to come with me.

I believe him because I know Eissa. I know his word is his bond.

thirty-one

EISSA

Luca is melancholy the next week, and I worry that bringing his brother to see him was the wrong choice if it only made him long for the things he cannot have. I cater to his every need, sucking him off during the day as often as he wants and curling against him at night. The guilt I feel is consuming me.

But he works his way into my mind when I feel the lowest, and he reassures me he’s happy. He just misses home, his family, and the life he had.

I promise him that I’m working on a way to get him back to Earth, but I don’t know if that’s a lie.

I cannot promise that it will end the way I want—with us together, living safely and as free as I can possibly be from Erethar.

But my soothing does help, and slowly he brightens and perks up, as a flower does when it sees the sunlight or after a long rain on Earth. It could be that we are truly alone for the first time since he arrived here. I’ve not been called away to the capital or to the archives. I’ve been able to stay in my cottage, the two of us wrapped up in our small, comfortable cocoon.

But something feels off, like thick air before a storm.

To make matters worse, Jyrion hasn’t shown up to visit Luca, and for some reason, that bothers me most of all. I worry that he’s caught on to what Luca and I are, and with that, everything I am attempting to accomplish.

But I cannot let my worries take over my common sense. I must revert to logic in moments like those, as hard as it is. I need more information before panicking.

I know I must leave Luca soon and visit with those on Earth to try to see if there is any movement from the human rebellion. I know I must speak with Everest about his friend Zane, no matter how sad it makes him feel.

Now is not the time for feelings.

It is a time for truth and action.

I am growing weary of the long plight and my place in it.

‘What’s wrong?’ Luca asks, finding me in the kitchen, my hand around a mug of tea. I have not drunk from it, and he must have noticed. Those beautiful eyes catch everything.

‘I am thinking too much.’

‘Do you need a distraction?’ His hand moves to the tunic he’s wearing, and he opens it up, exposing his nude body to me. Ah, all of that soft human skin. I adore it. I would worship it if he would allow me to.

‘Yes. I think I do.’

He lets the tunic fall to the ground, and I step up to him, my tea forgotten as I pull him into my body. I feel my slit leak as I press up against his hardening cock, and I wish him to fuck me, to release his seed into my body.

But he has other plans because before I can suggest it, he pulls back and his eyes sparkle.

‘I have another idea. Would you like to try it?’

I do not know what to expect, but I have never disliked anything Luca wishes to do with me, new or old. I let him link his hand with mine and drag me upstairs, weaving around the furniture blocking our path. When we arrive in his room, he points to the bed, and I sink onto it, watching as he bends down and pulls something from the wardrobe.

My eyes land on his ass, watching those tight globes flex as he rights and steps toward me.