Page 44

His lips part on what I assume is an exhale, then he nods. ‘Vorthex. We live above Erethar.’

‘So you…fly?’ I wonder.

His face does something complicated, then he swallows thickly, and I realize I’ve touched on something tender. ‘Some of us do. And…some don’t.’ He takes another pause, then shrugs and signs, ‘The Vyastil rule the surface; we rule what is above it.’

‘I’d like to visit one day. It sounds magical.’

He makes a face. ‘You would not like to visit. It is beautiful, but there is much beneath that is vile. Trust me. Humans, to the Vorthex, are merely things to be used.’ The way he signs that, word for word, makes me flush.

‘Like, just sex toys?’

‘Yes. Objects for survival. Nothing more. Humans are not valued. The Vorthex have no idea how…’ His hands hover, like he’s searching for the right signs, ‘…important and complex they are.’

To me, it’s not any different than the Vyastil going to the clinic for cum. We’re just vessels for their use, but I don’t say that.

Instead, I swallow and ask, ‘Is that why you’re here? To find yourself a human?’

He bites his lip and shakes his head. ‘No. I came here to escape.’

My brows fly up. ‘Escape?’

His gaze cuts down for a moment. ‘The Vorthex view anything outside of what they consider normal as a disgrace. Anything less than perfect is weakness. The Vyastil and the Vorthex do not interact, and while we are not enemies, we are not friends. But my people have a treaty with them, and it allows us to send the traitors down to Erethar to…work.’ He signs work, but the expression on his face tells me that he doesn’t mean voluntary, paid labor. ‘I was sent to the mines.’

My heart skips in my chest. I can tell just by his body language that the mines are not a good thing. ‘What? You were a traitor?’

‘I was accused of aiding the Tarek.’ He spells the word, and it’s entirely unfamiliar to me, but it’s easy to assume it’s another Eretharian species. ‘My real crime was that I did not kill indiscriminately. The Tarek was harming no one, and I couldn’t bring myself to harm him. The same way the Vyastil believe the only thing worthy is perfection, my people believe the only thing worthy is honor to our people. Above anything else. And for failing to kill the Tarek, I was charged and sentenced as a traitor to be grounded and live the rest of my life beneath the dirt.’

I swallow heavily. ‘A death sentence.’

He nods. ‘We are not made for underground. We cannot survive. I would be dead by now if it weren’t for Zinni. He had been there nearly three second-moon cycles, and he had a plan to escape.’

My brow furrows. ‘Zinni was there? As a prisoner? What for?’ I don’t know how that could be possible. Zinni is so kind—so nice. And he’s just as gorgeous as all the other Vyastil I’ve met.

Hepyn’s mouth flickers into something like a smile. ‘I very much like that you have not noticed his imperfections. It is an interesting thing about humans.’ He stares intently at me. ‘You are so…curious about others but miss so much.’

I can’t tell if I’m being insulted or not. Probably the former. ‘He doesn’t seem different from anyone else I’ve met. But if you don’t want to tell me⁠—’

‘No, I am willing to tell you. I have no secrets from those I consider friends.’

That warms my heart.

‘Zinni was a soldier in the Vyastil army at the border of the Outerlands.’ Hepyn is careful to spell words there are no signs for. ‘There was a skirmish, and he was injured. It took too long for his injury to heal, and when infection set in, he lost his tail.’

I absorb that for a second, then my eyes go wide. ‘He was sent to the prison mines because he lost a tail?’

Hepyn’s eyes flash, and his ears flicker the way I’ve seen Eissa’s do when he’s irritated. They really are a lot alike despite being different species. ‘Yes. It was a cruel fate for someone who was injured in service to his people. But that’s how the Vyastil are. And they would have you believe otherwise.’

Letting out a puff of air, I sit back. I knew there was something shady as fuck about the Vyastil in charge. I don’t trust them as much as I don’t trust the human government. But it’s wild to think that they’d send their own people to prison mines all because of a fucking amputation.

I thought I had it rough being Deaf in a hearing world—and I do. History has had moments where people like me were imprisoned in deplorable conditions because of deafness, and sometimes we were even killed. So, maybe we’re not all that different after all.

Hepyn waves to get my attention. ‘I’m sorry if I upset you.’

‘No, no. I understand. Humans can also be cruel.’ I rub my hands together, then ask, ‘So he saved you?’

Hepyn nods. ‘The Vyastil did not take kindly to a Vorthex working with them. They thought I was a drain on their resources, though my sentence was to work without food, water, or medicine. The only space I took from them was air.’

I wince. Hard. ‘Fuck.’