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Khen hurried through the Fused camp to Anxiety's beat. She had never been to this area before, as her position as a footsoldier was far too lowly. She'd followed the shouts here anyway. Surely anyone who stopped her would agree that she attuned the right Rhythm. Human cries of distress were not uncommon in occupied Kholinar, but Vyre was favored by Odium. He carried a Fused title. It mattered if he was in danger.
A low moan sounded from a nearby building-- one of the small but elegant housing units for Regals and lower-ranked Fused. That was definitely Vyre. He'd been hurt! Storms, if anything happened to him…
The door was unlocked. She cracked it open and peeked through-- maybe she could take Vyre's assailant by surprise, maybe she wouldn't have to fight-- and saw a dimly lit, sparsely decorated bedroom. Two human males grappled on the bed. She attuned Victory as she saw Vyre had the upper hand. He was on top of his attacker, one hand gripping hard at the leg wrapped around his waist, his face screwed up with effort and desperation. The smooth surface of his usual composure had been shattered; every movement was jagged and sharp, like it pained him but he couldn't stop. Khen hadn't seen him move like that since he'd won his title. And then the other man cursed and arched his back, and Vyre's hips shifted, and she suddenly knew what she was looking at.
Khen froze, the rhythm of Surprise buzzing from her gemheart to the tips of her fingers and toes, vaguely aware that she should leave but unable to move. She'd seen humans naked before-- she hummed Pain for a moment at the memory of those long years of enslavement at their hands-- but she'd never seen two of them mating. So this was what it looked like? There was so much hair. It dusted their chests and limbs and pooled dark in their armpits and between their legs, where their bodies were joined. Sweat gleamed on their solid brown skin. Their muscles shifted as Vyre thrust his cock into the other man's ass to a desperate, almost angry rhythm.
"Fuck, Moash, yeah, that's good," the man said to Craving, and Khen realized with sudden shock that he wasn't a human at all. This had to be one of the mavset-im, the Masked Ones, wearing a human guise. But why--
Vyre pressed his mouth into the crook of his neck and bit down hard. The Fused (the Fused! ) clutched at his arm, and Vyre shuddered. He grabbed the Masked One's hand and slid it upwards until it covered the strange tattoo on his bicep. "Right there, oh storms. Kal."
Of course. She'd seen that face before; she'd traveled with its owner for weeks. Kaladin Stormblessed, wielding pity in trembling hands, trailing disaster in his wake. Stay away! she wanted to cry. He's dangerous! But of course it wasn't really Stormblessed.
Vyre groaned and grabbed a fistful of dark hair. "Say it."
"You were right," the Masked One gasped, arching against him. "You were right about the king, you were right about everything-- I should have chosen you instead of him--"
Vyre made a choked noise and collapsed onto his chest. Khen found herself humming Curiosity at the sight of the cloudy white seed dripping between their thighs. For a moment no one moved; then the Fused dissolved the illusion and slid out from underneath him. Vyre didn't seem to notice. His body was slowly tensing up again, curling in on itself, one hand fisted clawlike in the sheets. His shoulders shook. Khen couldn't see his face, but she heard him rasp out something that sounded like "take--"
The moment passed like a shadow. He sagged into the bed with a deep sigh, his strings cut.
Khen summoned her courage at last and opened the door. "...Vyre?"
He glanced over, then sat up in a sharp, fluid motion. "You shouldn't be here," he remarked, as if nothing had happened.
She bowed her head to the Fused and hummed Supplication until they answered her with Satisfaction, giving her permission to speak. "We heard you call out. I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Never better," Vyre said. He stood, wiped his chest clean, and began to dress.
"Three more marks and you can get somewhere with a door that locks next time," the Masked One said to Indifference. Vyre ignored them-- a very dangerous thing to do to a Fused, but Khen was too caught up in the implications of marks and next time to attune Anxiety.
"You're going to do-- this again?" Khen blurted out.
Vyre shot her an unreadable look. Whatever passion had gripped him was fully gone now; his expressions and movements were stripped of the tangled emotions that plagued other humans. "You were worried about me," he said. "There was no need."
Khen hummed Betrayal. He was her squadleader and she'd heard him shouting; was she supposed to ignore that? "It's just that I'd like a warning before you wake half the army with your screaming," she said, her frustration momentarily overriding her fear. "'He Who Quiets?' Wish they'd called you 'He Who Shuts The Fuck Up.'"
"That crassness is beneath you, Khen," Vyre said, shrugging on his coat. He stalked out of the room and into the night.
Khen turned to follow him, then paused and looked back at the Masked One. "Ancient One, if I may speak freely--"
"Very well," they said to Conceit. They didn't move from the bed; didn't seem to care that their cock was still hard and upright between their legs. Khen hummed Reconciliation as if she was the one exposed.
"Ancient One, I…" she forcibly attuned Resolve. "You share a bed with a human without fear of being called an essai?"
The Fused hummed Ridicule. "I don't need to love a human to take his custom."
Khen folded her arms over her chest, almost protectively. A human gesture. "And no one says anything?"
"A god cannot be harmed by the buzzing of cremlings. I know who I am." They leaned forward slightly, their red eyes fixed on hers. "Do you know who you are?"
For a moment she just stood there, humming Anxiety. The Fused hummed Derision in answer.
There was nothing she could say. She turned and hurried after Vyre before her confusion could eat her alive.