"Yes I'm aware and I like that.." Seram smiled sweetly, feeling relieved.
Silke didn't know what made him speak next. Maybe it was the look on Seram's face, open, raw, holding a hundred questions he hadn't dared ask.
Maybe it was time.
"I want to tell you something.." Silke said. His voice was flat. Not cold. Just… emptied out. "A few things, actually. So you understand why I am the way I am. And why you shouldn't be so quick to trust the people at the top."
Seram didn't move and released his hold.
Silke sat down on the edge of the couch, rubbing his palm over his face once before he looked up.
"After my last bond broke, not because of me, by the way, but because he wanted a female guide and I wasn't 'submissive' enough, I wasn't reassigned. Not officially. For a while, I was just... floating. The higher-ups said I needed to be reviewed before getting another long-term match. So I waited. And waited. No one wanted me. I was too much.."
He looked away, his jaw tightening.
