Eldaren’s reddened eyes narrow in suspicion. “Are you trying to manipulate me? I’ve read human women are especially skilled at it.”
“What kind of trash are you reading?” I say indignantly, avoiding the question. “I haven’t found any books like that on my shelves.”
“I’ve read several books on human females,” Eldaren replies evasively. “Fine. You may stay with me . . . for now.”
“Okay.” I don’t argue. He was serious in taking me off the island, but my curiosity has been roused. I need to know what’s going on.
9
Sophia
Brambles tug at my skirt as I run, my mind whirling just as fast with everything that had happened.
There’s a space elf on the island.
A space elf.
“Faster.” Bren pokes me in the back.
“I am running faster.” I try to make the words a snarl, but they’re a painful wheeze. I have a side stitch now, and it hurts like the dickens.
The elf had come here, looking for me. I already know why. It’s because I’m a gaia. But why does that matter to him? Is he looking to save the planet, or is there something else? Bren thought the stranger would abduct me. That’s a terrifying thought, but it seems unlikely. The elves plan on staying, don’t they?
The elf seems to think I can help. But can I? I’m not sure. I’m not a talented person. I read a lot, and daydream about being an awesome person that everyone adores, but I don’t see anything in myself that makes me useful. I am a gaia, and that has to count for something, but it’s a connection to the Earth that hasn’t been useful to anyone so far.
I stagger to a halt, planting my feet when Bren pushes me. “Let’s go,” he says. “You’re almost home.”
I wave him off and bend over, gripping my knees as I gulp air. Stars, I’m beat.
Bren stands still, his head tilted, listening. “I don’t think we were followed,” he says after a moment.
“Okay.” It’s hard to talk when you feel like your heart’s going to punch its way out of your chest.
“You must stay close to the Central Keep for the next several days,” Bren continues. Dang it, he hardly sounds winded. “It’s not safe in the forest if there are space elves around.”
“I don’t think he was going to abduct me,” I say when my breath is calm enough to string more than two words together. “The elves are here to help.” Probably.
“That’s what they want you to think,” Bren says, his tone dark. He's scowling. “But we can’t believe that simply because they say it.”
“Have the elves harmed humans at all?” I ask pointedly. Remembering that word on the street is that they have, I switch my question. “Have they hurt anyone who wasn’t breaking the law?”
“What law?” Bren says scornfully. “Elven law? I highly doubt they go by human laws.”
“Well, it’s not like humans outside of the clan have laws,” I counter. “Liberty’s a mess, and so is the rest of America, from what I’ve heard.”
“Yes, from what you’ve heard,” Bren says dismissively. “It’s not like you can really know, is it? Your knowledge of the world is limited to the Island.”
I glare daggers at him and, turning away with a sniff, stalk toward home. Not running, though. Walking is about all I can manage with the stitch still in my side.
His words hurt. A lot. He’s right. I don’t know a lot about the world off the island, and I hate myself for it, even if there isn’t anything to be done for it.
Bren’s fingers close around my wrist. “I’m sorry, Sophia,” he says. “That was insensitive.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?” I pull my arm away. “I don’t understand much of the world. I’m stupid.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” he growls.
“Just leave me alone,” I say. I blink rapidly. “I need some time to think.”
Bren sighs heavily. “Okay.” He hesitates and then strides alongside me. “I will, soon. But I need to make sure you get home safely.”
I want to pitch a fit and demand he leave me alone. But I’m not a child anymore, and he’d probably ignore my wishes anyway. I frown and keep my gaze on the ground ahead of me as I march resolutely home.
“The space elves can’t be trusted, Sophia,” Bren says after a moment. “You need to trust me on that. They’re invaders. They can’t be anything else. They don’t belong to this planet.”
“There are lots of stories about elves,” I say. “The tales had to have come from somewhere.”
“Elves,” Bren says. “Just not the sort from space.”
“I wasn’t aware there were other sorts.”
“Of course there are,” Bren says. “But there aren’t very many left. Not compared to the number of space elves.”
“How come?” I ask. My hurt lessens as curiosity replaces it.
“They’re not . . . quite the same as space elves,” he replies.
I don’t feel like this answers my question at all, and I open my mouth to say so when I hear my name called in the distance. “Sophia!”
I grimace. “Prissy.”
Bren shrugs. “You should be safe if you stay close to home.” He hesitates. “You might consider telling your mom about all of this.”
He means my actual mother, The Watcher. She’s the spiritual leader of our clan, and will obviously need to know that a space elf is on the Island.
But I don’t feel like talking to her. I don’t feel like talking to anyone right now.
I nod wordlessly.
I don’t trust the space elf, even if he has beautiful gray eyes and a good heart. He does have a good heart. I can sense it, somehow. But just because someone is good doesn’t mean that they will do good things.
But I
