“Ava,” he called, “you need to get scanned.”
I hated not having the last word, but he was right. Without turning to look at him, I held my hand out so he could scan my chip. A second later, there was a beep, telling me I was free to go, and I once again took off.
“Just think about it,” Johnson called after me.
I didn’t look back.
Chapter Four
I still hadn’t managed to completely relax by the time I reached the third level. My breathing had evened out—although the climb had gotten my heart pounding again—but I was still on edge from my altercation both with the man outside the fence and with Johnson. His words rang in my ears, refusing to go away, and more than anything they were what fueled the simmering heat in my veins.
I’d always thought he was an okay guy, but maybe I’d been wrong. Then again, he’d said he knew things I didn’t. What things, though? About the Veilorians? About the government? It was impossible to know without asking him, and right now that was out of the question. If I had to see him again before I calmed down, I was likely to knee him in the groin.
It wasn’t until I was standing outside Ione’s new house that I suddenly found myself wondering if she would even be home. Other than trying to keep up with her classes, I had no idea what my cousin did now that she’d uprooted her life. Would she get a job? I knew Veilorians had physicians and midwives, and the children went to school, but where did Ione fit into this world?
I knocked on the door, my knuckles rapping against the wood and echoing off the buildings, then took a step back and waited. It was twilight now, and the sun was low, meaning the streets in the human part of the city would be darkening as the closely packed buildings slowly blocked out the sun’s rays. More of the evening light made it into the District, forcing its way through gaps in the fence and between walkways and homes, and from this high up I had an amazing view of the setting sun. The sky above me was darkening to indigo, but the horizon had been transformed into shades of yellow and orange.
The colors reminded me of Finn’s eyes.
My skin prickled from the memory of the cold disapproval in his gaze. When he’d stood in front of me, pinning me with that icy stare, my discomfort had warred with the tingling in my body at just being close to him. It had made no sense, feeling drawn to someone who so clearly disliked me. Even now, a shiver I couldn’t put a name to vibrated through my body, and it wasn’t the least bit comfortable.
I liked Rye, but I’d be okay if I didn’t run into his cousin ever again.
“What are you doing here?” a deep voice at my back said.
I turned, and as if drawn here by my thoughts, found Finn standing on the walkway in front of me. Like yesterday, his citrine eyes seemed to take me in with a look of quiet loathing, but the expression didn’t make me as uncomfortable as it had the day before. It did, however, ruffle my feathers.
“I came to see my cousin,” I said. “She lives here now, or have you forgotten?”
“How could I?” Forcing me to step aside, Finn moved to the closed door of Ione and Rye’s house. “My family won’t let me forget.”
The way he spit out the words put me on the defensive. “What the hell is your problem? Ione never did anything to you, and Rye’s happy. That should make you happy, too.”
Finn had reached for the doorknob but paused with his hand resting on it so he could look my way. “Happy? My cousin married into a species that wants to destroy us. You think we don’t get the news in here? You think I don’t know about the protestors outside the wall right now?”
His gaze moved down like he couldn’t stand looking me in the eye, pausing on my right arm. The scratches the man had given me throbbed, making me want to cover them up, but I didn’t.
When Finn lifted his gaze and once again focused on my face, it seemed as if he was actually seeing me for the first time. “Did you get hurt on your way in?”
“Not that you care,” I snapped, “since I’m just a filthy human and all, but yes. Some asshole grabbed me when I tried to get through the crowd.”
Finn studied me for a second longer before turning the knob and pushing the door open. “Come in. I’ll get something to clean that.”
I was taken aback at his sudden change in attitude, making it impossible to respond right away. But since I had nowhere else to go, I did as I was told and followed him inside after only a few seconds.
The house was dark and clearly empty, but that didn’t stop Finn from heading down the hall, presumably toward the bathroom.
“Do you always barge into other people’s houses when they’re not home?” I called after him even as I dropped my bag to the floor.
“I was on my way here, anyway.” Finn’s voice floated from the back of the house, slightly muffled but still audible. “We have a family dinner tonight. Rye forgot something, but he and Ione have to go straight to my mom’s house after work.”
A family dinner.
Work.
For the first time, I fully grasped how much my cousin’s life had changed. Now when she went to a family dinner, it wouldn’t be with Lena and me. We would never again find ourselves in my tiny kitchen, a whole group of us crammed around a table meant for four people. When Christmas came, she wouldn’t be there, but would instead be inside these walls with Finn’s family. Assuming they celebrated Christmas. I wasn’t sure which holidays Veilorians
