Species Traitor: A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel by Kate Mary (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📗

children were everywhere. Hundreds of them as if gathered for a celebration. Or a funeral. I hoped—no, prayed—that wouldn’t be the outcome.

The council leader lived a few walkways over and two stories up in a house nearly identical to all the others. The front door was open, and through it I could see a small crowd gathered in the living room, seemingly unconcerned about the tight space. The woman with white-blonde hair was in the center, and around her sat a handful of men, while more Veilorian men and women stood against the walls and even in the hallway. They were all silent as if waiting, and every one of them turned as we followed Melora into the room.

Anara, the head councilwoman, stood, her gaze moving past Melora to the rest of us and finally stopping on me. “You’ve brought her?”

Finn’s mother nodded in assent as she turned to me, holding her hand out. “This is Ava.”

She motioned for me to move forward, and I did, releasing Finn’s hand and walking to the center of the room, stopping in front of Anara. The councilwoman was even more beautiful in person, almost angelic in appearance, but older than I’d first thought. I knew Veilorians aged differently than humans, making it hard to determine their age, but while I’d assumed this woman was in her early thirties when I’d seen her on the viewing screen, I could now tell she was older than that. Probably older than my mother.

“Ava.” She said my name with the same reverence Melora had. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

The gentle way she took my hands and the expression on her face as she looked me over, a twinge of emotion in her eyes I couldn’t quite name, sent a jolt through me. I hadn’t thought this woman looked familiar before, but standing in front of her now, I had a sudden flashback, a spark of a memory I couldn’t quite grab hold of, and I was almost certain we’d met before.

“Do I know you?” I asked.

Anara smiled. “You remember.”

“Yes,” I said then shook my head. “No. Not really… There’s a memory I can’t quite place, but I’m sure it was you.”

Her smile widened. “It was, child. I met you a long time ago when you were still young. I knew your father.” The last sentence was whispered and filled with pain. “After your mother kicked him out, before he died, he and I were very close.”

I jerked my hand from hers. “My father abandoned me.”

“No,” Anara said. “He didn’t.”

She straightened her shoulders and looked around the room, acting as if the small exchange had never happened. “We need to discuss what to do about Arch.”

I stepped back, sensing my part was over for the time being and reeling from what this woman had just said. Could she be telling the truth? I didn’t want to believe her, not after living the past twenty years thinking my dad had abandoned me, but there were facts I couldn’t overlook. My mom had recognized Anara, and I had memories of meeting her. She knew who I was.

Ione took my hand, and I looked back to meet her gaze, seeing my own questions reflected in her eyes. Behind her, Finn and Rye looked equally confused. At least I wasn’t the only one.

“We can’t turn him over,” said a man with dark hair. It shimmered slightly in the light, reflecting hues of green and purple the way no human’s hair did and reminding me of a bird’s feathers.

Ione leaned closer to me and whispered, “Rye’s dad, Dravin. He’s on the council, too.”

Were they related to everyone on the council? Had Ione and I gotten involved with some kind of Veilorian royal family?

“I would agree,” Melora said, choosing her words carefully, “except we all know what that could bring down on us. Whether or not Arch committed the crime, he still broke the rules. Not just the humans’ rules, either. He broke our rules as well. He knew he shouldn’t leave the District. He knew what he was risking by doing it, and yet he chose to anyway. Trust me, I do not like what might happen any more than anyone else here, but we have to look at the big picture.”

“What else can they do to us?” another man said. “They’ve already cut our power and stopped the deliveries. They’re already trying to starve or dehydrate us to death. What more can they do?”

“They could come in here,” Anara said, keeping her voice even and unemotional despite the worry flashing in her eyes, “and kill every half-Veilorian in the District. They could take every human living inside these walls and throw them in prison. Or worse. Arch’s actions have put all of us in danger.”

No one spoke for a second as the gravity of the situation sank in, and Ione’s hand tightened on mine.

“We cannot let that happen,” Rye’s father said, no doubt thinking not only of his unborn grandchild, but also of his nephew. Of Finn.

I turned, looking over my shoulder to where he stood. He was already staring at me, and like the night before when we were lying side by side in his bed, the risk we were taking felt heavy. Like a weight settling on me as I tried to swim to the surface of a deep body of water. I was risking everything.

“We will sleep on it and meet again in the morning.” Anara stood, signaling the discussion was coming to an end. “Mayor Waters has agreed to wait until noon tomorrow for our decision, but no longer. Think hard. Think not only of your family, but of the family sleeping in the house next to you. Think about the children you pass on your way home who have purple blood running through their veins. Think about our red-blooded loved ones.”

Around the room, the other Veilorians nodded, their expressions grave.

“Good.” Anara motioned to the door.

People filed out, but Ione and I stayed where we were. Finn and