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

that day was. “You were born only eight months after we landed on this planet.”

Finn visibly started. “That would mean I’m twenty-one. I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me all this time.”

“It was to keep you safe.” Melora stood, taking a step toward him, but stopped when Finn jerked away. “You cannot understand how angry the humans were when they learned about your existence. I was terrified they would come into the District to hunt you down. That they would kill you like they killed your father. So, we lied to them. We told them you had been injured during the rally and died later that night. After that, I hid you and lied about your age, afraid someone would make the connection and try to murder you, too. The way they had murdered your father.”

“There are hundreds of us now. Why didn’t you tell me the truth after more half-Veilorians were born?” Finn asked. “You could have at least told me the truth.”

Melora took another step toward her son, reaching out to him. This time, he didn’t resist, and when she’d taken his hand, she said, “I was afraid it would fuel your hatred. You’ve had such a difficult time knowing where you fit into this world, and I was terrified the truth would send you on a path you would never be able to recover from. Maybe I was wrong, maybe I should have done things differently, but however you feel, know I had the best of intentions. I’ve only ever wanted you to be safe, my son. That is all.”

Finn looked down, his expression torn and his hand still in his mother’s. He stared at it, unblinking, and said nothing.

Chapter Twenty-One

Finn and his mom were talking quietly when I stepped out of the house. Evening was setting in and the sun had moved lower in the sky, and the horizon was now painted in bursts of orange and pink. Above me, the blue had given way to indigo, and here and there a twinkling star was visible. It brought to mind the day the visitors arrived and how my father had held me tightly in his arms as we watched the scene unfold, awed by the sight and oddly hopeful despite the worry and panic surrounding us.

“It’s going to change everything about your life, I promise you that. One day, you’ll remember this moment and know this was the day your life started for real.”

Tears that refused to be blinked away burned my eyes. They slid down my cheeks as I looked out over the District. Four stories stood between the ground and me, and every staircase and path in my line of sight was empty. The road, too, was deserted, and the silence of it all made me feel suddenly so alone.

The quiet wasn’t the only thing making me feel that way, I realized. It was what I’d just learned, too. It was discovering I’d lived a lifetime of lies and for years had thought my father abandoned me. He hadn’t, though, and not only that, he’d died standing up for the Veilorians. He’d died fighting for what he believed was right.

No wonder my mother hated my choices so much.

“Ava?”

I turned at the sound of my cousin’s voice, swiping the back of my hand first across my right cheek then my left to get rid of the tears. She was in front of me, her eyes misty, and only a second later had found her way into my arms.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, her body shaking with her own sobs. “I didn’t know. My parents never told me the truth.”

No longer as slim as she’d always been, Ione felt so different than she used to, and I realized it was just one more thing in a long list of things that had changed and would never go back to the way I remembered them. She would have the baby, yes, but she wasn’t mine anymore. She belonged to Rye and their child now.

And I belonged to no one.

I pulled back after a moment, wiping the fresh tears, and forced out a brave smile. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.”

Ione’s bottom lip quivered. “I just can’t believe your mother lied to you like that.”

“I can,” I said.

The front door of the house opened, and Finn and Rye stepped out. Like Ione and me, they looked as if they were still trying to sort through everything they’d learned today, and it hit me that I wasn’t alone. Finn and I were just getting to know one another, but we had something very big in common. Everything we’d always believed had just changed.

Rye stopped beside his wife, and she leaned into him, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion.

“You look tired,” he said.

She lifted her gaze, looking up at him through damp lashes. “I am.”

“Go home,” I told them. “Get some rest.”

“What about you?” Ione tore her focus from her husband. “Where will you go?”

I looked at Finn, who held his hand out.

When I’d taken it in mine, he said, “She’ll stay with me.”

Although my cousin gave me a questioning look, she made no comment before nodding.

Finn and I stayed where we were as Rye led her away, quietly watching their progress as they headed down a spiral staircase and across a walkway before disappearing from sight.

A second later, the door behind us opened again and Rye’s parents stepped out, with Melora right behind them. She spotted Finn and me, once again focusing on our intertwined hands, and her lips pulled up into a small smile.

After a quiet goodbye to her sister and brother-in-law, Finn’s mom headed our way, her focus on her son. Her jeweled-colored eyes were serious and intent when she stopped in front of us and said something in Veilorian. I glanced at Finn, wondering what she was telling him, and found him frowning but nodding as well.

“I will,” he replied when she’d stopped talking.

“Good,” she said, giving one more nod