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“I think you should go.” I roll a mop bucket over the puke and hope he’ll go away. “Don’t want to catch the sickness from an Undesirable.”
His forehead creases in pain. “I still love you. It’s not your fault the Council banished you from the city.” He reaches for my hand, so I slip it behind my back.
“But they did.” I take a step backward, intent on keeping our conversation light and professional. I’m the worker, he’s the patron. If only he’d stay at his table like the well-behaved customers.
“What if we could change that?” The gold flecks in his eyes intensify as he continues to push for something I’m not sure I want anymore.
Not since seeing the wilderness.
“The same Council has ruled for eight years, never opposed. A vote might force some of them to step down and give us the opportunity to write a new history.” He runs his fingers through his hair, giving him the tousled look I always loved. “A group of us meet every week to discuss the changes we want to bring to the Council. They’ve got to listen to reason.”
“The idea is wonderful, but what if you fail? They’ll kick you out of the city too.” I run a finger along the hem of my uniform shirt. “It’s better this way,” I say in the strongest voice I can muster. I draw in a deep breath, trying to find the courage. “You have your future with Rosie. I have mine. The Council will never allow a Citizen and a phaloc to be together.”
The heat of his stare makes me uncomfortable. He can’t let go of what can never be. I hold my arm over my mouth and nose, wondering how badly my breath reeks.
He stops a couple of feet away, stuffing his fists in his pockets. “Promise me something.”
“I can’t make promises I can’t keep, Flynn.”
He’s close enough that if I raise my arm, I can touch him. “Promise me to never refer to yourself as a phaloc again. You are so much better than them.” With one step, he closes the distance, raising a palm to my cheek.
My insides twist in confusion. I’m a wreck of nerves and desire, unsure if I want to kiss him or run away. “Guy will wonder where I am.” I brush past him and head out the door, ready to get back to work. Empty hope no longer plays a role in my life.
“Where have you been, worthless girl?” Guy bends over, reaching into the pastry case. His pants slip to reveal a crack.
It’s just what I need to relieve my nerves. My lips tug into a smile as I hand my boss two more plates to load for the customers.
CHAPTER NINE
With my initial training done, I hurry along the streets of Avren, avoiding eye contact with Citizens. The run-in with Flynn has my mind racing. Was he in a relationship with Rosie? Did the Council match them? Did he get the job as a soldier like he wanted?
Get it together, Mari. You’ve only been gone two days.
With my job at the Sweet Street Bakery, I will see him again. What if he insists on pursuing a relationship that can never be?
I shove my hands into my apron pockets as I approach the neutral zone. I’ve stuffed four fresh rolls inside. Nervous, I scan the mix of people for a familiar face—one who might get me back to my bed in one piece.
“It’s about time you made it out here,” Evie grumbles as I approach. Her curly auburn red hair is piled on top of her head. She’s wearing a short brown leather jacket, which I’m sure is filled to the brim with weapons. My kin wouldn’t enter the luminescent forest unprepared.
I shrug, trying to act nonplussed by her comment. If I can’t walk two steps without a Supe killing me, I’ll need protection. “I leave when Guy lets me.” I reach into the pocket of my pants to pull out a handful of coins. “At least I can contribute to our household.”
She stares at the small pieces of metal in my palm. “Worthless in the wilderness, phaloc. Avren’s the only place that takes meetok.”
Meetok is the currency used to buy smaller things in the city. Credits hold the real value. “Then I will spend my coins on Sweet Street.” I brush past her, although I’m unsure of the exact direction of the way out.
She catches up to me, giving a sideways glance. “What’s Sweet Street?”
I stop and raise an eyebrow, unsure if I want to share the rolls with Evie and Bastian. “You’re dating Gray, and he’s never told you about the great things inside the city?”
“Gray doesn’t open up about his past life.” She takes a slight lead down an alley, so I follow. “It’s a bit of a painful subject for him.”
“We’re orphans. He’s not the only one dealing with shitty circumstances.” Seeing Flynn this evening conjured a lot of old memories. Not only did I lose my mother, but I lost my friends, my status, my future.
She pauses at a corner and lets a group of Citizens pass, laughing like they don’t have a care in the world. They’ll head up to their cozy apartments without the fear of rabid werewolves attacking them. Envy over what I lost courses through me.
“Don’t judge his circumstances until you hear his story.” Her heeled boots click over the cobblestones. “Gray’s past makes the rest of ours seem like a fairytale.”
I keep quiet as we pass the guards watching over the mouth of the cave. In the dark, I can’t tell if the two that gave me trouble on the way in are still here.
