Page 8

Jack

I shoved another granola wrapper into the trash, collapsed onto my bed, and let the ceiling blur. Worst day since the realms collided, and that was saying something.

When my mother died, I thought that was rock bottom.

My life couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong.

The discovery of creatures should have been exciting.

It should have been a reason to celebrate.

With the formation of the Inter Species Human Fae Alliance, rules were put in place to keep us safe and ensure a peaceful coexistence, but instead, the ISHFA had only given people like Dane power.

I had never fit in—not in high school, not in med school, not here. Being six-four with only one true desire, helping people–even after the world was on fire, hadn’t won me many friends.

A knock sounded at my door, and I sat up. “Yes?”

“Jack. Kyle’s asking for you in the kitchen.”

I winced at Alice’s cloying voice, but stood, tugging down my shirt and stepped through the door.

In the hall, I side-stepped her, ignoring the hopeful look in her cornflower-blue eyes. She trailed me and my skin prickled as I felt her gaze on my back. I resisted the urge to whip around and tell her to stop.

It wasn’t just that she wasn’t my type physically.

Her devotion to Dane and his cause turned my stomach every time I thought of it.

Of the horrible atrocities the AFF committed on the fairies, simply because they differed from us.

I’d never feel anything but disgust for the people who lived here, and Alice was no exception.

In the kitchen, I glanced around before moving to the corner and dumping my trash into one of the larger bins.

I tossed a few paper towels on top and set my trash down beside it.

Alice stepped through the door, opening her mouth to speak, but I cut her off before she could spout some new nonsense about Dane’s greatness or worse, her feelings for me.

“Hey Alice, if you’re going back up, would you take my trash can to my room? ”

She beamed at me, grabbed the bin with far too much enthusiasm, and disappeared into the hall.

“Better watch out for that one. Give her a kind word and her stuff will be moved in by the weekend.” Kyle slid his spatula under a slice of bacon and flipped it.

“She’s harmless.” I forced a grin, but the bacon sizzling behind Kyle was too loud, reminding me of burned flesh and my stomach soured.

Kyle slapped me on the back. “Got a tray o’ food for a new guest. Dane wants me to take it to her, but I’m slammed. Can you bring it up for me?”

I nodded, taking the tray from the counter. Another person joining Dane’s group. Every day more came. Every day, more people hated the fairies enough to give up all their worldly possessions and move into the compound.

“Oh, Jack! I almost forgot.”

“Yeah?” I turned in the doorway.

“She can’t leave her room.”

I arched a brow. “What?”

“She was caught trying to free the fairies. Dane wants her to stay here until she’s learned her lesson.”

A chill ran down my spine. Then something else bloomed beneath it. Hope. Fragile and reckless. Someone else was fighting back. I schooled my face into neutral indifference even as my heart picked up speed.

Living so long among the fanatics at the AFF, I’d almost given up hope that there were any honorable people left apart from my two best friends, Grace and Leo.

Every day I listened to the vitriol that spewed from AFF members’ hateful mouths and nodded, pretending I agreed with them all so I could gather the information we needed to put a stop to Dane for good.

But if a person had been caught trying to help the fairies, perhaps we could recruit her to our cause.

Currently, we were a party of three, not nearly enough to accomplish all we planned, but it had been too risky to attempt bringing anyone else in with us.

Though some people had welcomed the creatures, the tide had been shifting and the violence brimming under the surface made those who might have once spoken up fearful of being caught on the wrong side of a war.

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this pull toward something that wasn’t survival.