His eyes turned cold. “Why should we tolerate your ilk?” he asked.
“Is that truly what you think of us? Ilk? That we’re ilk? We’re really not that different from humans. We love. We work. We feel.” She held up her wrists to show the grey and bruised circles. “We bleed.”
He held her gaze. There was an intensity there that made Layla squirm. Heat pulsed beneath her skin as his lips parted. Part of her wanted to punch him in the face; part of her wanted to run away; and part of her wanted to help him understand.
“Haven’t you ever wanted to be accepted for exactly who you are? To be, if not loved, at least respected?” she asked. She leaned towards him. His heat radiated into her. It was comforting and infuriating all at the same time.
His throat bobbed, but he said nothing. She didn’t need his words to tell her she’d struck a chord. If, in nothing else, he understood what it felt like to be considered not quite good enough.
“All I want is to be treated like an equal. To be given a chance to demonstrate my worth,” she whispered. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she silently begged him to crack. If she could just get him to relate to her, maybe she would have a chance at convincing him to let her go.
He turned away from her, his jawline tightening, and she knew, even before he spoke, that she’d lost him.
“But you’re not an equal, are you? You’re nothing more than a filthy fly.”
The insult stung, more than she cared to admit. Not many in her life had resorted to calling her a fly. Her life had been spent in the company of other magical beings, only a few of which had ever resorted to flinging out insults. She felt the burning behind her eyes before the first tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away as suddenly as it had come.
“No,” she said, keeping her voice steady, “I suppose I am not your equal.”
She turned her back to him, unwilling to let him see how his words had affected her.
“Layla, you can’t let that boy speak to you like that,” Penny murmured. Her voice was softer than normal, more emotional.
“What do you expect me to do, Penny? I can’t use my abilities.” She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. She didn’t have a plan and she couldn’t think. Not with him sitting right behind her. More tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She squeezed them shut and focused on her breathing. This was the worst time to cry.
“What gives him the right to throw slurs at you? Him? A lowly pig,” Penny continued.
Layla had heard enough. She wasn’t in the mood for her PEA to throw insults. It wouldn’t change what he’d said, and it wouldn’t make her feel any better.
She closed her eyes and forced her mind to go blank. She’d learned early in her childhood that she couldn’t turn Penny off entirely, even when she disabled her. But, if she kept her mind blank enough, she could stop the AI from invading her thoughts. Breathing in, she let the tension and stress from the day flow from her as she exhaled slowly.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. His voice was rough, as if he, too, was trying to contain his emotions. “I never should have called you that.”
She spun around on him. “But you did say it.”
His cheeks flushed and his eyes became hooded as he looked at her. It was like he was really seeing her. She broke eye contact and shook her head.
“I am sorry,” he enunciated each word as he said it again.
She opened her mouth to speak when a loud explosion shook the apartment. Her skin tingled as a magical force filled the air. She jumped backwards. Her head slammed into the wall, jolting her. Dizzy, she laid her head on the floor and closed her eyes, trying to get her senses back. She opened her eyes just in time to see a brilliant white light burst before her. Another explosion followed, sending her hurdling across the room.
Chapter Seven
Coughing, her head fuzzy from the impact, Layla rolled over to see figures silhouetted in front of the window. Her entire body ached as she started crawling towards the door. She knew it was locked, but there was a chance one of the explosions had knocked it ajar enough to pry open. All she could think about was escaping.
Shouts filled the room and smoke clogged her lungs. She coughed, her head swimming. Bright flashes of light blinded her as another explosive went off. Using her hands to guide her, she kept crawling.
A boot stepped on her hand. Her bones crunched and she whimpered in pain.
“What’s happening?” she asked Penny.
Her PEA didn’t respond. Fear turned her veins to ice. She sought out any sign that her PEA was still working, but couldn’t find any. She coughed and thick, hot mucus mixed with blood oozed onto her hand. She had to keep moving.
A body fell across her legs. Its dead weight made it impossible to move.
She shoved her hands against it. They came back coated in hot, thick liquid. Although she couldn’t see, she knew it was blood. The thought made her stomach tighten. She gagged as she quickly wiped her hands across the carpeted floor. She knew that if she didn’t get out of this place, she could be next.
Her shoulders and upper back strained as she pushed the body off of her. She lay on her back, panting for a moment. Robotic guns rotated from the ceiling, firing at random intervals. Figures continued to scream and fall as their shields fell.
Laying flat on her stomach, she crawled forward slowly. The loud bangs of shots being fired left her ears ringing. A hand gripped her wrist, pulling her to her feet.
“Nobody speak. Nobody move,” Kaden’s now familiar voice yelled.
The cold, hard metal of a gun’s barrel pressed against her temple. She trembled as she heard him click the safety off.
“You don’t have to do—” she whispered.
“Shut up!” he yelled, cutting her off. The barrel shoved against her skin.
A small hum reverberated through the core of her mind as Penny reinitiated. “Just breathe,” she whispered.
Layla closed her eyes. There was still so much she wanted to do. As a fae living in a world filled with hatred, she knew she might not live past twenty. Still, that didn’t mean she was going to give up.
“Kill her and you lose all leverage,” a female voice responded.
Layla cracked an eye open. Her earlier blindness had faded. In the dim light cast by the cityscape beyond the apartment window, she counted no fewer than ten people standing in a semi-circle around them. Each had a gun. Laser lights extended from the guns aimed directly at her.
“Let her go, Kaden,” the same female commanded.
He pulled her tighter against his chest and made her follow his lead as he stepped backwards.
“You know I can’t do that,” Kaden spat.
Layla’s mind raced. She didn’t know who these people were or why they wanted her. They were fighting for her, but that could be trap. It could all be trap. If they wanted Kaden dead, they would have killed him already, but they hadn’t.
A small clicking sound erupted from above them. Layla tilted her head back just enough to see a robotic gun twisting above, preparing to fire. Her limbs went cold and numb as her eyes trailed across the room to the people standing there.
“Watch out!” she screamed.
Kaden smacked the barrel of the gun against her temple. Reeling, she sagged into his arms. Dizzy and disoriented, she pawed at his grasp.