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He shrugs on his coat and rolls back his shoulders. “Currently? Zero percent. If I get you to the cabin, it will be fifty-fifty.”
I touch his sleeve, not believing what I’ve just heard. “We’re your first deliveries?”
“You’ve got to start somewhere.” He flashes me his dazzling grin and heads down the trail.
I jog behind him, out of breath, trying to keep up to his long strides. “Why didn’t you tell us you were new to this?”
He spins around, his eyebrows drawing in. “I killed a werewolf to save you, so stop whining about my credentials.”
“But Tanner died!” And I could die before we reached safety. “What makes you qualified for this job?”
“Maverick Donnely was the greatest trainer to walk this wilderness. I learned from the best. And now you will learn from the best, so stop thinking you know better than I do because you lived in a walled city and wore fancy clothes.” He stops and points to a two-story cabin nestled in the trees. Smoke rises from the chimney and warm lights welcome us in. “If you insult the others like you’ve insulted me, you’ll wish you died with Tanner on the way here.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Can I change into my other clothes?” I look down at my blood-stained blouse, skirt, and combat boots. Whatever garments are inside the bag must be better than what I have on.
Grayson stands watch in the woods behind me as I unbutton my silk shirt. It was a gift from my mother on my seventeenth birthday. She saved her credits to purchase it at the fancy store all the teenage girls frequented. I let it fall to the ground in a heap of memories. I wore it on my first date with Flynn—the one where he stole a forbidden kiss, out of sight from the cameras.
The government-issued shirt is made from a rough canvas material, scratching at my delicate skin. The two garments mirror my former life and the new one I am stepping into with a hesitant toe.
“Are you almost done?” Grayson whispers. He has his hand on his revolver.
“Almost,” I hiss back as I pull up the pants. Never in my life have I worn a pair of pants. They feel foreign to me, like the material of the shirt. I sit to pull on my boots. “Why won’t they like me? Besides the fact that I’m a Citizen?”
He laughs, a little too loud. “You’re a princess. Not literally, but you think it’s another’s duty to take care of you. I understand where you’re coming from, but they won’t. So, for now, stay quiet and do as you’re told.”
Without another word, I follow him to the front door of the cabin, eager for the safety of the locks on the doors. He raps his knuckles in a secret code and waits. An eye appears in a tiny hole in the wood before we hear the telltale click of the lock.
A man a year or two older than me, with dark hair and glasses, opens the door. He has a slight build and wears a dark shirt and brown pants. He grins at Grayson, and I like him already.
“Levi.” Grayson signs with his hands as he says, “This is Mari.”
Levi signs his response as he speaks. “It’s nice to meet you, Mari. I didn’t know you were so pretty.” He faces Grayson. “Where’s the other one?”
My guide hangs his head and draws in a breath. “It was a werewolf.” His hands work the sign for what I assume is wolf.
The younger man ushers us in and locks the door. “A fifty percent success rate is not bad for your first run.” He touches Grayson’s shoulder after he hangs up his coat, then slides his hand down to sign. “I know you were hoping for a hundred.”
“Smells good in here.” Grayson walks to the kitchen, ignoring Levi’s comments, and glances inside a pot cooking above a fire in the hearth. “Where are the others?”
“In their rooms—sulking.” Levi scoops a heaping ladleful of soup into a wooden bowl and places it on the table. “Four’s enough for them, but I say, the more the merrier.”
From Grayson’s assessment of the other orphans, I did not expect Levi’s welcoming attitude. I relax my shoulders and sit at the table, ready for warm food in my stomach. The shock of Tanner’s death is wearing off, and I want nothing more than a good meal and a warm bed.
Levi sits opposite me and smiles. “It’s nice to have a pretty face around here. The others scowl all the time.”
I’m thankful that he talks as he signs. The teachers never taught me sign language in school because the deaf are promptly sent to the Unseen. I only read about it in books.
“Why are they so unhappy?” I speak slowly and make sure he can see my mouth, unsure of how to act around him. If this is my life, I’ll learn to sign for the man who made me feel so welcome in this strange world.
“They aren’t,” he replies before spreading butter on a piece of bread. “They’re only tired of serving the people of Avren. You aren’t on their list of favorite people.”
But they haven’t met me yet.
And back in Avren, I’d done the same thing. I’d freely used the nickname Undesirable for people I didn’t know, and even with those I did, like Caron. I couldn’t expect anything more from them. I was a stuck-up Citizen who only cared about herself.
The sound of boots stomp on the stairs, and Grayson enters, followed by a woman who appears to be in her early twenties. She has fire-red hair and a smatter of freckles on her cheekbones. Her green eyes are anywhere but on me.
