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14
I suffered onlytwo blows to the face, enough to swell one eye shut, before Brunna intervened.
She shoved Silas and snapped, “We don’t hurt the preggos.”
“She puked on me,” he exclaimed, gesturing to the front of his shirt.
“Because you got too close. Stay away.”
“I plan to. For now. But once that baby is born…” he muttered before exiting the shelter.
My voice trembled a little as I said, “Thank you.”
“Just doing the right thing. I don’t care who he is. He shouldn’t be forcing himself on the unwilling.”
“He’s a bad person.” I felt qualified to make that statement.
“He is.” To my surprise, Brunna agreed.
“If you think he’s bad, why do you follow him?”
Brunna snorted. “I don’t. I just pretend I do ’cause it’s easier than dealing with his petty rages.”
“How did you come to live in the tunnels?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Because it was like being back in the Caves.”
“You used to be a Gray?”
She nodded. “Then I was marked.” She half turned and lifted her hair to show me. “Good birthing genes, they said, but no one liked the look of me. So I got sent to the breeding institute. Which is nicer than the Caves, I won’t lie, but harder, too, because your life is about being inseminated, and once it takes hold, you’re on a healthy regime that’s all about the baby growing inside. Once it’s born, you get to hear it cry, maybe catch a glimpse, then it’s gone.” Her tone dropped. “Baby after baby, taken away. When the institute was attacked, I’d just lost my seventh one. I decided to leave.”
“Oh, Brunna.” I could hear her sadness, and even though I didn’t fully understand now, I had a feeling I would. My free hand rested on my stomach. Would my child be taken away?
“After that, I became a terrorist, of sorts,” she said. “I’ll give Silas backup sometimes, but mostly I just hunt so we can survive.”
I had to ask. “Did you have any children once you were free?”
Her lips pressed into a tight line. “Only one. He almost died because we didn’t have the things needed to care for him.”
“But you saved him?” I sensed she omitted part of the story.
“Yes, by giving him into the care of a Green.”
“You gave up your child?” I couldn’t stop the shock in my query.
“It was the best thing I could do. His best chance at a good life.”
That didn’t make sense. “Do you think the color caste is wrong? Silas says it needs to be abolished.”
She snorted. “Silas is a hothead raised in privilege whose boredom led to him playing revolutionary.”
My brow creased. “I don’t understand. What does ‘raised in privilege’ mean?”
Her lips thinned. “Not everyone is born a Gray. There are some that start out high in the color hierarchy only to fall.”
“Meaning Silas lost rank.”
She nodded. “It left him resentful, and rather than accept his new position, he is seeking to change the way things work.”
