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“Stop,” I beg, sliding to a stop and hanging my head, tears blurring my eyes. “Please stop.”
“Talia.” He sighs, rubbing my back. “It’s okay, it’s our history—”
“It’s not okay!” I scream. “None of this is okay!” I gesture around us. “We take an oath to do no harm, to research things that could help people, not this—not trying to play god to hurt and harm innocents.”
I stumble back from him, wrapping my arms around myself as my tears fall.
“You should hate me, you should kill me. I wouldn’t blame you. Look at this place! I can almost feel the pure agony and hopelessness in these walls. And to think this was under everyone’s feet, and they either didn’t care or didn’t want to know.” I shake my head again, my eyes darting to him. “I get why your people hate us, so why don’t you hate me?”
“Because you are not them,” he answers sternly, stopping before me. “You are not the monsters they are, Talia. You are good. I see it in your gaze. Just like all monsters are not evil, neither are all humans, I know that. Yes, what happened to us is horrific and still scars our people even today, but we are free, and you are going to help us stay that way, aren’t you? Isn’t that why you wanted to come here?”
I nod, and he softens, his gaze warming. “That’s why I don’t hate you, Talia. How could I when you were lied to as well? Being born human doesn’t make you like them, just like being born a monster doesn’t make me a killer. Yes, we are supposed to hate each other, but I don’t hate you. Do you hate me, Tally?” His voice is soft at the end as he tilts his head down to steal all of my vision. The cells disappear, and all I see are those black eyes and familiar smiling lips.
“No, I don’t hate you,” I murmur, and his gaze roves over my face as I trap the words inside.
I don’t hate him at all. In fact, I like him too much, and it scares me.
FOURTEEN
CATO
After helping her collect herself, I shoulder the bags and place the one I can’t carry on her lap as I lift her into my arms again. She cuddles into me, so soft and warm, and for a moment, I just look down at her, admiring her blonde hair, the sight of her pale skin against my red complexion, and the softness of her curves against my hard muscles. It just feels right, like she belongs here in my arms.
Swallowing back that thought, I head back into the city, wanting to get out of Akuji’s territory before someone finds me, because if they so much as even look at Talia… Fuck the agreement, I would kill them.
She’s mine.
I hurry through the city, slightly slower than my fastest pace, because I saw how pale she was on the way here and I don’t want that. Although every second out here puts us at risk, it’s better than her feeling sick for a little bit. When we cross the line into my lands, I slow even further, and she lifts her head to look around as I stride through the streets, purposely avoiding the areas covered by cameras and where my people patrol. They will hear me if I get too close, but I normally wander around, so they won’t even second-guess it. Plus, the wind steals her voice when she speaks softly, and they would need to be close to hear her heartbeat.
She’s as safe as she’s going to get in a city full of monsters.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers as she looks around. “Even the destroyed, forgotten bits. There’s so much life here. I always thought everything would be dead.” She shakes her head, watching the owls hooting as they fly around, the bugs seeking shelter for the night, and the nocturnal animals scurrying through the buildings. “But it’s not. It’s full of life, so innocent and pure.”
I look around, seeing it from her perspective. “It is. I love my lands. It’s a shelter for all, a place of knowledge and learning and preserving beauty.”
She nods as she looks at the work we have done to fix buildings and clean up as best as we can.
Unlike Darklings who destroy and Akuji who lets it crumble, we are rebuilding.
“I can se—”
I cover her mouth, my eyes narrowing and nostrils flaring. That’s when I hear it—his feet. I would know his footsteps anywhere.
Snarling, I look around before seeing the shopfront. Glancing down, I put my finger to my lips. “One of my people is coming, stay silent and low,” I demand in a whisper as I hurry over and place her in the storefront before shutting the curtain one of my people hung. Moving as far away as I can, I curl my hands into fists on the bags as an excuse of where I have been as he draws closer before emerging through the shells of buildings. When he sees me, he’s not surprised, only stopping when he reaches me.
“Brother,” he greets.
“Brother.” I take his arm in greeting, and when he looks me over, he snarls, “Damn it, I told you to stop going back there. Akuji will kill you.”
“He’d have to catch me first,” I joke, stopping my eyes from darting to Talia’s hiding spot, even though I want to ensure she’s okay. It’s almost a physical need, and I find myself angling my back to her to protect her from him before I realise what I’m doing. “What are you doing out here anyway?” I ask, switching to leader mode. I know tonight is his one night off from protecting our people. He usually spends it escorting women to warm his furs or getting drunk.
“Looking for you.” He rolls his eyes, knocking horns with me. “Since I haven’t seen you much recently, I thought we could go exploring or something.”
“I have—”
“Research to do,” he finishes, mocking me before grinning. “Figured. You truly are a shitty monster.”
“Want me to roar at the moon and rip into some animal?” I laugh, making him chuckle.
