Species Traitor: A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel by Kate Mary (books to read to get smarter txt) 📕

Finn reappeared holding a clean, white cloth and a glass bottle containing a clear liquid. “Now that we’ve established why I’m here, maybe you should tell me why you’re here.”

The accusations in his voice were loud and clear but made no sense. Ione was my cousin, and that wasn’t going to change just because she now had a life I couldn’t be a part of.

“I came to see Ione,” I said defensively.

Finn knelt in front of me, making me feel like we were somehow more equal even though he still dwarfed me in both size and presence.

“You were just here yesterday.” He unscrewed the lid and tipped the bottle as he pressed the cloth to the top, allowing it to soak up some of the liquid.

“I can’t see my cousin every day?”

He lifted his gaze until it was holding mine, his brows arching as he did. “Yes, but with as volatile as things are right now, I wouldn’t recommend coming here every day. At least not until things settle down. Assuming they do.”

“So, what, you’re worried about me now?” I snapped.

The corner of his mouth twitched, a ghost of a smile pulling it up for just a second. It was gone in the blink of an eye, though, and then he was once again focused on my arm. He dabbed the scratches with the damp cloth, and I hissed from the sting of alcohol against an open wound.

“Why are you here, Ava?”

It was the first time he’d said my name, and something about the way his tongue caressed it, about the deep tone of his voice and how it seemed to vibrate through his chest and then up his arm, raising the hairs on my own arm—which was clutched in his hand—gave me pause. Despite his hostility and the knowledge that he didn’t like humans, there was something very attractive about Finn. Yes, all Veilorians were good-looking, if I was being honest. Tall and muscular and lithe, they seemed to float through life with an elegance few humans possessed. But there was something about Finn that made him more attractive. Possibly because he was half human, but even more likely, it was just him. His personality, although severe, radiated off him like heat off the wastelands, drawing you in even when you didn’t want it to.

“I’m waiting,” he said when I didn’t respond.

I’d forgotten the question, though, and found myself swallowing around a lump in my throat when his eyes flicked up and captured mine. In this light, they looked darker. Almost amber.

“What?” I managed to get out.

“Why are you here?”

“An e-reader.”

Finn’s brows lifted. “An e-reader?”

“Yes. I, um, I heard Rye mention it yesterday and didn’t know if he’d found one.” My stomach was twisting like a piece of discarded trash caught on the wind, whirling faster with every second Finn held my gaze, so I looked away, choosing to focus instead on the bag at my feet. “I found one this morning. It’s broken, but I thought he could probably fix it.”

I had to pull my arm from Finn’s grasp to unzip my bag and retrieve the e-reader, and I looked up once I had it, smiling as I presented the electronic device to him.

He was frowning, the cold stare he’d given me the day before back. “What makes you think we need your castoffs?”

I jerked away from the venom in his voice. “Isn’t that where all your things come from?”

“They come from the deliveries.” He stood, screwing the lid back on the bottle, his eyes avoiding me. “They aren’t hand delivered by humans who think their junk will make our lives better.”

“That’s not—”

His head snapped up, his eyes boring into mine. “Isn’t it? Don’t lie. You found it in the trash and brought it here. At least when we get the deliveries, we can pretend the crap they give us wasn’t on the way to the wastelands to be tossed in the dump. This,” he nodded to the e-reader in my hand, “is insulting.”

I lowered the device, not sure what to say. “I wasn’t trying to insult you.”

“None of you ever are.” He turned his back to me, heading to the bathroom to return the bottle and cloth. “I don’t want your trash, Ava.”

Heat had moved up my neck to my cheeks, but at the last words, the embarrassment was pushed away, replaced by anger.

How dare he make me feel bad about trying to help? It wasn’t like the e-reader was even for him, anyway. I’d brought it for Rye, who liked me. He didn’t hate me just because I was human.

I jumped to my feet and called out, “How do you know Rye won’t want it?”

Finn stopped outside the bathroom door but didn’t turn to face me. “Because it wasn’t for him. We were looking for an e-reader for me.”

He ducked through the doorway, leaving me alone.

I sat back down, feeling sufficiently told off even though not only had I been trying to be nice, but Finn was also being unreasonable. I couldn’t help it, though. There was something authoritative about him. Something that made me feel like I was in the wrong even if I’d had the best intentions.

By the time Finn reappeared, I’d slipped the e-reader back into my bag and zipped it up. I would still offer it to Ione next time I saw her—someone would be thankful to have it—but never again would I try to give Finn something. I wouldn’t offer him a drink of water even if he was dying of thirst. He wouldn’t see it as anything but me trying to put him in his place, anyway, and I had a feeling he’d rather die of dehydration than get help from a human.

“Tell Ione I was here.” I stood and threw my backpack over my shoulder. “She’s still my cousin, and she always will be.”

I turned my back on him but paused after two steps. Keeping my mouth shut had never been my strong suit, which