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

I saw the look they exchanged. Like me, they didn’t believe it, but they said nothing to contradict me. They probably wanted Ione to remain calm. Of all of us, she was risking the most. Not only had she given up her human family to marry a Veilorian, but now she was pregnant with a half-human.

I clung to her tighter when fear squeezed my heart in its weighty grasp. I had to be right. For Ione’s sake.

We said our goodbyes a short time later, me giving Ione another hug before doing the same with Rye. It was the first time I’d hugged my cousin’s husband, but given the circumstances, it seemed right. When I turned to face Finn, who was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, I found myself at a loss for what to do. We were on better terms, and not just because there was an unmistakable attraction between us, but because we’d earned one another’s respect. But hugging him didn’t feel right, and shaking his hand felt too stiff and formal.

I settled for giving him a tentative smile. “Thanks again for saving my ass earlier.”

“You’re welcome, Ava.”

As always, hearing my name on his lips sent a thrill through my body, and when Lena headed for the door, I had to force myself to break the hold his gaze had on me and follow. This wouldn’t be the last time we met, I knew that deep in my core, but stepping outside felt very final.

The sky was full dark now, the stars above us twinkling and the District quieter than I’d ever heard it. Usually, there was some noise. Talking or laughter, quiet music from a house. Tonight, there was nothing. It was as if the entire city was in mourning, and I couldn’t blame them. People had died here, died needlessly, and there was sure to be more heartache down the road. Anyone who’d been in denial before the attack couldn’t be any longer.

“I knew coming here was a bad idea,” Lena said as we reached the ground and headed for the gate.

“You just came on a bad night,” I said with a sigh. “To me, coming here has always felt like a refuge. Like a little utopia hidden in the horror of this world. Not anymore. Now it’s as broken and scary as the rest of Polis.”

My sister looked at me doubtfully. “You should see some of my friends’ houses. That’s a real refuge.”

It didn’t happen often because I loved Lena so completely, but in moments like this I had a hard time liking the girl she was becoming. She was so selfish sometimes. So focused on improving her position that she couldn’t see the people around her clearly. Not even me.

The gate came into view, and we were able to see firsthand what the mob had done to make it inside. It looked as if the door had been ripped off, but I couldn’t imagine how. The gate, which had been sturdy, was now a mangled mess of metal. It couldn’t have been an explosion—we would have heard that—so maybe they’d used some kind of auto to tear it down.

Guards lingered around the now wide-open gate, pulse rifles at the ready in case there was more trouble, and my mind went to Dean for the first time since Finn and I saw him in the street. It hadn’t occurred to me to look for him before because I’d been too focused on finding my family. But maybe it should have once I was certain Ione and Lena were safe. He’d been looking for me, after all, and he’d sounded concerned. Even if his worry had been ill placed.

I searched the men standing around as we stopped to have our chips scanned but didn’t see anyone I knew. Since it was late, I decided it wasn’t worth the time it would take to track Dean down. Our mother would be waiting for us, especially after seeing the news, and I needed to get Lena home.

First, though, we had to get our stories straight.

“We cannot, no matter what, admit to Mom we were here,” I said as we crossed out of the District and headed for home. “Understand?”

“Don’t worry.” My sister exaggerated the words. “I have no intention of telling anyone I was here.”

“We need to think of a good lie, though,” I mumbled, not sure what our mother would believe.

“We went to a party.” Lena shrugged like the idea of a party was totally normal, which for her, it was. Just not for me. “My friend had a party, and you tagged along.”

“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “She’ll believe that.”

Lena grinned.

The news was blaring when we stepped inside the house, and it only took two seconds of listening to confirm our mother was watching coverage of the attack on the District. Lena and I exchanged a look, and I could see my own worry reflected in her eyes. The hover cameras had been everywhere. What were the odds we’d been caught on film?

The sound cut out and mom called, “Lena? Ava?”

“It’s us, Mom,” my sister said.

A second later, she appeared in the doorway separating the kitchen from the living room, glass in hand and eyes already narrowed. “Where have you been? I’ve been out of my mind.”

The way her eyes snapped back and forth between us gave her suspicions away. It also didn’t make her look worried. More like on the verge of exploding.

“We went to a party,” Lena said, sounding almost bored. “Ava needed a break.”

Mom narrowed her eyes even more. “You weren’t in the District?”

“The District?” My sister rolled her eyes. “Are you serious? Why would we go there? I mean, have you seen the crazies picketing outside the fence? No, thanks.”

“To see Ione, of course,” Mom said.

Lena rewarded her with another eye roll, this one twice as exaggerated. “Seriously, Mom, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I’d never known my sister could lie so smoothly, but the