“What other choice do I have?” She sounded tired. Beaten.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Do you have something I can write on? I want to give you my number. If you need anything, call me. And, that’s not an empty offer. Call me.”
She got up and found me a piece of paper and a pen, and I quickly wrote down my number.
“I’ll be in touch soon, Ashlyn.” I reached out and gently gripped her arm.
She set her hand over mine.
“My uncle told me you were raised in the human world. Thank you for not being one of them. For being different.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I gave her a pathetic excuse for a smile then left. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I was a creature of the gods. Yet, I hated the rules that came with what I was.
I parked in front of the Quills’ and shoved my way out of the car. My anger had only built on the drive over. Not dangerously, but close. I didn’t understand why, exactly, when there wasn’t anyone even around me.
Pounding on the front door, I waited. Mrs. Quill didn’t leave me standing outside for long.
“I need to speak to you, Mr. Quill, and Adira,” I said.
“Come in. You look upset.”
“I am,” I said, stepping into the entry. She immediately led me to Mr. Quill’s study where he sat at the desk.
He looked up as we entered.
“Megan would like to speak with us and Adira.”
He stood and pulled his phone from his pocket. A quick call later and a portal appeared. Adira stepped out and gave me a kind smile. For some reason, that tweaked my anger further.
“There’s nothing to smile about,” I said. “I just came from Ashlyn’s house. Some creatures are meant to be solitary. Not humans. Not Ashlyn. The situation you’ve created for her is cruel.”
Adira frowned. “Cruel?”
“The rules of this place mean she’s pretty much under house arrest. She’s grieving and utterly alone.”
“That's why we sent you to visit her.”
“I'm not enough. If you value the humans who are here, then start treating them better. Definitely not like prisoners in their own homes. You say you’re teaching the students of Girderon Academy to blend with humans, but you’re not. You’re teaching them to keep apart from humans with your segregation that forces the humans to remain in their special little locations. And, by doing that, you’re also teaching your youths that humans have a certain place in life. That they are lesser than us. Trammer’s crimes don't solely lay on his shoulders. He is a product of the treatment he and his family received here. If you don’t want something like that to reoccur in the future, things need to change.”
I felt a tiny bit better that they’d listened during my entire rant instead of trying to interrupt or defend their actions.
“What do you propose?” Adira asked.
“If you want to really teach about blending, give Ashlyn the choice to attend the Academy if she wants. You said no one can get hurt within those halls. And, she’s starved for contact with people her own age.”
“The contact may not be what she anticipates. Many of the students still do not have control over their instincts.”
“Well, they’re there to learn, right? And, when the students see the staff treat her with respect and kindness, they will be more likely to follow suit, not just here, but in the real world too.”
“Is there anything else?” Adira asked.
“Yeah, this town should have a library. It’s big enough by human standards.”
“We have no use for a library,” Mr. Quill said.
I struggled to control my annoyance.
“You’re missing the point. The whole goal is to train the next generation how to blend, right? A library is normal. Most towns have them. Normal humans go to them all the time.”
“You’ve been to a library?” Mrs. Quill asked.
“It’s been pointed out to me that I’m not human or normal, but yes. I have been to a library.” I looked at them, my frustration growing because they weren’t understanding what they were doing to the humans in Uttira.
“Did any of you have pets while growing up?” I asked.
Adira and Mrs. Quill nodded.
“We had a fish,” Adira said.
I blinked in understanding. Sisters? Wow.
“Okay. Tell me about your setup for the fish. Where did it live?”
“We had a beautiful pond, shaded on one side by trees and open to the lights of the sun and dual moons on the other. It was a tranquil place. Our fish loved it there.”
“Of course it did. It had space to move and grow. Freedom enough to be happy. Uttira is that pond for the underage creatures here. Except for the humans. The humans are in a glass bowl with only an inch of water. Just enough to breathe. Not enough to move. Just enough to not die. Do you get it? You need to make Uttira a tranquil, beautiful place for all the creatures here.”
Mr. Quill nodded slowly while Adira and Mrs. Quill looked truly upset.
“You’ve given us much to think about,” he said, standing. “Oanen, would you see Megan out so we can discuss this further?”
Hearing Oanen’s name made my pulse jump, and I looked over my shoulder toward the door where both he and Eliana stood. I wondered how long they’d been listening.
“Yes, Father.” Oanen’s gaze shifted to me, and he held out his hand, a silent invitation to leave the room.
“Since you’ve always wanted to know how people make me feel in the past, I’m telling you now that you’re all frustrating me. A lot. And I think if you continue to mistreat the humans here, after having been told that there is mistreatment happening, it’s going to piss me off.”
Adira nodded, a regal acknowledgement.
“We understand, Fury.”
I nodded and turned to leave the room before pausing once more.
“And, that wasn’t a threat,” I said, looking back.
Mrs. Quill smiled. “Furies never threaten, Megan. They act. That’s why we asked you to help Uttira. You’ve warned us and we, too, will act.”
I nodded then continued to leave. When I reached Oanen, I glanced at the hand he still held out, and my pulse sped up. The thought of holding his hand heated my middle. Heck, the thought of touching him in any way sent jolts of naughty and nice through me.
“Come on,” Eliana said, grabbing my arm and tugging me from the study. She led us down the hall to the living room she shared with Oanen.
“I hope they let Ashlyn attend the Academy,” Eliana said the moment we entered.
“Me too. She’s so lonely.”
She nodded and sat on the couch.
“Are you staying for dinner?” she asked.
“Eliana, could you give us a minute alone?” Oanen asked.
Her eyes got wide, and she quickly hurried from the room.
“That was weird,” I said, turning toward him.
“Not really. Instead of dinner here, let’s go somewhere.”
My stomach gave an excited flip then began to warm.
“Like a date?” I asked.
“Exactly like a date.” I could hear the amusement in his voice.
“Okay.” I could barely hear myself over the pounding of my heart.
He smiled slightly then reached for my hand. Warmth exploded inside me at the touch of his fingers against mine.
“You make it difficult to remember my promise when you look at me like that,” he said.
“Like what?”
My breath caught when he leaned toward me. I knew what was coming. A kiss. And the thought jacked up the temperature already boiling me from the inside.
He stopped coming closer and just stared into my eyes, the heated look on his face blending with one of awe.
“You are so beautiful when your eyes glow.”
He started closing the distance, and the thought of his lips touching mine delayed my reaction to his words. At the last second, I jerked back.
“What?” I said. Without waiting for an answer, I ran to the mirror above the sink in their kitchenette. I stared at myself then looked at him.
“My eyes aren’t glowing,” I said, seeing the normal brown.
“Not anymore. They were just a second ago. They stopped when you moved.”
Panic settled in. Glowing eyes? Adira had mentioned a true form. Was I going through some kind of change? Right now? In front of Oanen?
I swallowed hard.