“Sophia?”
I startled, almost falling off my bed before turning toward the voice.
Devon stood in the doorway of my bedroom. He lifted a hand in apology. “Sorry. I said your name four times.”
I tried to smile. “Oh. It’s alright. I’m a little distracted.”
“I know. You want to come downstairs with me and Isaac?”
“No, thanks.” I settled deeper into my bed, flaunting my desire to stay put.
His tone gentled, turned coaxing. “Come on, Soph. It’ll be good for you.”
Would it? Maybe it would distract for a while, but the thoughts would inevitably return, and I’d be right where I started. Regardless, I had to meet Lucas in an hour.
“I’m good,” I said. “Have fun, though.”
He hesitated, but eventually nodded and shut the door.
Later that night, I stood in the back bedroom of the Evanston house, dripping in sweat.
“One wrong move could be the difference between life and death, Sophia,” Lucas said.
“Iknow.” I fanned my sweaty face, glaring at him.
“That sassy attitude isn’t going to save your ass from death or torture. Learn to protect yourself.”
“I’mtrying!”
“You’re failing.”
His lectures had been annoying in the beginning, but they’d eventually torn apart my defenses. His concern for my welfare established itself with increasing dominance as each week passed. Every time I left the house, he gazed at me like he wanted to hide me under a blanket until the war was done. I tried not to let it sway me in his favor, but anyone would develop a soft spot for a person who spent so much energy caring.
How had he wound up a Hunter? He never answered when I asked, choosing silence over lies, so I drilled him on NAO logic instead. Back against the wall, I sat beside him on the floor, gazing at the stars outside the window. “How do they justify their cruelty?”
“You have to be raised with the othering, I think. When it’s that deep, when it exists in everything you do, it has to come from something you learned as a child.”
“What kind of people teach their children to think this way?”
“The NAO was bred from a love of tradition and obedience to the norm. I mean, come on, Sophia. You know this. These people fear what’s different. Humans don’t like change. Haynes preyed on all the right things at exactly the right time. Loyalists want to live in a world where what benefits the majority dictates the rights of everyone. They call itunity, but what they mean ishate. There is us and there is them, and there is nothing in the middle.”
I stared at his profile. The words came quickly to his lips, like he’d thought on it often. He always classified the NAO asthey, separate from himself, as if he’d never been part of them at all.
“It’s crazy,” I said. “How are there so many of them?”
He laughed without humor. “If you recall, the NAO didn’t start out pushing a dictatorship. Commander Haynes took baby steps. His ultimate rise to power happened over the course of years, and now, they kill anyone who speaks out. Do you have any idea how many people are trapped out of fear?”
Like…him?
“They’re deranged, Sophia. I can’t fathom how they justify their treatment of women. If you’re female, you must be meek, obedient, and ready to spread your legs. You can’t travel on your own. Can’t hold your own job. Can’t even exist without the permission of a man. If you try, then you must becorrected.”
The deep furrow between his brow, the anger in his eyes—they gnawed at me, so I turned on my teasing tone. “What about me, Lucas? Do I need correction?”
He turned to look at me, his gaze raking over my face. “You just need a hairbrush.”
Over the next few weeks, the number of soldiers in the area tripled, and injuries increased. Servicemen thanked me as I patched them up, only to greet me the next day with new injuries. We took hold of a Hunter safe house at the end of July, and several injured Hunters wound up in our care. We dealt with the hatred of many. Frequently, however, we received wary kindness.
Do you have any idea how many people are trapped out of fear?
