He was like a rich human who loved to tote his status. Rem kept her gaze on the human the whole time, who only nodded, never again looking at her.
“Are humans slaves here?” Rem quietly asked Gally when they walked again.
“No, but our rank commands a certain respect. Our body language and gazes mean a lot. To look at you would be to look at a Beta, which not even Gammas do without a challenging gaze meeting them in return.”
“I don’t mind him looking,” Rem muttered. “They don’t need to be told not to stare.”
Gally said, “That is not my call. If Jackson wishes to assert that, he can. When you are mated, those rules will change, depending on who it is. If it is to Ronan, people will look, but they cannot make extended eye contact with you.”
Rem tutted, as that sounded like she’d never get to make eye contact again. With heavy sarcasm, she asked, “Then how do I even look at people?”
Impatiently, Gally sighed. “I don’t know, Rem. Deal with it.”
Well, alright, then.Rem pressed her tongue against her inner cheek, looking away with a gentle shake of her head.
They walked up a hill, and after breaching the top, Rem stared out at a vast city below. It was like Ashmire, but perhaps a dozen times the size.
Rem’s jaw dropped, taking in the human expanse before her, the sun behind them. Reluctantly, she mentally praised a part of this world.
"Amazing, isn’t it?" Gally asked, stepping near Rem as the others gave them distance. "The Wardens were always adamant that humans retain a level of independence, which would secure their happiness, and in turn, would work harder."
It was impossible not to indulge, and so Rem asked, "Why do you need somany?"
She tried to count the houses, only to give up when she reached thirty and was still at the edge of the settlement.
"We don't, but we let them be as free as possible. They give us their services, and we keep them safe from the rest of the world.” Gally’s tone quickly turned to disapproval. "We just need enough of them to tend our roads, make our clothes, food, and homes… But they breed like rabbits.”
Rem nearly smiled at the comment, some sense of relief coating her anxiety when thinking her brother was among one of these families. The city looked thriving enough to be of a home to him, with smoke rising from a plethora of chimneys, the sound of people and commerce growing louder as they approached.
He always wanted to visit a city.
They didn't enter the bustling center, however.
Instead, they walked on a small dirt road with deep wedges of straight lines from wagons.
The road led to a magnificent stone home with large oak trees spread throughout trimmed grass, an abundance of crops in the distance. It was like home, only greener and with mountains in the background.
Gods how she missed home.
Until, that was, she spotted a hand painted sign readingMurphy's Orphanageover the building.
"Why are we here?" she asked Gally, who walked ahead.
Rem needed to hear her say it.
"He's staying at the orphanage," Fiona said, about ten feet ahead of her. The Elder Witch turned around, a wicked blaze in her eyes.
Rem’s blood boiled, especially as she witnessed the only labor being that of children: they worked the giant crops, fixed the wooden fences, and shoveled food to pigs. It was a working farm for orphans. Rem searched desperately for Oliver.
Fiona added, “Murphy's can be harsh, so you know Oliver's character won't be lacking. It's a home for those with no families, often children found with the rogues roaming our lands. Oliver knows that you are here and that his condition for secrecy keeps you alive."
"This istwisted,” Rem vented through gritted teeth. “He’s not even an orphan.”
How she couldn’twaitto lead Ronan here. Or hell, to get claws of her own so she could tear into Fiona herself.
"That's your perspective,” Fiona responded, avoiding a small puddle in the dirt path. “In truth, it satisfies our requirements to keep him alive, while not having to house the boy ourselves.”
Rem panted with ire, fear, and worry. Outrage twisted her face as they moved right past the orphanage. She worried he had been given a dangerous job or was working somewhere that he hated. Rem had never felt this sick before, not even when they abducted her.
