Knowing they were comparing her to me didn’t sit well. I hated that I fainted at the drop of a hat during stressful moments. Okay, not stressful. Terrifying moments. And I hated that I was so afraid of the fey. But couldn’t they see I was trying to overcome that? I was here. That was a step, no matter how small.
Hurt by the perceived judgment so soon after Wayne’s abandonment, I took the first room at the top of the stairs and gathered what I’d need for a shower. Azio’s comment about smelling like fear really bothered me, and I was looking forward to smelling like nothing but me.
I let myself into the shared bathroom and quietly locked the door before starting the shower. The hot water was magical. I soaped and rinsed everything twice, then reluctantly turned the water off.
Wrapping one of the soft, clean bath towels around my torso, I used my hand to wipe the steam from the mirror and studied my light brown eyes. They weren’t as puffy but watered just as easily as they had before the shower when I dwelled on my circumstances.
Instead of dwelling on the unknowns, I finger-combed my brown hair, then dressed in soft lounge pants. They were the only other option to the jeans I’d worn here. I didn’t have much. Not anymore. Things tended to be left behind when running for one’s life.
Balling up all my dirty clothes, I went downstairs to test if Azio had meant what he’d said. Neither he nor Groth paused the movie when I passed through the room, but I could feel their gazes on me until I disappeared down the hall leading to the utility room. There, I tossed my things into the washer and took the time to handwash my only bra. It’d been ages since it had seen soap because I’d been unwilling to leave the house without it.
In theory, that wasn’t a problem anymore since I no longer needed to leave the house.
Distracted by the task and my thoughts, I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until I hung the bra on the drying rack and turned to leave. Only Azio’s quick reflexes stopped me from face-planting in his chest.
My forward momentum against the hands he clapped down on my shoulders jerked me in place, making my breasts bounce. His gaze locked onto the motion, and his pupils narrowed before expanding to an almost circular shape.
“I’m not afraid of men,” I blurted. “I’m afraid of what the fey are capable of.”
Azio lifted his gaze to mine, blinked at me, and slowly released my arms.
“I don’t understand.”
“I was there at the gates when the fey first came to Whiteman and again when the infected breached the fences.” I dropped my gaze to his chest and crossed my arms around myself. “I saw how easy it is for your kind to remove heads. Humans are nothing to you. We’re weak. Pathetic. The fey have been patient with us so far. But what happens when we do something you don’t like?”
Azio chuckled. Nothing dark and sinister but thoroughly amused.
“Like shoot us?” he asked, lifting his shirt to point to a scar along his ribs. “The human who did this lives. Humans do many things we don’t like. We don’t kill smart ones. Only stupid ones.”
“Shooting you seems pretty stupid.”
He grunted and tugged his shirt back into place.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“You seem to fear us more than most humans. Groth thinks your fear will drive you to choose a different home.”
I waited for more, but he remained silent.
“That wasn’t really a question.”
“Will you give us a chance to be less scary?”
That simple question shifted something inside of me, and I looked up at Azio, seeing him as a man for the first time. A broad forehead with dark, arched brows, and thick eyelashes complemented his strong nose and curved bottom lip. If I could figure out how to ignore his terrifying eyes, I’d find him very handsome.
“That’s why I’m here,” I said, answering him.