Page 123 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
“Can we trade one ration for another?” a woman asked. “I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but my kids would do well with extra milk.”
Donnie waited for me to answer. The way we’d divided up the rations allowed each person a certain quantity of each necessity and luxury. I hadn’t accounted for trades. Hadn’t thought about it when I started this venture to reopen the coffee shop for Teddy.
“If anyone wants to trade, write your name on a piece of paper. Include how many are in your family and what you wish to trade for,” I said. “Once I have everyone’s lists, I’ll see how we can best accommodate.”
With that, the crowd began to empty while I spoke with Donnie. There was still so much that needed to be done. So much I wasn’t sure how to accomplish.
I’d start with a fae police force, overseen by George. Maybe if the people saw we were willing to hold ourselves to their same laws, they’d come to see we were trying to forge some sort of alliance between our kinds. Maybe they wouldn’t.
Before the woman who’d asked for more milk could leave, I asked Brenton to speak to her. See how much we could spare from our own rations to give her enough for her babes.
It was Teddy, though. . . Teddy who I watched. I hoped she’d come to me. For a few stupid beats, I thought she would. That the words she spoke to her people, the way she hung back with something that looked a lot like longing in her soft features meant something.
I was a fool to hope.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
TEDDY
There was too much fear,too many unknowns. So much hate and lies that spread and spread, making our world, forever frozen in winter, seem colder.
It’d gotten so bad, I no longer enjoyed working at the food bank. No longer wanted to talk to customers, knowing all they’d do was disturb any semblance of peace I had. Everyone wanted to know why Elias was rarely around, all while not wanting to see him.
They refused to see how George shadowed Donnie to learn how the fae could start their own police force so they could enforce the laws we abided by. Didn’t see the way Brenton played with the children or joked with the adults. Ignored how Everly continued to work at the food bank to help those who hated her. She’d betrayed us, though, and the people seemed to hold it against her the same way I still did. Except maybe I didn’t. Not really. We’d formed a curious type of truce, where I wasn’t sure if she’d ever wanted my friendship but also remembered how she’d once said she’d never had female friends.
I took out my frustrations when I trained each morning with Everly and Brenton, although our training didn’t get very far on the days Ryenne joined us since she tended to gripe more than train. While the breathing exercises Everly walked me through helped, I didn’t know how to master it when a customer yelled in my face. Today’s customer was originally from three towns over. Like many others, he’d had to move to Colina Verde to be closer to our resources. He was one of the outsiders who had been forced to live in our schools, gyms, or any other open space George and Donnie had found for them.
I understood the situation wasn’t ideal. I even understood his frustration when I told him he couldn’t have an extra potato. He hadn’t been the first I’d had to remind of the smaller rations Elias had ordered six days ago.
This man, whose ration card said his name was Austin, growled at me like he was trying to intimidate me the way Elias did. The difference was Austin looked and sounded stupid, while Elias was downright sexy when he growled. Or smiled. Or stood so perfectly still he looked like a statue.
“Sir.” I sighed for the hundredth time, trying and failing to be patient. But I had already repeated this same scenario with countless other people who wanted more eggs, more cheese, more whatever. One woman had even screamed about the pantry not carrying tortillas.
“You know what?” Again, with that forced growl. “You can keep the fucking potatoes. Keep everything!”
With that, he threw his basket of food across the counter, and the edge hit my nose. Something cracked, and I wasn’t sure if it was the basket or my nose. Blinding white lights flashed behind my eyes, and when I grabbed my nose, I winced at the contact and the blood that now covered my hand.
“Dammit,” I hissed out.
I scrambled behind the counter for some napkins. I barely had time to register how much blood soaked through the napkin when something crashed from across the store. I rushed through the people who’d stopped their shopping to watch Austin make a spectacle of himself. By the time I reached him, he’d knocked over all our vegetable displays and was working his way through the fruits, butter, and cheese.
Margie, the same woman who got all pissy every time she heard the word region, grabbed a handful of tomatoes and threw them at him. One of her tomatoes hit me on the side of my face, causing the juice to mix in with the blood that dripped down my nose. I used the dirty napkin to clean my nose again but didn’t bother with the tomato pieces.
Of all days, today was the day Everly hadn’t been able to come in.
I grabbed Austin’s arm and pulled him back before he reached the meat department. The bastard replied with a chaotic right swing that landed on my chin. Stunned, I floundered backward, though I managed to keep myself upright through the ringing of my ears and spotty vision. I blinked a few times, working my jaw back and forth.
My eyes blurred with tears, but I could see the way Austin continued to wreck the food displays, throwing things at customers who got too close.
More than fear or pain, adrenaline coursed through me, centering me so that when I got Austin’s attention with an apple to the back of his head, I was prepared to kick him right between his legs. Around me, people gasped as he grabbed his groin and fell to his knees.
The tiniest hint of pride swelled inside me as the moron groaned in pain.
It was then that George rushed into the store with Everly and Ryenne behind him. I hurried to Ryenne, fussing over the welt beneath her left eye, the ice pack she held to the side of her head, and the tear across her lips.
“Ry,” I gasped.
