Chapter 3

"So, why don't you start by telling me what you're doing on Kona?" came the growl from across the desk.

Layla wrapped her arms around herself again, a cold shiver running up her spine. She didn't like the way Zyair looked at her, as if she were guilty and he was just there to prove it to Darina. Layla knew the truth, though. She just had to make sure he did, too. Then this would all be over. At least, that was what she hoped.

"I came here for work," she told him, willing her voice to stay steady. "And to get away from my family."

Zyair looked at her, still frowning. His purple eyes were set, as if he was determined not to let a word of her explanation get through to him. Something about his eyes had a magnetic power, as if they were probing her even when she was looking away. His presence somehow thrilled her and terrified her all at the same time.

"And what work might that be? Theft?" he shot at her.

Layla scowled. "No!" she protested, suddenly incensed at the accusation. "I applied for a job at the Cosmic Glow Resort when I was back on Earth, and thankfully, I had the skills for them to accept me. I'm supposed to start next week, but with Darina's accusations, they've postponed my start date until my name is cleared."

She didn't mention it wasn't just her skills that got her the job. She also had the looks, which she was sure helped a lot during the vid-link interview. The resort was known for hiring beautiful young women. As much as she hated subjecting herself to that kind of superficiality, she also desperately needed to get away from her life back on Earth. She would have taken almost anything to get out of there.

"Or until you're proven guilty," Zyair added.

Layla frowned again. "Look, I didn't do it." She tried to remain strong, but her voice faltered. Her frown melted, replaced by a look of pleading. "I really didn't."

Zyair seemed to consider her words for a second, and Layla stared into his eyes, hoping he'd see in her that she wasn't a liar or a thief. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Something inside her wanted to change the hatred in his eyes to softness, but each time he looked at her with a wall of disdain, she felt that much closer to being thrown in jail.

When he finally spoke, his voice was cold and detached. "You mentioned your family," he began. "Let me guess—a crime family? Is this a way to impress dear old Mom and Dad? By stealing some old woman's artifact?"

Layla could hardly believe what she was hearing. It was beyond absurd. For a second, she didn't even know how to answer such a ridiculous question. She couldn't believe she was here, having to justify herself to some stranger. All she'd wanted was a better life. Why was that so hard for her to come by?

"I said I left Earth to get away from my parents," she finally uttered, and she heard her own voice break as she said the words. "My being here has nothing to do with impressing them. I had a really shitty childhood, okay? And that shitshow never ends when you have an abusive father and an alcoholic mother."

He maintained his scowl but shrank slightly against the wall while she continued.

"You have no idea what I've had to endure. My life on Earth was horrible, but it's also all I've ever known. So, when they practically told me they didn't want me around anymore, I had to find somewhere else to go. That's how I ended up on Kona."

Zyair's eyes hadn't faltered the whole time she'd been speaking and for a second, they flashed with something she might have interpreted as compassion. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, though.

"And Darina Indorsha," he said, his voice steely. "How did you end up staying here in her mansion?"

Layla sighed. She was beginning to wish the old woman had never invited her to stay. "I had reservations at a hostel, but they didn't have a record of it," she explained. "I showed them the confirmation but it didn't matter. They had no rooms and basically told me to get lost. Everything else was booked, though, and I couldn't afford anything else anyway. I was drowning my sorrows, and Darina overheard me. I guess she felt sorry for me since she's half-human herself. She offered to let me stay here. I didn't ask. I would have been better off sleeping in the street, honestly."

Zyair narrowed his eyes. "You have the confirmation slip from the hostel then?" he asked suspiciously.

Finally, Layla thought. This is actually getting somewhere.

She tapped a few buttons on her wrist comm and soon a holoscreen projected the receipt above the desk, showing the booking confirmation from the hostel. It was there as plain as day. Her story checked out. Surely that would be enough for the Lorr investigator to let her go.

"I can send it to your comm if you'd like," she said.

Zyair just shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't bother."

She looked at him in dismay before brokenheartedly pulling down the holoscreen. Now that the screen no longer obscured his features, Layla could see Zyair seemed grumpier than ever. But there was something about his face—a toughness but a beauty, too.

"What did you do with the Desolation Stone?" he suddenly asked, leaning forward a little too close, as if to intimidate her.

With his broad shoulders, bulging muscles, and black horns, he certainly was a commanding presence. But Layla refused to let him bully her. She didn't so much as flinch, instead looking him straight in the eye. She got a chill, but it didn't bother her. Bring it on, she thought.

"I didn't do anything with it because I didn't take it," she replied evenly, letting an edge of defiance creep into her voice. She had no idea how else to convince him of her innocence except to protest, but it still didn't seem to make a dent in his stone-and-steel visage.

"Really," she continued, at a loss for how else to convince him. "I didn't even know it existed before Darina accused me of taking the thing. I'm not the kind of person who repays someone's trust by taking advantage of them. I've been a perfect houseguest until now. I always cleaned up after myself, never made any noise, always said please and thank you."

He grunted, as if signaling for her to continue.

"I would never think to steal from Darina. What for? I had a job lined up and Darina was letting me stay here for free while I figured out something more permanent. I wouldn't know what to do with this stone if I had it. Besides, if I'd stolen it, don't you think Darina would have found it when she went through my things? I don't even know what the damn thing looks like!"

She hoped something, anything, would get through to Zyair. She was becoming desperate and helpless. It reminded her of her life back on Earth, as if she was trying to escape her father's wrath and her mother's drunken rages all over again.

Tears welled in her eyes, but the last thing she wanted to do was start crying. This Lorr warrior clearly had no patience for emotional outbursts, given that he was about as understanding as a brick wall.

She was used to craving the approval from someone who would never give it, and she resented the fact that this Lorr held that fucked-up allure without even knowing it. But she took it as a challenge to overcome, not an invitation to try and indulge.

There had to be some way of turning this around. She couldn't be punished for something she didn't do. The optimist in her told her the world didn't work like that, even if everything she'd encountered in her life had proven the opposite.