Free Exiled: Kenly's Story (A Talented Novel) by Sophie Davis Page A

And you being…” Willa paused as if searching for
the right word, “…foreign. Well, you can’t possibly fathom the
danger you’re in.”
    I laughed bitterly. I didn’t understand the
danger I was in? Seriously? I was well aware just how precarious my
hold on freedom was. That danger was why I spent ninety-nine
percent of my day looking over my shoulder. It was why I slept with
one eye open. It was the reason I’d come to London in the first
place.
    “ I may be young, but I’m
not naïve,” I said calmly.
    “ You saying that only
proves how naïve you really are,” James grunted.
    I stared at him slack jawed.
    “ Life’s different over
here, Kenly. Our government doesn’t protect us the way yours…did.
We aren’t treated like heroes. We’re second-class citizens,” James
continued.
    The way yours did . His use of the past
tense wasn’t lost on me. The reminder that TOXIC was gone, that I
was truly alone in the world, stung. One look at James’s hard
platinum gaze, and I understood. That had been his
intention.
    What a
jackass , I thought.
    Several seconds of tense silence followed.
Honora was staring into her mug, watching as the steaming liquid
swirled around and around like a tiny whirlpool. Riley and Willa
seemed to be having a private conversation with their eyes, which I
found particularly annoying. And James stared off into space as if
a million miles away. Right then, I longed to be a million miles
away, too.
    Finally, Riley announced, “I’m an
Electrician,” even though no one had asked. “And a shifter.”
    That caught me off guard
and I temporarily forgot my frustration with James. “You’re
a dual Talent?
Err, Chrome?” I asked, surprised. “That’s rare.”
    “ Not on our island,” he
replied. “Lots of us double threats walking around the
Slums.”
    Now I was curious about their Talents. At
school I’d been something of an oddity for having two gifts. Only
one or two other dual Talents were in my year. Both of them, like
me, had been considerably stronger in one area, with the other just
barely usable.
    “ And Honora, you’re a
telekinetic?” I asked.
    “ Guilty.” She smiled.
“How’d you know?”
    “ You were stirring your tea
earlier without any hands. Same as you’re doing now. Are you dual
as well?”
    “ Nah. Just Telekinesis. I’m
a bit boring, I suppose.” Honora shrugged
self-consciously.
    “ You’re right perceptive,
it would take a keen eye to notice something so small,” Riley said
to me, admiringly.
    Both Willa and Honora also looked impressed
by my powers of observation. James was the only one who wasn’t. He
appeared bored, as if this conversation was beneath him. He
confirmed as much after looking at the rest of them with
disgust.
    “ Enough of this bollocks.
Kenly, tell us what you were doing with Jaylen Monroe,” he snapped.
The words came out clipped, and angry. Surprised, I found myself
leaning away from him.
    Riley shot James a warning glance.
    “ I wasn’t doing anything
with him,” I said, defensive. I straightened my spine, refusing to
let James intimidate me. “I ran into him and I guess some of his
friends—”
    “ His mates? Which ones?”
Riley demanded.
    “ I don’t know. Some girls,”
I answered. “His sister and her friends, maybe?”
    “ Gah, Libby,” Honora and
Willa groaned in unison.
    “ Yeah, that’s her name.
Libby,” I agreed, recalling that Monroe had called her that.
“Anyway, I ran into them. Well, not so much them. I bumped into
her. Libby was a royal bitch, and I took off so I wouldn’t hit her.
Monroe followed me. I noticed the tail and tried to lose him, but
couldn’t. He’s really fast. I ducked into that alley, hoping he
wouldn’t see me. Of course, he did. And that’s when you guys showed
up.” I paused and took a deep breath. “Wait. Shouldn’t you know
this already, Willa? Weren’t you viewing me?”
    All eyes turned on Willa.
    “ My Chrome doesn’t work
quite like that. I can track