at her face. "I have a right to know what he found out about my body - you tell him to get in here now."
There was nothing shrill in her voice. No high-pitched hysteria - just a flat, powerful tone she'd never heard come out of her mouth before.
"Go. And get him," she commanded.
The nurse lifted the drapery up. "Please. Put this on. He's..."
Layla forced herself not to yell. "I'm just another patient - "
The nurse frowned and squared her shoulders. "Excuse me, but that is not accurate. And as far as he's concerned, he violated you during the exam."
"What?"
The nurse just stared at her. "He's a good male. A fine male who is very traditional in his ways - "
"What in the Scribe Virgin's name does that have to do with anything?"
"The Primale can kill him for what he did to you."
"During the exam? I consented - it was a medical procedure I needed!"
"It does not matter. He did something unlawful."
Layla closed her eyes. She should have just used the Brotherhood's clinic.
"You must realize where he's coming from," the nurse said. "You are of a hierarchy that we don't come in contact with - and moreover, should not."
"I have a beating heart and a body that requires help. That's all he - and anybody else - needs to know. The flesh is the same."
"The blood is not."
"He must come see me - "
"He will not."
Layla refocused on the female. And then put her hand upon her lower belly. For all of her life, up until now, she had lived on the side of the righteous, serving faithfully, discharging her duties, existing within the prescribed parameters that were dictated by others.
No more.
She narrowed her eyes. "You tell that doctor he either comes and tells me in person what is going on - or I will go to the Primale and recite word-for-word what happened in here."
She deliberately shifted her stare to the machine that had been used during her internal exam.
As the nurse blanched, Layla felt no joy at the leverage she used. But there was no regret, either.
The nurse bowed deeply and backed out of the room, leaving that ridiculous fabric on the shallow counter by the sink.
Layla had never considered her Chosen status as either burden or benefit. It simply was all she had known: her lot cast, the fate that she had been given made manifest through breath and consciousness. Others were clearly not so phlegmatic, however - especially down here.
And this was just the beginning.
Then again, she was losing the pregnancy, wasn't she. So this was the end.
Reaching out, she took the white fabric and wrapped it around herself. She didn't care about the physician's delicate sensibilities, but if she covered herself up as they'd asked, maybe he would focus on her instead of what she was.
Almost immediately there was a knock on the door, and when Layla answered, Havers entered, looking like there was a gun to his head. Keeping his eyes on the floor, he only partially closed them in together before crossing his arms over his stethoscope. "If I had known your status, I would never have treated you."
"I came to you willingly, a patient in need."
He shook his head. "You are a holiness upon the earth. Who am I to intervene in such a sacred matter?"
"Please. Just put an end to my suffering, and tell me where I stand."
He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I cannot divulge that information to you."
Layla opened her mouth. Shut it. "Excuse me?"
"You are not my patient. Your young and the Primale are - so I will speak to him when I can - "
"No! You mustn't call him."
The look he gave her suggested a disdain she imagined he usually reserved for prostitutes. And then he spoke in a low, vaguely threatening voice. "You are not in a position to demand a thing."
Layla recoiled. "I have come here of my own volition, as an independent female - "
"You are a Chosen. Not only is it unlawful for me to harbor you, but I can be prosecuted for what I did to you earlier. A Chosen's body is - "
"Her own!"
" - the Primale's by law, as it should be. You are unimportant - naught but a receptacle for what you are given. How dare you come in here like this, pretending to be a simple female - you put my practice and my life at risk with such duplicity."
Layla felt a wild