CHAPTER SIX
THE STARLINGS SWARMED ME THE MOMENT I STEPPED INTO the room, squawking about my horrid appearance and my missing lens. They pelted me with their questions while they led me into the bathing chamber.
“Why did you take it out?” Rose demanded. It hurt, I stopped myself from saying. “Why is it so red?” she carried on. “And why are you damp?”
“It’s sweat, Rose,” Violet twittered. “Why are you sweaty, Fledgling?”
“I ran.”
“Why would you run?”
I hurt. The peering eyes and judgment and indifference from my own birth brother—it hurt and no one cared.
The Elite’s constant scrutiny toward anything that could be seen as a flaw had followed me my entire life. Time hadn’t dulled the cruelty, sharper than any blade. The moment I had opened my eyes, I was damned.
Don’t go there. Do not go there.
The Starlings continued squawking at me. I just let them as I held the vicious thoughts at bay—barricading myself against my earliest memories.
They began their degrading process, tearing me apart to make me acceptable. I let them, tuning them out through the shower, the bath, and the removal of all the hair on my body. It wasn’t until Rose began painting my nails that their hushed twittering dragged me from my numbed state.
“Well, I heard from Eve that it was close this time,” Rose muttered in a hushed voice. “They made it into the Capitol building again. They might have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for the extra measures they put in from their last attempt.”
“Was the one they all whisper about there?” Violet asked quietly, her dark eyes sliding to me. My gaze found my lap as her hands weaved my curls into an intricate braid.
I glanced up in time to see Rose nod.
“They are growing more daring,” Violet muttered, pulling pieces of hair from the braid to frame my face. “Did they get any of them this time?”
“No,” Rose said, her face grave. “But Eve said six Elite were killed. She said the Illum are a mess over it. They blocked all sky travel into the Capitol for now. They’re making the Elite enter the building from the surface.”
My mind churned. Was that why all those Elite had been in the atrium? I had never seen them there before. Did I work in the Capitol building?
“I’m sure the Elite are thrilled about that,” Violet retorted.
“They’re all in a tither over the disrespect,” Rose said, shaking her head. “There’s a big meeting today before the Illum.”
“You seem to have a great deal of intel,” Violet shot toward Rose. “You and Eve have grown rather close as of late. Is that why she summoned you this morning before dawn?”
Rose dropped my left hand, moving to my right. “It is. I’ve been dressing Eve since she left the Academy.”
“She’s an Elite,” Violet told her sternly.
“I know that, as much as I know my own status,” Rose snapped, her face fierce. “I don’t need another lecture, Violet.”
“It isn’t a lecture,” Violet said.
Curiosity got the best of me. “When was the meeting?”
“How long have you been listening, Fledgling? You’ve been unresponsive for over an hour,” Rose cawed, finishing my nails. They were filed into long ovals and painted a pearly white.
“Is the Capitol the tallest building?”
“It is,” Violet confirmed, her eyes gleaming. “What time was the meeting today, Rose?”
“Three,” Rose told us begrudgingly.
I took a deep breath. That was why those Elite had all been there.
“They saw you, didn’t they? That’s why you were a mess when you arrived,” Violet stated, watching me closely.
“I saw my Elite birth brother and he didn’t care.” Surely my birth brother had seen the similarities too. Had he known about me? Did he see me like my—our—birth father did?
“Didn’t care because you were in gray?” Violet asked.
I nodded.
“The Elite don’t see people like us. Not even Defects who live in High Town and serve them,” Violet said coldly.
“You live in High Town?” I asked.
“Everyone in gray who works in the clouds lives in High Town beneath the cloud level. It’s easier for them to beckon us at any given hour when we are close but out of sight,” Violet explained. My brows pulled in. “What is it, Fledgling?”
“I—no one has ever answered any of my questions.”
“For good reason. Questions mean trouble,” Rose said.
“True, but we all wear gray, right?” Violet added, watching me closely.
I nodded. “You said something happened?”
“Well—”
“Violet, we ought not discuss this with her,” Rose interjected. “There is a reason questions go unanswered. Answering them can result in elimination.”
“She’s a Defect,” Violet snapped. “Fledgling, are you close with your Mate?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said. “I’ve met him once.”
“Yes, but were you a person to him or an obligation?”
My heart sank. Had we discussed anything of substance, really?
Violet smiled, knowing the answer. “See?”
“It is on you if this gets back to us,” Rose warned, pulling out a small vial. “It’s too dangerous, Violet.”
“Now who is lecturing? You have chosen to trust an Elite. I choose my own kind.” Violet shook her head. “There’s been trouble in the clouds. There are some who are tired of being told what to do by the Illum, and they are letting them know.”
Rose swore under her breath. “Tilt your head back so I can get rid of the redness,” she instructed and opened my eye, applying several drops of a liquid solution. A sigh escaped as instantaneous relief flooded me.
“Letting them know how? What are they doing?” I asked breathlessly.
“We don’t know everything. The Illum isn’t giving any details, which means the Press isn’t either,” Violet said from the vanity while Rose worked.
“Rumors are flying, though. It’s the perk of serving them.
We hear everything from the women. The Illum seem to have crossed a line.
Some are finally done with the Illum’s illuminating rules.
They found others who are as well. Things have escalated. Those are the rumors, anyway.”
“They’ve gone too far with the offspring. The Academy should be left alone,” Rose whispered. “Nestor just allows it.”
The dual Academy buildings were identical looking, two halves of a whole, placed several hundred yards away from each other, as if something had cleaved them apart.
If pushed together, the halves would form a pyramid.
The Elite side was a flawless, gleaming white.
The Minor side was a black that swallowed all light.
A giant lawn sat between them, where the Elite offspring were permitted to lounge in between lessons while the Minors watched, cloistered inside, never to cross paths.
“Rose, Nestor is an Illum. Of course he allows it.”
“I know, but he seemed different,” Rose claimed as Violet rolled her eyes.
Nestor was the headmaster, an impossibly tall man. He didn’t interfere with the Minors’ education often. Occasionally he graced Minor students with his presence, usually only to read out names on visiting day and to welcome incoming offspring.
“What did the Illum do to the offspring?” I asked.
“Minor offspring are being downgraded.”
“Eve said an Elite offspring was downgraded to Minor last week,” Rose said, sweeping a brush across my cheeks.
“I still do not believe that,” Violet said.
“What do you mean, ‘downgraded’?” I turned the hem of my robe over in my hands repeatedly. Would that be my offspring’s destiny? Would I condemn them with my defect?
Rose pulled the brush back from my face, glaring. “No more talking. You’ll ruin my work.”
Violet crossed her arms, a vicious glint in her dark eyes. “The Illum are changing offsprings’ status. But the truth is murky, concealed in the rumors.”
“But why? Where do they go?” My heart fell in rhythm with my whirling thoughts. Why would that be happening if the “defects” were seemingly determined from birth?
“Those aren’t truths the Illum are illuminating for anyone,” Violet continued. “That isn’t the important part. The important part, the dangerous part, is that people are rising up.”
“Enough, Violet,” Rose snapped, her face furious before me. “They are calling the Elite Force to handle this. If these people do not stop and follow the Elite, treacherous times are ahead.”
“Did Eve tell you that as well?” Violet probed. “You didn’t mention any of this earlier.”
Rose didn’t deign to answer her partner as she moved toward the vanity littered with vials, putting away brushes. Her face in the mirror looked fearful.
“Why is it that Eve is so informed? I thought she was avoiding society,” Violet said, stepping closer. Eve must be an important Elite member to have been seeing the Starlings for so long.
“Things change,” Rose claimed. “We have said too much. If the Elite Force is involved at all, we should hold our tongue.”
“What’s the Elite Force?” I asked.
Rose crossed her arms.
“They’re—” Violet began.
“Enough,” Rose demanded. “Stay silent or there will be trouble. Let’s get you dressed and be done with you.” Rose practically sprinted from the room. I glanced in the mirror, and two brown eyes stared back.
Violet walked toward the door, peering out before turning toward me. Her words were hushed and quick. “They are a group of highly trained men that claim to maintain the peace. They actually carry out the Illum’s will with force—physical force.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” Everything they had said left me dizzy. Surely they knew the dangers of voicing dissent to a near stranger. Did they not fear the consequences?
Violet stood straighter, fierce determination on her face.
“I was once like you. As was she. Every woman since the Last War has been an obligation and a vessel. I see a lot of your kind. Many do not have a care in the world. They do not think, simply pleased to be chosen. Not you. You questioned us, pushed back during your initial meeting. I want more for us. Maybe I am done being powerless. I think you might be too.”
“There are consequences. You could be eliminated.”
“I have seen enough to know there are worse things, Fledgling.” Her face was grave as she disappeared into the black room beyond.