CHAPTER SEVEN
I TORE MY EYES FROM THE VIEW TO FIND ANOTHER THAT left me equally mesmerized.
Collin reclined along the low-back curved booth.
His midnight black suit matched his dark hair, a stark difference from the booth’s lush cream velvet.
The dripping crystal chandelier’s delicate lights reflected in his sapphire eyes as they ran up the length of me before settling on my concealed defect.
He was breathtaking, so at home among all the Elite’s beauty.
I exited the floating platform and tried to ignore the drop that awaited anyone who got too close.
All the Academy training of grace thrown aside, I scooted away from the edge and farther into the booth, my dress catching on the velvet, until my bare arm met solid warmth.
I froze, glancing up to find that my fear had driven me right into my Mate’s very firm body.
My breath caught, and I suddenly felt too warm even though I was dressed in practically nothing.
“Here,” he suggested and voluntarily moved closer to the perilous end of our table, giving me space in the middle of the booth.
“Aren’t you afraid of the edge?” I asked.
His lips tugged up. “I haven’t feared the fall in a long time.”
I turned to the sky outside, the ground forever below. “I think I might never get over it,” I admitted. “I might always fear the fall.”
“It will take some time getting used to,” Collin told me. His eyes locked on my glowing wrist where I gripped the table, then skated over me before he cleared his throat and looked toward the rest of the Sphere.
I followed his gaze. All around, Elite socialized, unperturbed by how close their dining arrangements were to death. I didn’t understand how the Elite lived life so exposed, how they walked in the clouds as if it were normal. How they didn’t fear the height.
“Your gown has gone askew,” Collin said thickly, his eyes fixed on the brightly colored Elite all around us.
A flush swept up my neck, and I quickly adjusted the fabric, clinging to any modesty I could find. It wouldn’t last between us. I had signed the paperwork. The Academy had taught me what to expect about the Procreation Agreement, and he would see everything soon enough . . .
“Did you know you bite your lip when you’re thinking?” Collin said, interrupting my thoughts.
“I didn’t realize,” I said, releasing my lip. “I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t make the observation to elicit an apology.”
I nodded, my hands finding my lap, and I stared at the golden glow. The alcove was much more secluded than our initial meeting in the Garden had been, but the Elite’s judgment from earlier still haunted me.
The look of disbelief on my birth brother’s face. The first time meeting him and the Elite’s stark reminder of our divide.
Truly disgusting how they think they can be here. . . . A Defect out in the sun.
The Starlings’ whispers of rebellion rang in my ears.
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.
My thoughts tangled with the Grooming at the Academy.
Rule Nine: You are an obligation to your Mate. He is free to do as he wishes at all times. His loyalty is to the Illum, not to you.
Violet’s face swam before me.
Every woman since the Last War has been an obligation and a vessel. . . . Maybe I am done being powerless. I think you might be too.
Was she right?
“Are you okay, Emeline?” Collin asked.
“I am fine,” I lied, tearing my gaze from my glowing wrist.
“Is it the atrium?”
My eyes flew to his, my heart thumping uncomfortably. “You know about that?”
“Very little happens in this city that I am not aware of,” Collin told me, leaning toward me. “When it comes to you, I am aware of everything.” Goosebumps erupted across my body. “Especially now.” His eyes slid back to my wrist.
I captured my lip once more, and Collin’s eyes found mine, amusement there.
“You are free to speak plainly. We are alone,” Collin said. “It was why I chose to meet here, unlike the more . . . public outing of our initial meeting. No one can get to us. We will see them coming.”
The disdain for the Elite bled into his tone, and again I found myself wondering at this man who seemed to hate the very people he partially ruled. I knew I couldn’t trust him, and yet . . .
“I have questions,” I admitted. Collin held my gaze, quirking a brow in silent invitation.
I wanted to know why he had chosen me, defect and all. I wanted to know more about the trouble I had heard about from the Starlings. But most of all, I wanted to know more about my birth brother. I had felt alone for so long.
“There was a man, an Elite, with curly hair, like mine, and blue eyes, in the atrium. He’s—he’s my . . .”
“Phillip is your brother,” Collin confirmed. A lump formed in my throat, and his gaze softened. “I work with him. He is the one who informed me of the incident.”
My birth brother’s name was Phillip. “Is he an Illum?”
“He isn’t.”
“So Elite work for the Illum?” I asked.
“Only a select few, those who show potential.”
“Okay,” I said, more to myself. I knew being in the clouds would change things. That I might come face-to-face with people who shared blood with me. I pressed on. “I have others, right? I have more birth siblings in the clouds.”
Collin took a deep breath. “You have two others, Gregory and Richard.”
I nodded again, glancing away from him as my mind made room for the information. I should have been quiet, but another desperate question escaped. “Do they know?” I couldn’t look at Collin. “Do they know I am your Mate?”
“Phillip knows. The others, the rest of the Elite, have heard rumors of me taking a Minor Mate, thanks to Edward’s meddling in the Garden.
The Press knows but your identity is still undiscovered.
I am afraid that will end soon, possibly tonight.
Which brings me to another issue.” Collin shifted in his seat.
“It was decided today that there will be a dinner in six days with some of the High Council Elite to provide a united power against the rising unrest. I have been told you are to attend.”
Surprise flickered through me. “Me?”
“Yes, Tabitha said it was wise for you to be there. I think it is to counter the rumors the Elite seem determined to spread.”
I found myself nodding once more, even though none of it made sense. “Can you tell me more about Tabitha?”
Collin stared at me for a moment like he was debating his next words. “Tabitha is the head of the Illum. She is responsible for the entire city.”
“A woman?” I asked.
“A woman,” Collin confirmed. “She has held her position for over fifty years. Tabitha is . . . different.” Collin looked toward the Elite as he tugged on his jacket sleeve, and I knew he would say no more on the subject.
“Another thing that will change for you. Now that you are officially my Mate and we have agreed upon a public Courting, an HI is being installed in your living quarters.”
“A Hologram Instructor? Like the ones from the Academy?” I asked, my spine straightening.
“Yes. Every morning, you will have an hour-long session. It will instruct you on the Elite protocol. It will also provide dance lessons before we attend our first ball, which will take place at the end of the moon. A public Courting requires fresh lessons. It was all in the contract.”
Right, the contract I hadn’t even read. I glanced toward the sky again, the sun sinking away slowly.
“Did you look over the contract?” Collin asked.
“I didn’t,” I admitted, glancing his way. “Was there any reason to? I couldn’t reject you.”
My stomach hit my feet as I snapped my mouth closed, my eyes finding his. He simply watched me curiously.
“Emeline, I—” Collin cleared his throat as he straightened his jacket. “Today,” he began again, his jaw tight, “you should have been able to leave unseen. It was unfair to you. I have ensured that issue won’t arise again.”
“Right. No one wants to see someone in gray.”
One day a year, birth parents were permitted to visit their offspring at the Academy.
Standing in the entrance hall, I remembered adults, mostly in gray, coming through the grand doors to greet their defective offspring.
Not many Elite showed up, but a few did.
I stood in that hall every single year, waiting for my name to be called.
I drifted toward the back of the crowd as the years passed.
After Alice disappeared, I stopped going altogether.
My name was never called. No Elite wanted to see me, even when I was young.
Why would that change now?
“Usually, that area is clear of the Elite,” Collin continued. “However, things are difficult right now. The Elite are being made to use the ground entrance. I have spoken to the Comm Department, ensuring that they will not mess up again.”
“Why are things difficult?” I asked quietly. Would he tell me what Violet had shared?
“It is a complicated answer,” Collin said. It wasn’t an answer, but it didn’t shut down the conversation either.
I bit my lip, attempting to silence the vicious war at play, that burning desire to understand eating me alive.
I glanced up to find Collin solely focused on my lip between my teeth.
Maybe it was simply to prove Violet wrong, that I was a person to him—to someone. Maybe being told to talk plainly made me too bold. Or perhaps my defect knew no bounds.
“Is it because of the people going against the Illum?”
Collin didn’t move, seconds stretching until they felt like minutes, hours, days. He tilted his head, watching me with an intensity that set my skin ablaze. “I did not realize the happenings in the clouds had reached the ground so quickly.”
“They haven’t. I . . .” Mind racing, I cursed myself. I had talked too plainly. Too freely.
It is on you if this gets back to us. Rose’s warnings echoed through me. Questions mean trouble.
Collin looked at me like he saw something entirely different, that he had miscalculated something. “The Starlings were talking about it?”