CHAPTER NINETEEN
I HAD SEEN PAINTINGS OF WAR. DEPICTIONS OF VAST, ANCIENT-looking battles filled with blood and smoke. If the rebellion resulted in anything like that, Violet’s injuries would be minuscule compared to the carnage of what was coming.
Suddenly, I desperately missed life before the contract.
When everything was as I had been told it was.
When the only problem I had identified was myself and my inability to follow the Illum’s protocol.
Before I had to contend with the Reaper and the Enforcer and an impossible choice that could mean life or death for me and anyone I cared about.
I didn’t know what I was going to do, but either way, I needed to hold it together this evening. I buried the war that waged.
The Pod had dropped me off at the tall, thin building that housed the Pond. A large glass-encased half-moon observation deck jutted into the sky, where I now stood.
“Emeline, over here.”
Nora stood with Collin and another man who must be her Mate.
Her beauty took my breath away. A tight, high-necked emerald gown with structured shoulders wrapped around her lithe figure.
She handed her Mate her bag, and the dress revealed her entire back.
Her straight raven-black hair was tucked behind both ears, which were adorned with diamond-and-emerald earrings that curled around the entire shells of her ears.
Her Mate had a curious glint in his bright green eyes as he took me in. He had dark auburn hair and rich tan skin, like he too enjoyed the feel of the sun.
“Hello, Emeline,” Collin said. As my eyes finally found him, I steeled myself.
He was a pillar of strength and grace in a sleek black suit.
His raven hair was perfectly styled. He was every bit as handsome as Nora was beautiful.
Devastatingly so. “The necklace suits you,” he told me, stepping toward me and taking my hand, its golden glow painting us.
His power engulfed me, and a chill ran down my spine as his lips brushed against my hand. I hated myself for the reaction.
I traced the necklace weighing heavily on my neck. “It is beautiful. Thank you.”
Nora nudged her twin, pushing him aside.
“Yes, yes, she’s beautiful. Now stop hogging her.
” Nora glanced at the necklace and then back at her twin.
“It’s nice to finally see it out of that box,” she said quietly to Collin, to my puzzlement.
“Emeline, I would like to introduce you to my Mate, William.”
I bowed my head, and his emerald eyes had a devious look that left me too exposed. “It is a pleasure to finally meet the woman worthy of an Illum.”
“Let’s be seated,” Collin interrupted as his warm hand found my lower back, guiding me into the antechamber, where an attendant stood behind a blue-green marble cylindrical podium that emitted a faint glow.
The curtain of water behind the podium blocked any view of the room beyond, and water ran down the antechamber’s walls as if we were inside a bubble.
Captivated, I hardly heard the attendant asking for everyone’s arms for scanning.
“Emeline, your arm,” Collin prompted. I hastily held my arm toward the scanner as another woman arrived.
A woman in a vibrant acid-green gown stepped into the antechamber with us. The dress had a high slit, exposing her trembling leg. Her sunshine hair cascaded in perfect waves, and relief shone in her blue eyes at the sight of me.
“Lo,” I said, stepping away from Collin without thinking. “You look stunning.”
Lo smiled sheepishly at me, making her look every bit her twenty-two years of age. “It’s a very bright green, right?”
“Yes, but it suits you,” I told her as she looked over my shoulder at the Elite behind me.
“Is that him?” Lo whispered, near silent. “Your Mate?”
I nodded, realizing I didn’t want Collin or the Elite to know that we were friends.
We were forbidden to have friendships as Minors and, more than that, Violet’s battered face swam before my eyes.
I would not let that fate befall anyone else.
I glanced back to see Collin watching us curiously, and Nora looking at Lo’s bright green gown.
“I’ll see you inside,” I whispered, ignoring her confused look and returning to Collin’s side.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“No one,” I said quickly. “Just someone I work with on the surface.”
He didn’t say anything, and the water parted as the attendant approached it, creating a path.
A small wow escaped Lo from behind us as the pathway closed, leaving her on the other side.
We followed the man over a black bridge, water flowing underneath, and Collin’s strong hand once again rested on my lower back as we entered the main room.
I froze, my mouth falling open. Water cascaded from the curved windows, which soared several stories high, encasing the entire room with running water.
Its flowing current obscured the sky outside.
Ropes of white light hung precariously from the ceiling at varying heights, blurring the stars that peeked through the glass ceiling, illuminating oblong booths that, if I looked closely, were moving subtly in a slow dance.
We stepped off the black bridge and onto a black-tiled floor, and I immediately felt unstable.
I gripped Collin’s arm, his hand flexing against my lower back.
Collin’s breath caressed my ear. “The floor and tables move around the entire dinner. Not quickly. It is a slow progression.” As we approached one of the booths, he held me back and asked, “The Defect in the entrance, how well do you know her?”
Rule Five: You are obligated to answer any questions your Elite Mate may have. The truth is expected at all times. Lying is not permitted.
I told him the truth—just not all of it. “She lives in my building.”
“Are you close?”
“We are occasionally on the same Pod,” I told him, capturing my lip. “Seeing someone like me up here was strange. That’s all.”
To my relief, he didn’t press further. We approached the table where Nora and William were already seated. The booth was made of a smooth, dark wood and was curved inside, creating a sleek bench wrapped around an oval table of teal, green, and white marble that seemed to be illuminated from within.
I fluffed out my skirt once seated as Collin moved in next to me.
From this vantage point, it was easy to see the booths moving, like tiny pebbles carried about by the ripples in the water.
Glancing up, the rope lights could have been the sun’s rays piercing the water. It was truly mesmerizing. It was art.
Nora beamed at me. “It is amazing, right? It’s my absolute favorite place in the whole city. And on cloudy days, the water runs from the center of the ceiling, completely blocking out the clouds.”
A part of me wished it was cloudy.
William laughed, putting his arm around Nora’s shoulders. “She isn’t exaggerating,” he drawled. “She’s made me bring her here three times in one moon. What is it about this place, Mate, that makes you unable to stay away?”
“I can see why. It is beautiful,” I said.
“Oh, look,” William said, craning his neck. “There’s your Defect friend.”
Lo walked behind the attendant, her vivid green dress hard to miss.
“She’s just a woman from my building,” I clarified, clasping my hands under the table.
“Tell me, do all the women below look so appetizing? Is there an entire treasure trove of beautiful options?” William watched Lo walk across the room, and I tried not to cringe.
I was saved from responding as Collin leveled him with a look. “You could have taken a Defect Mate, William. If I recall, you were rather adamant to have my sister.”
William shrugged, his hand tracing long lines down Nora’s arm. “I mean, I needed to see if the rumors were true.”
I decided I didn’t much care for William.
Nora didn’t so much as move, but her throat bobbed as Collin’s brows shot up. “Do tell me what those rumors of my sister are?” Collin whispered in a tone that made me sit up straighter. Viciousness emanated from every harsh line of him.
“It was but a joke,” William said. “You know I have wanted Nora since the Academy.”
Lo had stopped at a table with a man lounging in it. A man with brutally short hair.
“Ah, now your friend will be your family. That is your degenerate brother, right?” William chuckled.
Nora’s eyes flew from the table to find Collin’s, searching his face.
“His own brother suggested this,” Collin told her as a Defect in gray placed impossibly delicate glasses of golden bubbling liquid on the table before bowing and departing.
“So while you and Phillip become Illum, the rest of us have to do what you both refuse to,” Nora shot back, anger seeping onto her face, her fierceness making itself known and both twins exuding ferocity.
“I am an Illum,” Collin stated, placing his drink back on the table. “I believe you have forgotten my Mate beside me—my Minor Mate.”
I took a long sip of my drink and debated for a moment whether to down the entire thing. Did all families make eating together difficult?
Nora’s cheeks flushed bright red. “Emeline, I am so sorry. That was so rude of me.” She stretched her hand out, placing it on top of mine. “Please forgive me. I am thrilled with your mating. Truly.”
“Of course,” I said. I meant it. If I were Mated to someone like William, I would be angry at Phillip’s freedom as well. I wondered how bad Nora’s first Mate had been for her to choose to take on another.
“I always forget you and Gregory were close once,” William remarked, swirling the contents of his drink as he stared at the potential Mates.
“We were never close,” Nora stated, sipping her drink.
“He was Edward’s best friend,” William drawled. I racked my brain. Why did I know that name? A greasy feeling settled in my stomach. Right, the blond man I had encountered at the Garden when I first met Collin.