CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
DID YOU MAKE IT TO THE LIVING QUARTERS? I messaged Lo.
I clutched my Comm Device to my chest. It dinged seconds later.
Yes, are you okay? Let me know when you get back.
I’m fine. I will.
Fine was easier than trying to describe the chaos raging in my heart. I was pretty sure I knew where I was heading. Only one person ever summoned me like this, and for once, I was okay with that.
The Pod stopped at the edge of the balcony of his private living quarters without visiting the Starlings first. I was in gray, my defect visible, but I couldn’t care less as I stormed across the balcony.
After everything that had happened, I had no idea how I would face Collin, but I had questions for my Mate.
I entered the sitting room, the memory of the last time I had been here after the dinner crashing into me. So much had changed after that night.
“Can you tell me why the Elite Force was patrolling the Pods?” I demanded as I walked toward the sunken area, only to find Nora waiting for me instead of Collin, the same worn book in her hand.
“Hi, Emeline,” Nora responded. “I don’t know why they were there. I can contact Collin if you would like. He would know.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I mean, isn’t he the reason I am here?”
Nora closed the book gently, as if the seams might split at any moment, before standing, her evergreen long-sleeve dress shimmering in the dim lighting.
“Actually, I summoned you,” Nora said.
“You summoned me?”
“Yes, I did. I hijacked your evening. I bullied Phillip into it. Collin said he was giving you time, but I think you’ve had time enough. Not everyone likes to suffer alone. But you seem to have questions for Collin, not me.”
What answers could Nora give me? I crossed my arms, running my hands down my gray-clad arms.
“Are you upset? I can summon a Pod to take you back if you—if you don’t want to be here.”
“I’m in gray,” I muttered. It was a pathetic excuse. I liked Nora, but when I looked at her, all I saw was Collin.
“I don’t mind, Emeline. Collin had some clothes sent over from the Starlings for occasions like this. I can show you if you’d like.” Nora threaded her arm through mine. “Come on, you can change so you’re comfortable.”
We passed several doors before she took me into a stunning bedroom.
Floor-to-ceiling windows sat on the far wall, letting the night sky spill into the room.
A chandelier with crystals resembling delicate flowers cast playful light throughout the space, which was covered in soft ivories.
A plush bed faced the windows, laden with cream pillows in various textures.
It would be a dream to fall into it. A large vase of white peonies adorned the nightstand closest to me.
We walked into a dressing room, bigger than my entire living quarters, laden with exquisite fabrics in all sorts of colors. In the center of the room was a large pouf. The back wall was filled with clutches and shoes of varying heights.
Nora handed me an amber, long-sleeve gown, much like the green one she wore, and selected a pair of matching satin slippers. I held the dress and shoes awkwardly. The color reminded me of starburst amber eyes. I bit my lip, staring expectantly at her.
“You can change here, I don’t mind, but if you want privacy, that door”—she gestured to a door leading away from the room—“leads to your bathing chamber.”
My brows raised. “My chamber?” I had assumed these were Nora’s quarters.
“Of course,” she said. “This is your room, Emeline. All of this is for you, for when you are in the procreation phase, which we will have to avoid discussing for the entirety of our friendship. I do not wish to hear about my brother.”
In the beginning, I could picture procreation with Collin.
After the kiss, a part of me had wanted it.
Now, seeing what he had done, his role as the Enforcer .
. . I couldn’t fathom how I was supposed to go forward with the contract.
Violet’s words rang through me: You are the only non-Elite with access to the Illum.
Nora noted my silence. She stepped closer, placing her delicate hand on mine. “But we can talk about it if you need. I know it isn’t easy the first time. Sometimes not even after that, but it is our duty to the Greater Good.”
I gritted my teeth. There it was again. The Greater Good.
“Emeline,” Nora began, pulling me from my thoughts. “Collin isn’t an evil man.”
I opened my mouth to protest. I had to do a better job of not wearing my emotions on my face.
“No, listen, I won’t plead his case, but give him a chance. Collin can come across as cold and removed, but he doesn’t do anything without a reason.”
“Is there ever a reason to murder someone, to use someone?” I blurted.
Nora took a deep breath and perched on the edge of the pouf, smoothing her skirt. Her eyes burned like brilliant sapphires, so like her twin’s.
“Offspring are the funniest thing,” she said.
“They change you so fully and quickly that you don’t have a say.
They take all the beliefs you thought you had, all those preconceived notions, and wipe them away.
It leaves you quite vulnerable. You see, before my offspring, I thought I knew right from wrong.
At the Academy it all seemed simple. But the moment they placed Arabella in my arms .
. .” Nora smiled. It was the fiercest yet saddest smile I had ever seen.
“Everything became unimportant. The world consisted of only her. I realized there was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her, no line I wouldn’t cross.
Then James came along, and then Eleana. I thought my heart would shatter with my third, to split myself so many times.
Without fail, whenever I have welcomed another offspring, a part of me goes with them.
I fear what this next one will do to me.
” Nora rested a hand on her stomach, and then she met my gaze.
“But I face it for them. There is no evil I wouldn’t face to save them and no evil I wouldn’t become to spare them. ”
Fierceness shined so bright in her crystalline eyes, it could pierce the unending dark of night. A chill snaked across my skin, coiling around my heart, leaving me breathless.
“Why are you telling me this?” I whispered.
“What you want to know is not so simple. Should someone ever do those things? No. But no one is all good or all bad. Each person has their breaking point, their line in the sand. Maybe find out Collin’s before you write him off completely.
” Nora stood. “Get dressed. I’ll meet you in the sitting room. ”
“Nora,” I called after her, “did Collin put you up to this?”
She stood in the doorway. “No. In fact, he’ll be outraged when he finds out. He detests meddling.”
“I won’t tell him,” I assured her.
“Collin always finds out. This is just one friend looking out for another.”
I watched her leave, her fierceness disguised by delicate trappings. What could a person become, having a mother love them the way Nora loved her offspring? Did all mothers love their offspring quietly? Was that the only way they were permitted to?
And you wanted to save her, Helen.
Was I wrong about my birth mother never caring about me, or had my status truly stifled any love from her?
I walked into the bathroom and gaped in awe at the large tub, enormous marble shower, and white vanity laden with bottles like Rose and Violet always used. On the counter sat another item they always had.
A lens.
I placed my bag on the counter next to all the beauty items. It felt safest to leave it there, considering what it contained.
I changed quickly, slipping on the amber silk dress.
The flowy sleeves cuffed at my wrist, hiding the gold, and the skirt hit below my knees.
I donned the slippers and released my tight bun, hair spilling freely over my shoulders.
I looked at the lens and, taking a deep breath, put it in.
Nora sat near the heating hearth, a tea service on the table. The tray was laden with a teapot, two teacups, two glasses of the bubbling liquid in delicate glasses, chocolates dusted in gold from the Sphere, and a spectacular cake covered in chocolate frosting embellished with glittering flowers.
“Oh, good. I wasn’t going to be able to wait much longer.” Nora patted the seat next to her. “Tea or bubbles?”
“Can I say both?” I inquired, sitting beside her.
Her grin lit up her face. “I am delighted I decided to make you my friend.” Nora handed me a glass of bubbling liquid and cut into the chocolate cake. “So, you said the Force was out today?”
Surprise rippled through me. I thought she would avoid any topic related to the Illum. “Yes, patrolling the Pods where I work. They were armed.”
“William did say last night that the new measures would begin now that they had time to put their plan in motion,” Nora said, taking a bite of the cake. “You don’t like him, do you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I just handed you a piece of the best cake in the whole city, and your nose is scrunched up like I offended you,” she finished, taking another bite.
“Fine, I can’t say I was impressed. Do you like him?” I asked, before taking a bite of cake. A moan escaped me despite myself. It was the fluffiest cake I had ever had. I blushed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be, it’s good cake,” Nora said, taking another bite. “It isn’t important if I like him.”
I paused. “How can you say that?”
Nora put her empty plate down, grabbed her bubbles, and downed almost all of it. “Because I am not interested in my Mate outside of my duty. It was the same with the others.”
“Others?” I felt like I was missing something.
“I always forget you don’t know all the gossip of the Elite. What a gift.” Nora smiled sadly. “William is my fourth Mate.”
I placed my fork down. “Why?”
“I am to be bred to spread my genes into the population. I get a new Mate right before my offspring’s fourth birthday.”
Disgust blanketed me. “Collin allows this?”
“Collin can only do so much,” Nora said quietly.