24. Chapter 24
Elias
Maryn was glowing, her smile more beautiful than the moon’s reflection on the lake.
Tonight would cost me, but it would be worth it. I thought she’d understood. I thought I had made it plain, but just as Sera’s father had found August’s pressure point and squeezed, Sera had found mine.
I hadn’t known how much Maryn’s disappointment could hurt until I was on the receiving end of it. But I was tired of playing the Cannon family’s game. They may have more sons, but they didn’t run this nation.
I released Maryn’s hand, letting her go stand with the other matches as I faced the crowd once more. They were exuberant, as enamored with my girl as I was.
“And now, the results.”
I turned to face the wall as a drone flashed on, projecting the stats of Trial Six. I had already read them; it was why I’d chosen Phoebe as my second dance partner. I wanted a chance to talk with her, to let her know she would find someone great to match with. Even if that wasn’t me.
When the screen went black, I spun to face the room once more. “Phoebe.”
She approached, a single tear streaking down her face. She held up her hand as I untied the bow and tucked it into my pocket.
In the hush of our audience’s held breath, waves brushed the dance floor, a hypnotic sound that lulled my racing heart into submission. “Thank you, Phoebe. It has been an honor getting to know you.”
She dipped her chin and turned toward the exit.
When she was gone, the music resumed, and I searched for the head of hair so black it reflected the moonlight.
***
At home, Blight and Ruin rushed to the door.
“Sit,” I commanded.
They did, and I held out my hand, letting them sniff.
I moved through the foyer, toward the small living room at the back, where my mother spent most of her nights.
“Elias. A word.”
I halted, spinning to face my father. His brows, more gray than blond, were low slashes across his face. I had known he would be angry. Better to get it over with now—my night would be restless otherwise.
“What was the meaning of that speech tonight?”
I laced my hands behind my back, widening my stance. “I didn’t see you there, Father. Did you make an appearance at my ball?”
His hand flew faster than I could have dodged it. Not that I would have. Dodging a blow only meant something worse followed. My eye watered, but I held myself stiffly in place.
He’d never left a visible mark before. I’d finally tipped him over the edge. Who would have guessed it would be a Middle girl?
“You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” He curled his hand into a fist at his side, and I pressed my shoulders back. “I heard from Sera’s father, who was at your little party.”
The muscles in his forearm bunched. His gaze fell to my shoulders, to the arms held behind my back.
“It’s time for you to get your hands dirty. I’ve coddled you too long.”
I said nothing, waiting for the next punch.
“Meet me in my office at eight a.m. tomorrow.”
I nodded.
His eye twitched, and I held myself rigidly.
“That’s it. Go. Get some ice.”
My hands unclasped behind my back, and I turned, marching past the small living room to the kitchen.
***
I turned my face in the mirror. I could ask Mother for a touch of her makeup, but it wasn’t worth the sadness I’d see in her eyes. I straightened my collar, stepping back. Better that my father face his mistakes in the light of day.
I waited outside his office, checking the time on my tablet. It was a quarter before, but I wouldn’t risk him arriving before me.
At eight-fifteen, I touched my tablet screen, scrolling through it until I found the latest message from Josh.
Hey man, I know you have a lot going on with your Rite, but I’d love to see you again. Compare notes. I’m a little lost on what to do with all the judges’ feedback. I thought I would choose Ruth, but Leila is really nice. Anyway, let me know if you have time for a chat this week. - Josh.
“Put that device away and stand up.”
I touched the screen, turning it off and sliding my tablet back into my pocket as I stood.
“A man doesn’t sit and wait. He stands.” August glanced at my face, looked away. “Let’s go.”
In the car, he stared out the window, and I followed his gaze. We stopped at the inner wall, waiting for it to open. Four armed guards joined us as we piled into an SUV large enough to fit everyone.
We continued through the Middle, and I leaned forward as we passed the final sign warning of radiation danger.
I looked at my father, but he remained silent as we continued into the Lower.
We stopped beside a building whose windows were completely blacked out. Unlike the ones around it, none of the glass was broken. I tipped my head back, counting five drones. If I could see that many, there were likely at least a dozen around this building.
What is this place?
My tablet beeped, and I slid it out of my pocket and touched the screen. A red line surrounded the pop-up message.
DANGER. YOU ARE NEARING A RADIATION ZONE.
August silenced his own warning and tucked his tablet in his pocket as his door opened. He climbed out. I followed, removing my sunglasses as we stepped inside.
Low lights flickered, and our steps echoed as we approached a desk. August waved his hand in front of the screen. It buzzed as the camera scanned him, then turned green. Beside us, a door slid open.
What was this much security doing so far outside the Center?
My gaze slid to my father as he strode through the door. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and followed.
Our guards remained behind as the door slid closed.
A frail man with wiry hair thinning on top rushed forward. “Mr. President, sir. We weren’t expecting you.”
He held out a hand, but my father didn’t budge. I ignored them all, my jaw grinding to keep the emotion off my face. In a room that seemed to stretch endlessly, rows upon rows of tables were lined up, and on each was a woman.
I stepped forward, but my father’s tongue clicked, halting me.
“Doctor Smith. I’ve brought my son to help him better understand how your research is changing our world for the better.”
Doctor Smith looked at me, extending his hand. Under other circumstances, I would have taken it, but I wasn’t prepared to shake hands with the man responsible for whatever this was.
He let his hand fall, stepping back. “Of course, President Hale. Let me show you our latest results.”
He ushered us away from the rows of tables of sallow-faced women, eyes closed, monitors beside them tracking vitals.
Some of their bellies were swollen. They were young. Too young. One of them couldn’t have been older than twenty. Her hand lay open at her side, palm up, like she was waiting for something to be placed in it.
We stepped into a room lined with screens on three sides, and I stood rigidly beside my father, a tightness in my chest growing with each breath.
“This is our latest report,” the doctor said. My gaze darted from the glass to the screen he was pointing at. “The younger they are, the better our odds of a positive outcome seem to be.”
His words faded as my focus drifted to the tables outside this room. I scanned their faces. Did I know any of them? Ice climbed up my spine as I prayed I wouldn’t. What were these women doing in a secret facility on the very outskirts of Centrum?
This close to the radiation outside the walls, I might have thought they were Lower citizens—not that that excused the treatment.
“Regular odds are one in thirty,” the doctor said, looking at the screen. “But with the help of our latest serum, we’re approaching one in twenty-seven.”
I blinked.
He flipped the screen, and a picture of Sera’s brother and his new wife appeared. I stilled.
“Tytus Cannon, our first successful implant, is thriving. We’ve been monitoring his vitals, and all is looking good.”
The ice in my veins froze solid. Implant?
The word turned over in my mind until its full shape emerged. They weren’t just testing serums. They were putting children into Elite women's wombs.
Something rose in my chest that I hadn’t felt since I was a boy watching my father execute a man who begged. I had learned then how to swallow it. I swallowed it now. I had to dig my heels in to keep from reacting physically.
“Good. And the mother?”
Doctor Smith chuckled nervously. “We’re studying her to see if the process can be replicat—”
“No. No loose ends. Terminate and use the same formula on a different subject.”
The doctor paled. “Yes, sir.”
I didn’t move. Couldn’t. He had just ordered a woman killed, as if it meant nothing. In the glass between us, I caught my own reflection.
“Elias.”
In my pockets, my hands curled into fists; the urge to hit something was overwhelming.
“This is how you will ensure our line continues. When we get closer to the end of your Rite, you’ll leave a sample with the doctor.”
My jaw clenched so hard I thought a tooth would crack.
“What?”
A flush rushed up my father’s neck, and I planted my feet.
“Was I unclear?”
“No… sir.”
He nodded.
“I want better odds, doctor. Keep working. Keep testing.”
The doctor wrapped his hand around a tablet, touching the screen. “Sir. If we could get younger subjects—”
My father’s head whipped to the doctor, and I tensed.
“Should I drag the eligible young ladies from their homes, Marcus? Why bother with any of the pageantry? Why don’t I tell them what we’re working toward?
” Spittle flew across the doctor’s glasses.
“How do you think the people will feel about that?”
The doctor backed up as my father’s face grew redder.
“You get the very best I can offer. If you can’t find a way to get me more boys, I’ll find someone who can.”
“Yes. Yes, sir.”
My father turned on his heel and marched from the room.
I remained frozen a moment before remembering to move.
He was silent in the car as we drove through the city, surrounded by guards. We reached the wall, and he rolled down his window, waving to the men perched above. Our guards climbed out and the door creaked open. We rolled through.
It wasn’t until we were alone, just the two of us, that he turned to me and spoke.
“If you ever question me in public again, I will make a new heir and send you outside the wall with the rest of the sympathizers.”
***
My boots pounded on marble as I rushed through the door and into my mother’s sitting room. “Mom.”
She turned, a glazed look in her eyes that told me she wasn’t sober enough for this conversation. I didn’t care. I needed answers now.
I sank into the seat beside her.
“Honey. Your face.”
I batted her hand away. “Do you know what August is doing to women in the Lower?”
Her eyes focused slightly. “You mean the facility?”
My stomach dropped. I reached for her hands, wrapping mine around hers. “You knew?”
She nodded dazedly.
“They’re forcing them to have babies. They’re… killing them.”
She tugged a hand free from mine and touched my face.
“Elias. Darling. Humans are on the verge of dying out. When your father and I married, only one in every fifty babies was a boy. Parents killed their girls.”
I leaned back, running a hand through my hair. “It’s wrong.”
Her face softened, even as her eyes went out of focus again. “If we relied solely on nature, think who might be in power now.”
“What are you saying?”
She stretched a hand out, wrapping thin fingers around a glass and pressing it to her lips. “Do you think anyone truly has six generations of sons?”
My throat was dry as I tried to swallow.
She took another sip. I watched the glass rattle atop the table beside her as she set it down.
“Mom. Am I…” I swallowed again. “Your son?”
She smiled, but the glassiness in her eyes had truly taken her, and she touched my face again. “My precious boy.”
I held her hands against my face longer than I should have. Looking for the line of jaw, the shape of an eye, anything that might answer what she couldn’t. Her fingers were warm. Her face told me nothing.
“Rest, Mom.”
In the hall, I reached for my tablet.