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.
