“Your Mate picked this dress himself,” Rose told me.
They helped me into a wine-red, off-the-shoulder gossamer gown, with billowing sheer sleeves that hit just below my elbow and a boned bodice that ran up to soft cups. The skirt pooled on the floor, the thin fabric floating around me like a deep red mist. Rose finished lacing up the back of the gown and handed me simple black heels and a black satin bag.
Violet walked in a moment later with the necklace and earrings and fastened them in place. I stared at the girl in the mirror. She was beautiful, but all I saw was the violence Violet had endured, Hal talking about his parents’ murder, Alice’s fiery gaze that I would never see again. The necklace looked like drops of blood sparkling at my throat. Everything felt hideous. The brown eyes that had felt like a gift a mere week ago felt shameful, like I was hiding. A coward.
The Starlings walked me out. Violet placed a hand on the door that led to the hall, keeping it closed, and turned to me. “Which side are you on? Them or us? You must choose.”
“I am an Illum’s Mate.”
“Precisely,” Violet said. “Will you help us?”
“This is dangerous for you. I could let something slip,” I whispered.
“Then I would die for something I believe in. But you won’t.” Violet leaned in, the intensity in her eyes searing me. “Remorse isn’t something one can fake—not convincingly. I saw it when you saw my face. A better test than any I could give you. It wasn’t fear staring back at me, Emeline. It was anger.”
Goosebumps coated my entire body at her words.
“Take your time in the clouds to think it over,” Violet stated, cracking open the door. “Are you content being his vessel, Fledgling? Or do you want power?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
IHAD 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?”
