“Are you going to address what I saw Ada do?” Ronnie's voice slices through the chamber. My breath catches. “I know what I saw! I saw her heal him!”
The gasps that follow are deafening. Whispers crash against the domed ceiling like waves against rock. I press my palms flat to the stone wall, lowering my head, willing my heart to slow. Ronnie has always had it out for us, but hearing the accusation, watching his envy take shape like this …
All at once the room goes silent. I look through the peephole and see the Sages' eyes flash silver, like blades catching the lightbefore it strikes. It’s what happens when their emotions slip past their iron control.
The room seems to hold a collective breath when Freida steps forward. Her footsteps thunder across the stone floor as she crosses to Ronnie’s side of the chamber. Everyone on that side of the room shrinks back when she stops in front of them. My own shoulders stiffen.
“Ada is an alchemic healer,” she says quietly. “She carries potions with her at all times. That is what she used on Jordan's wound.” She leans closer to Ronnie, and I watch him flinch. “I suggest you stop making dangerous accusations, Ronald. Unless you'd like to discuss the implications further. With me. Alone.”
“We all know how much you hate us!” Naima's voice rings out from across the chamber, sharp and furious. “But to accuse her of that is low, even for you!”
My throat tightens at the sound of her defense — at the fire in her voice, the loyalty. Murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd. Another housemate of ours speaks up in agreement. Those of us who were raised at the Veritas Estate should have forged unbreakable bonds, but the Sages only chose seven of us to mentor and a few of the others, like Ronnie, never seemed to forgive us for it.
“That’s enough!” Mother's voice is a whip crack. “Ronald, I will see you after I'm finished.”
He says nothing.
“Details about the Moon Festival will be in the daily announcements. But there is one final matter — the reason I called you here,” Mother says as her gaze sweeps through the room. “The Council will be holding a speech at the square shortly. Everyone is expected to attend. That includes all of us in Veritas."
More gasps. More whispers. The dread in the room thickens like fog.
Mother sighs. “Yes, Margarita?”
I press my face harder against the wall as I try to find Margot in the chamber.
“Bas says the Council is looking for whoever's been leaving messages on the walls,” she says. “He mentioned a potential uprising.”
Freida scoffs. “Bastian said this?”
“He says they're calling them renegades.”
“And what was your part in this conversation?” Mother asks sharply.
“I asked him what he meant by uprising.”
“You don't know what the word means? Should we be concerned about your education?”
A lesser person would crumble or stay silent, but Margot was one of the seven the Sages chose to mentor. Worse, like me, she’s one of the few who have defied them. She’s used to Mother’s ire. I can’t help but smile when I hear her voice grow stronger.
“I know what it means,” she says. “I just don't understand why they're using it — especially when the messages are just the Council's own manifesto.”
“Mocking the Council's manifesto,” Mother corrects. “Which they view as a threat.”
“I'm concerned about our residents,” Margot responds. “You said the guards will stay outside our walls. But Bas says they might send them in. To take people for questioning.”
The words land like a blow. I inhale sharply — so does everyone else. Then the chamber erupts. Voices rising, overlapping, crashing against the domed ceiling.
“Enough!” Mother's voice cuts through the chaos. “Our residents, Margarita? Do you remember what I said to you when you decided to go behind our back and add your name to that marriage list?”
Margot’s quiet for a moment. “Yes.”
“What did I say?”
A pause. Then —“You said the moment one of us is appointed a legion guard to marry, our mouths are metaphorically stitched shut. We become the ears of the Veritas Order.”
“Precisely.” Mother's smile is a cruel, beautiful thing. “Since you'll be married to a legion guard by the end of this year's festival, I suggest you start practicing now.”
She turns to address the room again, and her voice hardens to iron.
