I hesitate before I speak my next words, the real reason I came up here and braved his temper. Pride has no room in this conversation. Even though it cuts me to ask him this.
“Just…don’t use my Mom,” I whisper. “I can handle anything, but leave her out of it, okay?”
Ender glances at me. A quick flick of his eyes, but I can see that his gaze has softened.
I speak as quickly as I can, words tripping out of my mouth, before I consume them.
“I still have nightmares,” I confess. “You don’t need to torture me with something I see every time I close my eyes. So, promise me that you won’t use her against me?”
“You can’t tell me the one thing that would break you and ask me not to use it,” Ender says, with a shake of his head. “It defeats the purpose of the test.”
“Promise me?” I press.
Ender turns back to his victim.
“You’re dismissed.”
My mouth grows sour. Did I make a mistake coming up here? Did I hand him my weakness on a silver platter?
I feel like a fool when I return to my seat to watch Aric twitching on the chair like a butterfly whose wings have been snapped. I can’t even revel in his pain, because my stomach is all knotted and achy.
Rei throws me a curious look, but I just stare ahead, waiting for my name to be called.
It’s mid-afternoon by the time I am summoned to the seat. My heart spikes when the medic approaches me, syringe outstretched. I flinch at the sight of the needle, but he plunges it into my skin before I can resist.
Ender’s gaze is stuck on me, intense and devouring. It hurts to look at him because I can’t tell what he’s thinking, if he intends to break me or not. But why would he spare me? He made me kill Kaia. He designed an entire program to destroy us. He has never shown me a hint of kindness.
I can’t use my fists, gun, or powers to get out of this one. Our mind is our shieldandour sword during this test.
My skin feels unbearably cold, and I can’t sense my limbs. Slowly, the room vanishes, and another appears in its place.
I’m in a dressing room. My twin sister peers down at me, her green eyes glittering and excited. I’m sitting in a velvet vanity chair, dressed in a slinky white gown. The neckline is trimmed in lace. It’s exactly my style, nothing like that extravagant ballgown I was coerced into for the engagement party.
“Haven, aren’t you excited?”
“For what?” I ask, confused.
I feel disoriented, like I drank too much wine. I don’t seem to recall what we were speaking about, but from Mercy’s face, it must be a big deal.
“It’s your wedding day, silly,” she says with a disapproving smile. “I told you not to drink so much last night.”
It hits me then that I’m getting married today.
To Ender.
A slow smile spreads across my face.
He’s perfect. He’s everything I could ever dream of.
Mercy’s face softens.
“I know this was arranged by our father, but you two are so well-suited. Everyone can see that.”
Ender is strong, unbreakable, and painfully beautiful. It is the perfect match.
A knock sounds on the door. Mercy opens it, revealing Ender in a black suit. The fabric molds around his broad shoulders and accentuates his slim waist. His eyes study my face before slinking downwards. Shivers race down my spine at the clear hunger on his face.
“Can we have a minute?” he asks my sister.
