“We thought you had messed it up,” Rose commented with forced nonchalance, working her hands through my hair. “Your other two appointments got canceled.”
“You didn’t listen, Fledgling.” Violettsked. “You did not do nothing.”
I sucked in a deep breath and honesty slipped out. “I couldn’t.”
They shoved my head under the surface to wash my hair.
“Let’s move on,” Rose prompted. I heard her walk away. I left the tub to find Violet waiting for me with a towel. Her eyes danced, and a chill snaked down my spine.
“Come,” Violet said as she steered me to the next room. She leaned in. “I do not condone you disobeying orders. It’s stupid and lives could have been lost. Still, I admire your dedication. My brother saw you brought in below.”
“Who’s your brother?” I asked.
“Rajesh. He was phased out of the Academy. He found me five years ago. I thought I had lost him.”
“Wait, he was phased out? What happened? Do all phased-out offspring end up in blue?” I asked as red hair and freckles flashed before my eyes. Was Alice below?
Violet shook her head. “Not all of them make it to the Underworld. Many are eliminated.”
My stomach turned, and I thought I might be sick. They eliminated young offspring?
I cleared my throat. “How did he make it?”
“He does not talk about it,” Violet told me gravely. “I am just glad he lives.”
“Is he why you picked their side?” I asked in a hushed voice. Violet gazed ahead at Rose, who was gathering supplies in the corner of the room. The way she looked at her, the need, left me reeling. “Among other things,” Violet confirmed, grabbing my towel and tapping the bed for me to lie down.
The two of them worked together in silence as they stripped my body of hair, then lathered my skin until it shimmered. I threw on my robe and followed them.
Rose attacked my nails while Violet dried my hair. Finally, the dryer was put away, and Violet’s hands were crafting my hair into one of her artful swept-away updos.
“You don’t have a lens in,” Rose commented while painting my nails. The chipped red paint was replaced with a shimmering silver. I flicked my eyes to my reflection. I had forgotten exactly when I had decided to remove it in the two weeks I had spent alone. It had begun to burn so I pulled it out.
“There was no reason for it while on the ground,” I confided, catching my lip between my teeth. Violet and Rose had clear eyes even though they wore their variant of gray.
Rose tutted. “Without it, you are easily recognizable. You are the Illum’s Mate; sticking out might be ill-advised.” She had a point, but then again, all the Minors were still drugged and wouldn’t recognize anything.
“What do you want to say, Fledgling?” Violet prompted, staring at me in the mirror as Rose finished my nails.
“The Minors below, they aren’t right,” I whispered.
They shared a look. “Did the shackle on your wrist or your wits spare you?” Rose inquired.
“My wits. My Mate certainly didn’t warn me. Why aren’t the Minors in the sky drugged?”
“Our jobs require more wits than yours,” Violet said. “We wouldn’t be able to service them. We are being watched, though. Minors in the sky are quiet now.”
Rose replaced my lens and began painting my face. I asked the question that had found me over and over the past two weeks. I had heard nothing about the Reaper.
“Is the Reaper going to do something about it?”
Violet opened her mouth. “We shouldn’t, Violet, please,” Rose interrupted desperately. “She didn’t listen. You can’t trust her.”
Violet shook her head, pain painted across her face as she turned to Rose. Her next words were spoken like a lover’s. “Dear, I am fighting for us. Do not ask me to stop.”
“You said he sent the message to leave her out of it,” Rose pleaded.
“I am not asking her to do anything. I am simply giving her information. What she does with it is her decision.”
