“What reason have you given me to trust you?” I fumed.
“Just play the role or whatever you have decided to call this.” I opened my mouth, furious, but Collin continued. “I know you will not do it for yourself. You clearly place no value on your life.”
“Who taught me not to?” I demanded, stepping toward him.
“If you can’t do it for yourself, and you damn well won’t do it for me, then do it to prove your birth father wrong,” Collin told me as he straightened his jacket.
A sickening panic stuck to my skin. “What does Vincent have to do with this?”
“He’s been telling anyone who will listen that you will be the Illum’s biggest mistake and downfall, among other things.” Collin’s voice was deathly quiet.
Vincent placed far too much faith in me if he thought I alone would bring down the Illum. Still, an ache as old as my very bones throbbed wildly in my chest. “And what did you tell him?”
The doors to our Pod slid open. “He values his life enough not to say such things to me.”
Collin ran his hands down his jacket one last time, rolling his shoulders before he extended his hand toward me. I ignored his hand.
“Just take it,” Collin ground out.
“Fine.” I placed my hand in his, and I trembled slightly as we crossed the threshold. If Collin noticed, he didn’t say.
I found myself awestruck as we approached a grand staircase leading to a dance floor below. I had been so distracted by Collin that I hadn’t noticed where the ball was held. A translucent ceiling soared above us, and the night spilled in. The room was stunning, everything a shiny black infinity mirror that reflected the night above, blurring the line where the sky ended and the ballroom began. From this height, it felt like we were among the stars.
I wished I could dance alone like I had done in my room this past moon—to turn and spin until I became one of those stars and all my worries fell away.
Collin cleared his throat, and the dream floated away into the unending darkness. “We must descend,” he whispered.
We stood at the edge of the grand staircase. Everyone below gazed up at us.
Collin leaned into me, and I fought a shiver. “I know you detest me, and you do not trust me, but I am not a danger to you in this room. Some of the Elite down there, they are. They would love to watch you plummet to the ground for the insult of being my Mate. So I am asking a favor of you tonight.”
“What favor?” I breathed.
“Do not fight me. Not here.”
Collin pulled back, but his scent lingered around me. He smirked at me like we had shared a secret. I attempted to match it. “Ready?”
I nodded, not trusting any of the words that might come out.
We began to descend the long staircase as every Elite in the room watched us. With each step, the sheer gown felt suffocating, the belt around my waist too tight. My palms grew clammy in Collin’s hand. He gave no indication that he felt my fear and anxiety.
I looked over the heads of the Elite for as long as I could, but then I saw him. There in the crowd, he didn’t smile. His lip was curled back. Vincent looked at me as he always had. Like I was filth.
I felt my body shake as the knot in my throat grew. Collin’s gripped tightened, and Vincent looked away.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Phillip, who stood alone in all black, share a look with Collin, and then Phillip was in motion.
I watched as women began to lean in, conversations uttered behind jeweled hands. A woman in a sleeveless red gown that hugged her curves glared at me with such disgust that I felt it to my soul.
As we neared the bottom of the grand staircase, Collin muttered under his breath, “We will be going directly onto the dance floor.”
Music poured into the room, and the Elites cleared the floor. My heart pounded as I broke out in a cold sweat. There were too many eyes, too many people, focused on me.
“Why?” I asked.
“It is what’s proper. You know the dances, correct? You have been practicing?” Collin asked as our feet met the bottom step. A fellow Defect raced forward, taking my clutch before disappearing.
“Of course I have,” I hissed back, frustration chasing away my nerves.
