I stood in awe of this one moment they had in front of others, their true feelings on display. A private moment disguised by the masses as nothing but a dance. No one saw the way Gregory’s fingers dug into Nora’s back, the desperation there.
I wished I could capture this, immortalize what they had, that their love existed in a world that told us it couldn’t.
Gregory released her, and Nora spun away, landing in William’s arms, her smile shifting as the moment ended, and the stars filled the room again.
“Emeline,” a hesitant voice said to my left.
I turned to find my birth mother staring at me as she had in the Sphere, as if overwhelmed by my presence. I looked for words to say to her, but nothing came as the air thickened around us.
“I am glad to see you here tonight. It is nice seeing you in the clouds.” She came to stand beside me, her long-sleeve purple gown spilling around her.
All I heard was her parting advice.Look down, Emeline.I lifted my chin.
I would never look down again. I stood in silence, my words too tangled with my anger. It snaked up my spine until my skin crawled. Regardless of how she truly felt about me, she had still made a choice—still chosen my birth brothers over me, never deigning to even visit me in the Minor Academy.
“He seems happy, doesn’t he?” Helen stated carefully. I tracked her gaze to Gregory, who spun Nora once more.
“If you say so,” I stated, watching Gregory’s face fall the moment Nora left his arms.
“Are you”—she cleared her throat—“happy, with your Mate, I mean?”
My chest burned viciously. I twisted the button on my sleeve. “Does it matter? No one cares for my happiness, Helen.” The wordmothercaught on the immovable knot in my throat. “It’s not what I was made for.”
“I care,” Helen whispered. I whipped my head toward her.
Helen met my gaze, her blue eyes heavy. “Emeline, I—” Helen turned quickly, her words dying as clipped footsteps sounded. Her gaze became vacant.
“Helen, you are needed elsewhere,” drawled a voice, “with the retired women.”
Very few memories remained from before the Academy. Somehow the sound of my birth father’s voice was a vivid one—carved into the very fiber of my being.
“Of course,” Helen stated before she walked away. “Good night, Emeline.”
Vincent watched her walk away before turning all his attention to me. “You disappear for two weeks, not a word of you, no sightings, and then you are here.”
“I was somewhat occupied.” I dug for what Collin had said in the Pod.
An ugly chuckle filled the air. “Collin can spread all the lies he wants about you furthering our cause, but you have done nothing but threaten the Greater Good from the moment you opened your eyes. When the truth comes out, you all shall meet your downfall.”
Unease filled me as Vincent watched Gregory dance with Nora once more, the song coming to an end.
“Collin is a member of the Illum. To insult me is to insult them.” The false bravado rang hollow.
“It’s not. He is young. In time he will see his mistake in choosing you, if the Illum do not eliminate him for his failings.” Vincent turned toward me, his voice turning malicious and quiet. “Never question my commitment to the Illum again. My loyalty is absolute. The only insult I have ever given them was you.”
His words slammed into my chest.
“What did I do?” I demanded, because hidden underneath it all was a young girl who wanted to know. I needed to know the reason for his hatred for me.
“Our ancestors built this city after the Last War. They helped create all of this. We had a flawless lineage and unwavering loyalty. Always beside the Illum, almost one of them. Then you ruined everything. My abilities were questioned because of you.”
“Is that why you put me in that blue dress?” I looked at him, wanting to see the answer.
Vincent smirked maliciously at me. “I didn’t send you that dress, but my unending gratitude to whoever put you in the color you earned at birth. The despair it brought your mother to see you in the color she fought so hard to keep you out of.”
“She what?” My breathing became difficult.
Vincent chuckled. I detested the very sound of it. The way it found every crack in the walls I had spent my life building, crumbling them in an instant. He smirked like he knew.
