Collin held my glass, his jaw tight, face inches from mine. “I’d like a word.”
“AndIwould like a drink,” I stated, diving far past speaking plainly, landing in dangerous territory.
“Come with me,” Collin bit out, passing off our glasses as he steered me toward a wall, practically pushing me from the room. Two men in dark gray opened a set of doors. A shock ripped up my left arm, my MIND having a strange reaction to something unseen, as we crossed the threshold into a comfortable sitting room.
I didn’t even take in the room before the doors clicked behind us, and Collin was towering over me.
“What was the one favor I asked of you?”
“Not to fight you.”
“And yet you are fighting with me. Nora had one job,” Collin growled.
I stepped toward him. “So I’m a job?”
“When you refuse to be sensible. When you refuse to think about the consequences of your actions. Yes—you are a job, Emeline,” Collin fumed. “I am an Illum. They are all watching—”
“Exactly, they are all watching while you do whateverthatwas on the dance floor.”
“You’re my Mate. It isn’t uncommon for Mates to occasionally show affection. Would you rather I let everyone see the power you let Vincent have over you? Would you rather I let all of the Elite see you like that, paint you as the weak Minor?” Frustration laced every word.
“I would rather not be here at all.” The words flew from my lips. “I would rather be on the surface.”
“You cannot have that now,” Collin said, his voice falling flat.
I whirled on him, everything from the night ripping through me. “Because you took it from me. I am now stuck in your damn clouds surrounded by my birth family while Elite men discuss me as if I were yourproperty. You just stood there.”
“What would you have me do instead?” Collin whispered angrily, stepping to me—power and viciousness spilling from him. “Would you have me throw them in blue? Eliminate them completely because they disrespect you? No, not that, you didn’t like when I had to eliminate someone. Would you have me upend everything that is proper?”
“I don’t need any more blood on my hands because of you.” My vicious tone matched his.
Collin’s breaths sawed out of him, his polish corroding. “What do you want from me, Emeline?”
My mother’s confession collided with that stupid dream of what I thought I’d find up here. My unending loneliness engulfed me and, in my petulance, I admitted too much. “To be cared for. To be saved.”
My hand flew to my mouth.
Collin stepped away from me as if I had shoved him. His crystalline eyes shattered and his composure slipped for a breath before he rolled his shoulders. The youngest Illum formed before my eyes.
“I am your Mate. Not a savior,” Collin said, his tone flat.
The doors opened, and Phillip entered the room.
“Tabitha has requested you. There’s an issue.”
Collin glanced at him. “How long?”
“Not long at all,” Phillip said, completely ignoring me.
“Lead the way,” Collin said. He didn’t look my way as he told me, “I’ll find you for the last dance. You can stay here. No one will come in.”
The doors clicked closed. My heart filled the empty space, frantically berating me. Maybe Iwasbefuddled. When had talking plainly morphed into stupidity? Why was I determined to destroy myself in his presence? I hid my face in my hands, attempting to pull myself together.
“Tell me, does he always talk to you like that?”
I whirled to see the last person I expected entering through one of their concealed doors. A tall man dressed in dark gray, with a dimpled half smile and starburst eyes that crinkled at the corners.
Hal.
