Phillip leaned forward, his curls swaying. “You’ll change your mind in a few minutes. Your tea is almost empty.”
Nora shook her head, stabbing her food. I snagged a chocolate, eating it before offering the plate to Nora. She grinned at me, taking one. I chewed the chocolate, trying to understand their closeness. It was all so informal. There were no Defects waiting on them.
“Is this your only residence?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Collin inquired.
“I expected more grandeur for a member of the Illum,” I confessed. While it was beautiful, there were none of the ostentatious displays of most of the other spaces I had seen in the clouds.
“This is my only residence,” Collin told me. “This is my private floor. I created it for myself and those close to me. The floor below contains my formal quarters, which is what the outside world sees. It is every bit as grandiose as you would assume. The dinner will be held there.”
The rest of the world seemed an exaggeration. The Elite saw it.
“Speaking of the dinner,” Nora started—Phillip whooshed a breath, looking at the glass ceiling—“William mentioned at our last Courting that many Elite are becoming increasingly concerned with the frequency of the mishaps.” Nora side-eyed me.
“William is Nora’s current Mate,” Collin told me. I wondered what he meant bycurrent.Did Elite women switch Mates?
“My dear brother is kind enough to let me stay here during my Courting Phase,” Nora told me before returning her attention to her brother. “Did you resolve everything last night? I didn’t hear either of you return.”
“Do you all live here?” I asked them.
“For now, yes,” Collin explained. “Phillip is here until we move into our procreation phase. Nora is here until her own procreation phase. Elite women are housed by their relatives between Mates.”
“Did you?” Nora prompted again.
“We handled it. It wasn’t resolved,” Collin informed her. He folded his hands on the table, his food only half eaten.
Phillip cleared his throat, glancing at me, and I felt the dagger twist again. “Is it wise to discuss this right now?”
“It’s fine,” Collin said. “They broke into our medical building containing our supplements. I was called away before I could resolve anything.”
“Was the Reaper involved?” Nora asked, eyes wide.
Collin glared at her. “Do not use that name.”
“Did you not call the Press a gossip column in the other room?” Phillip asked her.
“What? It’s what the Elite are calling him,” Nora told him unabashedly. “He has a reputation now, and I’m not gossiping. I’m asking you two. It’s different;you do not count.”
“Who’s the Reaper?” I asked.
Collin turned, looking at me. “The person behind these difficulties. The Elite,” he shot a severe look toward Nora, “seem to think he needs a name.”
“What’s he after?”
Phillip rubbed his neck. “We don’t know yet. They raided a medical warehouse and might have taken vital supplements.”
“Who do you think is behind it?” Nora asked, her food forgotten. “Besides the Reaper.”
Collin stretched his legs. “That’s what we have been tasked with figuring out. Possibly an Elite member trying to send the Illum a message. Possibly Defects attempting a rebellion. Regardless, sooner or later the Reaper will mess up and expose himself. The truth always comes out. When it does, the Illum will eliminate him.”
Unease twisted deep in my gut. The Reaper wasn’t the only one with something to hide from the Illum. But Hal visiting me in the Archives was different. Harmless.
And last night?a small voice whispered. The way it had felt when he called me Moonlight, trading secrets in the dark. I pulled my leg from Collin’s as guilt settled in the pit of my stomach.
Collin stood, yanking me from my thoughts.
“Leaving already?” Nora asked.
