I nodded, realizing I didn’t want Collin or the Elite to know that we were friends. We were forbidden to have friendships as Minors and, more than that, Violet’s battered face swam before my eyes. I would not let that fate befall anyone else. I glanced back to see Collin watching us curiously, and Nora looking at Lo’s bright green gown.
“I’ll see you inside,” I whispered, ignoring her confused look and returning to Collin’s side.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“No one,” I said quickly. “Just someone I work with on the surface.”
He didn’t say anything, and the water parted as the attendant approached it, creating a path. A smallwowescaped Lo from behind us as the pathway closed, leaving her on the other side. We followed the man over a black bridge, water flowing underneath, and Collin’s strong hand once again rested on my lower back as we entered the main room.
I froze, my mouth falling open. Water cascaded from the curved windows, which soared several stories high, encasing the entire room with running water. Its flowing current obscured the sky outside. Ropes of white light hung precariously from the ceiling at varying heights, blurring the stars that peeked through the glass ceiling, illuminating oblong booths that, if I looked closely, were moving subtly in a slow dance. We stepped off the black bridge and onto a black-tiled floor, and I immediately felt unstable. I gripped Collin’s arm, his hand flexing against my lower back.
Collin’s breath caressed my ear. “The floor and tables move around the entire dinner. Not quickly. It is a slow progression.” As we approached one of the booths, he held me back and asked, “The Defect in the entrance, how well do you know her?”
Rule Five: You are obligated to answer any questions your Elite Mate may have. The truth is expected at all times. Lying is not permitted.
I told him the truth—just not all of it. “She lives in my building.”
“Are you close?”
“We are occasionally on the same Pod,” I told him, capturing my lip. “Seeing someone like me up here was strange. That’s all.”
To my relief, he didn’t press further. We approached the table where Nora and William were already seated. The booth was made of a smooth, dark wood and was curved inside, creating a sleek bench wrapped around an oval table of teal, green, and white marble that seemed to be illuminated from within.
I fluffed out my skirt once seated as Collin moved in next to me. From this vantage point, it was easy to see the booths moving, like tiny pebbles carried about by the ripples in the water. Glancing up, the rope lights could have been the sun’s rays piercing the water. It was truly mesmerizing. It was art.
Nora beamed at me. “It is amazing, right? It’s my absolute favorite place in the whole city. And on cloudy days, the water runs from the center of the ceiling, completely blocking out the clouds.”
A part of me wished it was cloudy.
William laughed, putting his arm around Nora’s shoulders. “She isn’t exaggerating,” he drawled. “She’s made me bring her here three times in one moon. What is it about this place, Mate, that makes you unable to stay away?”
“I can see why. It is beautiful,” I said.
“Oh, look,” William said, craning his neck. “There’s your Defect friend.”
Lo walked behind the attendant, her vivid green dress hard to miss.
“She’s just a woman from my building,” I clarified, clasping my hands under the table.
“Tell me, do all the women below look so appetizing? Is there an entire treasure trove of beautiful options?” William watched Lo walk across the room, and I tried not to cringe.
I was saved from responding as Collin leveled him with a look. “You could have taken a Defect Mate, William. If I recall, you were rather adamant to have my sister.”
William shrugged, his hand tracing long lines down Nora’s arm. “I mean, I needed to see if the rumors were true.”
I decided I didn’t much care for William.
Nora didn’t so much as move, but her throat bobbed as Collin’s brows shot up. “Do tell me what those rumors of my sister are?” Collin whispered in a tone that made me sit up straighter. Viciousness emanated from every harsh line of him.
“It was but a joke,” William said. “You know I have wanted Nora since the Academy.”
Lo had stopped at a table with a man lounging in it. A man with brutally short hair.
“Ah, now your friend will be your family. That is your degenerate brother, right?” William chuckled.
Nora’s eyes flew from the table to find Collin’s, searching his face.
“His own brother suggested this,” Collin told her as a Defect in gray placed impossibly delicate glasses of golden bubbling liquid on the table before bowing and departing.
