“There, that is acceptable,” Rose declared, turning me toward a full-length mirror. “Walked in as unremarkable as trash, and now look at you.” She grinned like she had just given me the world’s finest compliment. “Are you going to look or not?”
The dress was clearly picked to display all of my physical attributes. Two thin straps fell over my shoulders, plunging into identical deep Vs in the front and back. The silk bodice lay flush against my skin, as soft as a lover’s caress, and cinched tightly at my waist before sheets of silk cascaded gracefully to the floor. The lush gold color brought out the matching undertones I hadn’t noticed in my hair. Beautiful, unbound curls fell around me. My lips were stained pink, and my lids shimmered slightly, light eyeliner lifting my eyes, and my lashes were darker and longer.
Two brown irises. Matching.
I didn’t know what would come next in the procreation phase, where I was going, or who my Mate might be. Dread filled me at the task ahead—that I was about to be deemed worthy or unworthy. But tears gathered in my identical eyes. I would be able to meet the gazes of the Elite. To look up, not down.
“Beautiful, right?” Violet stood with her arms crossed, smirking proudly.
“Here, take this. It has your Comm Device in it. Your bag will be sent back to your living quarters,” Rose instructed, shoving a golden oval purse into my hand. I took it from her, glancing back at the woman in the mirror one last time, my throat tight at what I saw.
Elite. I saw a girl who knew nothing of the surface and the Archives. A girl who had done this countless times. A girl her birth family would be proud of. A girl her birth father accepted.
A hard swat to my shoulder startled me.
“Quit slouching, women of polite society never slouch,” Rose scolded. “Shoulders back, head up, chest out. Poise. You’re dining with the Elite. Act like it.”
“I remember their lessons,” I snapped. Anger and nerves twisted in my chest.
Violet’s eyes went wide as a grin graced her features. “I’d watch who you speak to like that. Two phased-out Defects is one thing, Fledgling. Speak like that among the Elite, before your Mate”—Violet stepped closer, her voice dropping—“you’ll be eliminated before you even begin the game. Head up.” She lifted my chin.
“Come now, let’s see if you can fly.” Rose cackled wickedly.
The lecture from the Academy slithered in.
Welcome to the Grooming, your final year at the Academy. After this year, you might find yourself Approved to be among the Elite in the clouds to attempt to produce an Elite offspring. If chosen and the Elite male accepts this proposed mating, your status will remain the same. You rise merely due to the compatibility of your genes with that of a male Elite. The Illum uses these matches to eradicate the progression of your defects with the help of Elite genes. Fail to follow these rules and you shall be in blue. You will fall from Minor to Major, cast aside away from the Illum’s blessed light, or, depending on the severity of your misdeed, eliminated.
Would I fulfill my use? Even if I did, would I not fall right back to the ground, into the Sanctuary or even Low Town across the river? The only real certainty was that my time in the Wastelands was numbered. There was no real winning for me, only different levels of survival. My insides trembled as I ran my nervous hands down the soft glimmering fabric.
I had only one choice before me: to fly or die trying.
CHAPTER THREE
THE POD ZOOMED THROUGH THE ELITE CITY. THE STARStwinkled brightly just beyond the glass ceiling in a glittering array. From the ground, the clouds and lights from the tall buildings hid the stars. I gazed at their celestial dance, letting myself be captivated. For the first time, I understood why those ancient humans needed to create art. If I could, I’d capture the stars’ unwillingness to dim their brilliance in the face of unending darkness.
I leaned closer to the glass, my brown irises glinting back at me. Two of them. My gift from the Illum. I didn’t understand why I would be given something from them; my status hadn’t changed. I didn’t expect a miracle. Alone, I felt, for the first time, as if I stood a chance. A star directly above me winked. Was it to encourage or taunt me?
The Pod stopped and the doors opened. I was lightheaded from the bubble of hope intertwining with my fear for what awaited. I sucked in a shaky breath. The Elite would notice. They would know what I hid—that I didn’t belong. I glanced at the stars one last time, and one of my earliest memories swarmed me, unlocking a door I never visited. My birth father’s voice filled my head.
“Send her away already. She is not welcome in our house. The fact that you see her at all is a disgrace.”
“What would you have me do with her?” my birth mother asked delicately. She was always delicate. “She will be taken away in two moons.”
“It is not soon enough,” my birth father spat viciously from outside my small room. “I told you to dispose of her when she was deemed defective. Our good standing could falter even more from the ignominy of her very existence. I have dedicated my life to the Illum. She will not take that from me.”
“I have kept her hidden,” my birth mother said tightly.
“It is not enough. You taint yourself by seeing her. Stop your pitying, or you will leave me no choice but to handle this the way it should have been moons ago.”
“She is—”
“She is of no value. She is the system’s problem. She is to go to the Academy and rot on the surface with her kind,” he declared cruelly, a loud thud reverberating through the hall. “I forbid you from seeing that—thingagain. Do I make myself clear?”
“As you wish,” she said shakily, and the door to my room snapped closed. I hadn’t seen either of them again until my birth mother accompanied me to a Pod to be taken away.
Would I see my mother tonight among her kind? Would I recognize the fragile woman who had stood outside my door, intercepting furious footsteps? I had been too young when I went to the Academy, and my memories of her were murky at best.
As I stepped into the atrium, I understood Rose’s push for a pink gown. I would have blended in perfectly. Hanging over the entrance were thousands of fluffy pale pink roses that trailed to the polished deep green tile floor. The central lighting fixture, resembling a gilded branch, dappled the space in soft light. Lush lavender curtains blocked the view of the room beyond, muffling the noise. The blooms perfumed the air.
