Page 60 of Conform
Right there on the front page was a photo of myself and Collin, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling the sheer white fabric taut against my skin, and the other holding my face. My first kiss displayed for the Elite to see. Red-hot embarrassment and anger blazed through me.
“That happened the other night,” I muttered, staring at the thing Collin and I hadn’t discussed today. “Why—why today?”
Nora’s fierceness flashed across her face like lightning. “There’s power in revealing information at the precise moment it best suits the teller. When there is the most to gain. The Press—it is quite good at it.”
She took the tablet from me but not before I saw the words above the photo.
YOUNGEST ILLUM SHOCKS ELITE WITH MINOR MATE: DO MINORS HAVE A PLACE IN OUR CLOUDS?
“I would ignore it,” Nora urged as she settled into the spot I had found her in, almost entirely hidden by the pillows. She tossed the Press aside and grabbed her book. A Pod pulled up outside.
“Nora, who controls the Press?” I asked. The image burned into my memory as two words echoed in my mind. “It’s the Illum, right?”
Nora stared at me sadly. “Yes.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
TWO WORDS CHASED ME THROUGH THE SWIRLING GRAY CLOUDS.As the Pod plummeted toward the surface, so did my thoughts.
Forgive me.
They are always a step ahead.
YOUNGEST ILLUM SHOCKS ELITE WITH MINOR MATE.
If someone hurts you, I take it personally.
I used to joke that while I had a twin, I also had a brother.
If you feel you need to run from something, I ask that you run to me.
Forgive me.
Rule Nine: You are an obligation to your Mate. . . . His loyalty is to the Illum, not to you.
Do you still think you’re like the other Minors?
He is their Enforcer. There is no one like you . . . because there is no one like your Mate.
Follow the Illum’s protocol, abide by the rules of the Minor Defect population, and constantly seek self-improvement, and you will rise, fulfilling your use for the Greater Good.
And you wanted to save her, Helen.
Forgive me.
Had Collin known that the kiss would be captured? Had he used me to put on a show for the Elite and released the story today? Had he pulled away so quickly because he had achieved what he wanted? I was a desperate, lonely fool who had thought that moment had meant something.
I entered my office to find a familiar man in blue sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. I placed my MIND beneath the scanner, and the resounding beep sent Hal flying to his feet. “You’re back.”
“I’m back,” I confirmed, walking toward the desk.
“And you’re okay,” he declared, more to himself. His hair was in a state, like he had raked his hands through it nonstop since we parted. Blue smudges marred his handsome face. Had he slept at all last night?
“I’m fine,” I assured him. Shrugging off the brown coat, I took the vacated seat and logged in to the system. Hal flipped the trash can and perched on it as my screens came to life. “How are you? How’d you get out unseen?”
“I’m fine. Better now that you’re here,” Hal confessed unabashedly. “I used the chutes.”
“The chutes?”
