Page 77 of Conform
“You what?” Disbelief filled me. They had lived it.
“We were in contracts before this. Rose successfully carried an offspring. What you saw we call the Parting.” There was little space between Violet and Rose, who stood unmoving. “It’s our reality in the Sanctuary. When an offspring comes of age, the Elite Force comes. They carry out the Illum’s orders. They did this.” Violet gestured to her healing face.
“It wasn’t like that for me.” I remembered little from my own journey to the Academy. Helen had given me up willingly. It had been a warm day. There had been no screaming, no soldiers in green.
“The Parting is only for the Minors in the Sanctuary,” Violet said. “It happens unannounced, always when the other Minors are away for their workdays. There is no time for goodbyes.”
“Do the offspring ever see their mothers again?”
“I didn’t,” Rose said, her voice small.
“And the Illum, they stand for this treatment?” I demanded, thinking of Collin’s power and viciousness. I had wanted to believe so badly in the kindness he had shown me.
Violet stepped closer to me. Her bruising had started to turn greenish, resembling those green uniforms. Rose grabbed at her quicksilver dress, like she needed to keep her close. “Have you given my suggestion any thought?”
“I have.”
“And?”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, then back at the two women before me, but I didn’t see them. I saw that broken mother staring helplessly as her offspring was taken. I had run toward the screams, not away. I was done hiding in the dark. I didn’t know the extent of this rebellion, but I knew one thing.
“I want power.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MY STOMACH TIED INTO KNOTS AS THE POD SHOT THROUGHthe sky toward Collin’s entertainment quarters. Violet’s smile and parting instructions pulsed through the night air in time with my heart.
“What do I do?” I had asked.
“Tonight, pay attention. Be his Mate and pay attention. Try to gain his trust. We will talk when we see you next.”
I tugged at the part of the gown that wrapped around my neck like a noose.
Which side are you on? Them or us?
It was safer to do what had always been done—to follow the Illum’s rules. Adhere to the peaceful façade they had crafted. I had a litany of reasons to conform. But I ignored every single one of them.
The Pod stopped, its doors opening to a stunning antechamber. Fear latched onto my shoulders, threatening to pull me down, but I stepped into their clouds anyway.
A honeyed “Hello” floated toward me along with an overwhelming sweet floral scent. Nora stood beside a table and a large glass bursting with white lilies towered over her. Her sage green silk gown was so pale it looked almost white, with thin straps, a swooping neckline, a low back, and a high slit. I glanced at her clasped hands. Her left wrist was glowing. I realized I had never noticed it. She seemed to wear the glowing silver as an accessory rather than it wearing her.
“Your wrist is silver,” I stated instead of hello.
Nora released a twinkling laugh. “I am the Mate of an Elite, not an Illum.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, remembering my manners.
Nora sighed. “Please don’t apologize. I’d very much like to be a friend in your eyes, not an Elite.”
“We aren’t allowed those down below,” I muttered.
“The blonde, Gregory’s intended Mate, is she not your friend?”
“Like I said, we aren’t allowed friends below.”
Nora didn’t pry. “Well, treat me how you would want a friend to treat you, please.” She stepped closer, threading her arm with mine. “You do have one up here.”
“A what?”
