Page 79 of Conform
“Hello, Collin,” I responded quietly as I stepped over the threshold.
Sapphire eyes collided with my concealed defect, their depths churning, silencing my turbulent thoughts. He stood from his desk, dressed in all black again.
The ceiling soared. An angular chandelier hung directly above us, comprised of eight long gleaming spears connected at the top before brutally jutting out. Moonlight streamed through a wall of windows, outshining the spears, illuminating the cavernous room. The glow cast the wall behind his gray marble desk into relief—shelves sat empty.
He leaned against his desk, unrolling his sleeves and fastening the cuffs. Light reflected from the golden buttons.
A small black orb the size of a marble projected a labyrinth of tunnels into the air—paths that dipped and twisted, coming together only to shoot off in opposite directions.
He tracked my gaze. “Beneath.”
“What?” I asked, straightening.
“The tunnels of beneath,” he repeated. He tapped the orb, and the map shifted, going out of focus before settling again, the river that ran through the city now visible and the lone bridge that connected to Low Town. A blue circle glowed under the bridge.
“What is the blue spot?” I asked carefully.
“Work. Identifying weak entrances for the retaliation.” My heart leapt, shocked that he had answered.
I hadn’t realized I had ventured so close to the desk—to Collin. I stumbled back, sucking in a sharp breath, and his hand steadied me, pulling me forward to stand between his legs.
He’s an Illum,my brain raged as I froze in his magnetic field. The vile things I had learned, had seen. The Parting still ringing loudly in my ears, haunting my every thought.
But Violet’s instructions had been clear.Be his Mate. Pay attention. Gain his trust.
My pulse rioted under my skin as his hand lingered on my waist. There were no Elite in the room to watch, no one to pretend for.
A muscle in his jaw feathered as his warm grip left my side, yet I didn’t move. I couldn’t help myself. My eyes chased his hand as it found his thigh—his fingertips digging into the muscle like it had dug into my skin in the Sphere.
I stepped back. “What retaliation?” I asked, more breathless than I intended.
He turned from me, tapping the orb, and the plans disappeared. He slipped the object into his pocket.
“One that will cause problems,” he told me plainly.
“Why?”
Collin looked at me, considering. “The Reaper has been too bold. He’s killed Elite. Highlighted flaws in the system. The Illum does not tolerate chaos. They are adamant about sending him a message. One that will give him—pause.”
“Do you think it’ll work? This plan?”
“I do not know yet what the carnage of his people will do to him,” Collin stated stiffly.
Carnage . . .Apprehension spun around me. “What exactly are you going to do?”
Power roiled in his sapphire pools. “My role.”
“What exactly does that mean? What are you going to do to the Majors?”
“Whatever is required of me. Everything I do is for the Greater Good.” Collin stood up straight, towering over me. “Everything you see tonight is for the Greater Good.”
I refused to move as he walked to the door, holding it open.
“The Majors are people.” My heart skipped a beat.
“They are waiting for us,” he said as if I hadn’t spoken.
“Why am I here? What is this dinner about?”
