Page 78 of Conform
“A friend, if you would like one,” Nora said, leading me from the antechamber and into the room beyond.
Two sweeping staircases hugged the walls, meeting at the top of the grandiose entry room. Large glowing cylinders were suspended above us, connected by gold wiring, stacked precariously—like one huge balancing act.
“I didn’t know if it was appropriate,” I said.
“It is if you’d like it to be. You have days off now. I am free for two more moons.”
I shifted my gaze to Nora as she looked at me. “Free?”
“Yes, I will enter my procreation phase with William. Things will be different then.” Her tone was flat.
“I would like a friend.”
Nora squeezed my arm excitedly. “Good—it makes my plan so much easier if you go along with it.”
“What plan?” I asked as we ventured down a long hall.
“Making you my friend. It would happen either way. I’d make sure of it.” She grinned and guided me past countless stunning spaces.
“I feel your plans usually work out.”
“All but one,” she informed me. “Welcome to the formal living quarters. Collin, sadly, never uses them.”
“Why?”
“Some things are hard to revisit,” Nora said quietly, her steps picking up their pace.
“What about for parties or balls? Entertaining friends?” I asked.
“Collin isn’t a fan of either. He has work.” We reached the end of the hall, stopping at the door. “And Phillip.”
“And you, right?”
Nora smiled, laced with sadness once more. “I have been in contracts all my adult life. Before that, I was being prepared for one. I am usually with my Mate or offspring, while I get to be.”
I glanced at Nora, her sorrow slipping past my walls. Her chin was held high, the picture of Elite grace, but her lips were pursed, her eyes heavy. A weariness blanketed her.
I saw the pain of the mothers from the Sanctuary in her expression. How did it feel to be without one’s offspring? Ice slipped down my spine. I would find out for myself soon enough.
“Do you see your offspring often?” I asked.
“On visiting day, I see them all,” Nora said, stopping at the door.
“Them? You have more than one?”
“I have three,” Nora told me as she knocked on the door.
My mind raced. She was thirty-two. We had offspring every five years or sixty-five moons. A short Courting Phase, into procreation, into maternity. We then cared for the offspring until the Academy. Approximately five years for the entire process. The math didn’t add up. “Did you produce twins?”
“Enter,” came Collin’s voice.
Nora shook her head before opening the door.
If Nora had three offspring, she had been Mated at seventeen. Disgust leveled me. Before she had even left the Academy. Why had the Illum done that? Collin would have still been in the Academy as well, not yet an Illum, I assumed. I couldn’t fathom why he would want to join the group that did such horrendous things to his sister. I didn’t get to ask anything else as Nora lingered at the door. She didn’t balk from the shock radiating from me.
“We all have to do our part, Emeline,” she said, then slipped away. I watched her go for a moment. Her lithe steps, her honey voice, her softness as others whispered and judged—they were the armor she hid behind. My heart ached.
“Good evening, Emeline.” That powerful voice spilled into the hall, snaking down my spine.
