Page 103 of Rite of Unity

He let his hand fall, stepping back.“Of course, President Hale.Let me show you our latest results.”

He ushered us away from the rows of tables of sallow-faced women, eyes closed, monitors beside them tracking vitals.

Some of their bellies were swollen.They were young.Too young.One of them couldn’t have been older than twenty.Her hand lay open at her side, palm up, like she was waiting for something to be placed in it.

We stepped into a room lined with screens on three sides, and I stood rigidly beside my father, a tightness in my chest growing with each breath.

“This is our latest report,” the doctor said.My gaze darted from the glass to the screen he was pointing at.“The younger they are, the better our odds of a positive outcome seem to be.”

His words faded as my focus drifted to the tables outside this room.I scanned their faces.Did I know any of them?Ice climbed up my spine as I prayed I wouldn’t.What were these women doing in a secret facility on the very outskirts of Centrum?

This close to the radiation outside the walls, I might have thought they were Lower citizens—not that that excused the treatment.

“Regular odds are one in thirty,” the doctor said, looking at the screen.“But with the help of our latest serum, we’re approaching one in twenty-seven.”

I blinked.

He flipped the screen, and a picture of Sera’s brother and his new wife appeared.I stilled.

“Tytus Cannon, our first successful implant, is thriving.We’ve been monitoring his vitals, and all is looking good.”

The ice in my veins froze solid.Implant?

The word turned over in my mind until its full shape emerged.They weren’t just testing serums.They were putting children into Elite women's wombs.

Something rose in my chest that I hadn’t felt since I was a boy watching my father execute a man who begged.I had learned then how to swallow it.I swallowed it now.I had to dig my heels in to keep from reacting physically.

“Good.And the mother?”

Doctor Smith chuckled nervously.“We’re studying her to see if the process can be replicat—”

“No.No loose ends.Terminate and use the same formula on a different subject.”

The doctor paled.“Yes, sir.”

I didn’t move.Couldn’t.He had just ordered a woman killed, as if it meant nothing.In the glass between us, I caught my own reflection.

“Elias.”

In my pockets, my hands curled into fists; the urge to hit something was overwhelming.

“This is how you will ensure our line continues.When we get closer to the end of your Rite, you’ll leave a sample with the doctor.”

My jaw clenched so hard I thought a tooth would crack.

“What?”

A flush rushed up my father’s neck, and I planted my feet.

“Was I unclear?”

“No… sir.”

He nodded.

“I want better odds, doctor.Keep working.Keep testing.”

The doctor wrapped his hand around a tablet, touching the screen.“Sir.If we could get younger subjects—”