Page 13 of Rite of Unity

“I saw the way you looked at me.”He frowned.“I didn’t mean to sound offensive.Truly.”

“Of course not.”The bite in my tone nearly made me wince, but I resisted the urge to look away.

The corner of his mouth tipped up, and I stared at it for a beat too long.

“I like you, Maryn.”His smile grew.“May I call you Maryn?”

I nodded.

“Good.And you can call me Elias.”

“No.I—”

The song ended, and I halted, attempting to pull my hand free.His hold tightened.

“One more?”

His tone was hopeful.Boyish.

Not waiting for my reply, he stepped into the next dance and we spun.We spun and spun, and something in my chest lightened.A weight I hadn’t realized I was carrying lifted.

His eyes never left mine even as every gaze in the room burned into my shoulder blades.

“Tell me more about you, Maryn.”

I bit my lip, unprepared for an Elite—the Elite—to ask about my life.

“I’m the daughter of Joel Ve—”

“I don’t want to know your lineage,” he cut me off.

His crystalline eyes searched my face for something I wasn't sure I wanted to give.My heart raced, my thoughts struggling to align when all I could think of was that he’d only danced once with every other girl.

“My favorite color is blue.”My cheeks burned.Why, Maryn?

He spun us.“Mine is gray.”

When the second song ended, we stopped beside Ruth and Josh.Their conversation halted abruptly, and Elias glanced between the pair.He motioned Josh toward him but stopped, turning to face us once more.

“Ladies.”

We dipped into a curtsey and watched the two men go.

Chapter 4

Elias

“Thanks,Micah.”Iacceptedthe file and set it down beside my plate.

I watched my personal aide go and took another bite of my steak.The dining room was built for twenty.Tonight it was just me.

I glanced at the file.Maryn Veil was printed in large bold letters across the top.I’d been all set on my twelfth selection.It was my fourth pick from the Middle, as instructed, and she was a girl in her final months.

Corrine would have been my perfect twelfth match.It would buy my father favor with the Middle and give me a chance to use my position for good.

Maryn was a wrench.My thoughts circled back to her defiant gray eyes and the way she silently judged me for being inconsiderate to my friend.In twenty-four years, no one had ever been brave enough to show me what they really thought of me.

If only she knew how right she was.Of course I liked Josh.He was a great guy and an even better footballer.But my visit to the Middle had been strategic and I owed him more than that.