Page 15 of Rite of Unity

I glanced back.

“Make the arrests.”

***

The next morning, I arrived at the Bureau of Religious Affairs expecting something that matched its importance.The office relied on citizen reports to log complaints against the general population—our best defense against illegal activity when the drones couldn't be everywhere at once.

I'd anticipated surveillance cameras on every wall and armed guards at the door.Instead I stepped into the massive structure and stared around the open, mostly empty space.Rows of desks, stacked in orderly lines, sat at the center of the room.Large glass windows let in natural light, making it feel far less cramped and stuffy than any other government building I'd ever been in.

“Mr.Hale?”

I turned, pasting a smile on my face.

“Corrine.”

What were the odds?Maybe my original plan was the right one.

“What are you doing here?”She stepped closer, her faded white dress pressing against my leg.“Are you here for… me?”

I leaned back, a knot forming in my stomach.She was months away from aging out.What if I was taking her last chance from her by asking her to join my Rite?

I cleared my throat.“I…” I glanced around the space.Dozens of eyes were on us.My gaze halted on a pair of gray eyes and stayed there.“Maryn?”

Corrine spun to face her.“Maryn?You’re here for Maryn?”

She held up a hand, and the room burst into chatter.

“Maryn, come.”

She stood, pushing her chair back from her desk.It scraped loudly against the concrete floor, and I pressed my lips together to keep from grinning.

Her march across the vast space was agonizingly slow, drawing my gaze to the sway of her hips.

She didn't hurry.Didn't smooth her hair or straighten her dress the way every other woman in the room had the moment I walked in.She hadn’t even spoken, and already I found myself needing to rehearse.

I wasn’t sure what to do with that.

She stopped more than a foot away.“Yes, Corrine?”

Her eyes never left Corrine, even though I knew she could feel my gaze burning the side of her face.Had I imagined it entirely?Was she already matched?I searched her bare wrist for any sign that I'd missed it.It was slender, delicate.Of course not.She wouldn't be here if she were in a Rite.

Why was my mind so frazzled?I'd had her file in my hands last night and hadn't read past her name.

“Mr.Hale is here for you.”

Her gaze swung to me.“You are?”

“I am?”I ran a hand through my hair.“That is… yes.I am.”

Every eye in the room watched me expectantly.“I’m here about a case.”

“My case?”

Of course.She had cases.She worked here.“Yes.”

“Yes,” I said again, more confidently.

“That’s actually my case,” Corrine said.