Page 3 of Rite of Unity

I did and my braid was raised higher.

The pad of a thumb drew a line along my collarbone, then lower.Clinical.Unhurried.I counted the folds in the curtain.Someone behind me said something about symmetry, and I stared at the wall, forcing all my focus onto the curtains drawn over windows to give me the illusion of privacy.

“We’re good here,” the voice beside me said.

“Clear of radiation,” another man said.

“You may step down.”

I lifted my chin, avoiding eye contact with any of the men, just as Mother had drilled into me, and stepped off the pedestal.

“Through the next set of doors,” someone said.

I bit down on my tongue to shock my legs into motion.Not too fast.Not a run.

A row of white gowns hung in the closet to my right.I reached for the smallest.

The doors on the other side were heavier.The cold air bit into my cheeks as they swung wide.I took a seat beside a row of girls in white.At the other end of the bench, a girl stood when her name was called.

“Vera Holt, daughter of John Holt.”

I stood, marched up a set of steps and peered down at the clear liquid at my feet.

Mother said no one had ever drowned, but I’d heard from the other girls that they had older sisters who never returned from the Endowment of Purpose.The thought surfaced before I could stop it.I pressed it back down, curling my toes against the floor.

Small flecks of dirt lined the bottom of the pool.The scent of stale earth and mold reached me as I leaned closer.Hands touched my shoulders, the top of my head.I flinched, then stilled and sucked in a final life-giving gulp of air before I was pressed beneath the surface.

Muffled words were chanted overhead.Words I couldn’t make out.I couldn’t think about them.My focus was stolen by the fingers digging into my shoulders through thin fabric, holding me in place.Had it been a minute?Two?How long could a person hold their breath?

Tightness strained across my chest.My heart beat wildly in my ears, my gaze darting around.Every thought centered on pushing off the floor, fighting the hands holding me under—surviving.

But if I did, I would be ineligible.

My fingers squeezed into fists.My head pounded.Had it been three minutes?Had they seen something on my skin?Some mark that made me unworthy?Was this it?Would I sit meekly at the bottom of this pool and allow them to end me?

Stars swam in my vision, and my nails cut into my palms.

My thoughts were growing fuzzy, but one circled my mind.Not good enough.I wasn’t eligible for marriage.Just as I’d always suspected.

The pressure on my shoulders disappeared and I shot up.

My head broke the surface as I inhaled a great heaving breath, lunging out of the water.

The steward at my side staggered back.Ice speared my middle.Too fast, too frightened.I would be punished for that.

I blinked, clearing my vision and staring out at the citizens who had gathered to witness my entry into the marriage pool.Young men, yes, but mothers and fathers too.Many with raised eyebrows.I knew from the looks on several faces that my hope for an early selection had been lost the moment I burst from the water.

All I had left was my family’s legacy.

“Recite your heritage,” a cold voice commanded.The steward I had startled.

“Vera Holt, daughter of John Holt, living.Son of Ren Holt, died 2068.Son of Tyler Hirota, died 2040.Son of Ken Hirota, died 2027.Son of Hirota Daichi, died 2026.Son of Hirota Kenji, died 2019.”

I gasped in a breath, holding perfectly still.

My fingers flexed at my sides.I had done it.I had done it all in one breath even after my lungs felt as though they would explode moments before.

I stared straight ahead, not meeting the eyes of the audience.