by Walker, Nina
She wasn’t formally announced as she entered the room. That was because I hadn’t introduced her, like my parents had requested. Apparently, as I’d been informed by Jasmine, she didn’t want to be seen with me. I knew that would bother Richard but he’d just have to deal with it. Then again, he still hadn’t shown up.
Unsure of what to do, Jessa stood frozen, wide-eyed and perfect in a form-fitting, floor-length, purple gown. Its open neckline left her neck and shoulders exposed and vulnerable. The dark color of the dress played nicely against her creamy skin. Her long curls hung loose around her face and back.
Seeing her discomfort made me uncomfortable, too. I brushed myself off and headed in her direction, unsure of what I could say to clear the air. I faltered, wondering if she would even talk to me.
But it looked like she wouldn’t be alone, after all. Reed appeared at her side, smiling. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear, and when she laughed, her mouth melted into a grin.
I wanted to be the one to make her laugh.
As if she could feel my eyes on her, she turned and looked directly at me. Her expression went flat. Why couldn’t I forget this girl?
“Hey there, stranger,” Sasha said, appearing beside me. She casually put her arm through mine. I’d been wondering when she would show up.
“Oh, hey,” I replied, taking her hand. We’d agreed that tonight we would appear as a couple for the sake of our cover.
Her small, curvy frame fit perfectly into her tight red dress. Normally, I would have been all over a girl like her. But with Jessa watching, I wasn’t in the mood for flirtation.
“Want to dance?” I asked, already knowing her answer would be yes.
Taking her hand, I led her to the small group of couples in the middle of the ballroom. It seemed like a good place to start.
As we danced, I tried not to pay any attention to Reed and Jessa, but I couldn’t help myself. I really didn’t like him. I didn’t like that he was working so closely with Faulk. I didn’t like that he would be involved in Jessa’s training. And I especially didn’t like the way he was dancing with Jessa now. He was dominating her time, and I still hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her. I wanted to apologize for our fight, but not with Reed standing right there. It wasn’t any of his business.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha said.
“Nothing.” I really didn’t want to talk about this right now. Not with the girl who was supposed to be my girlfriend. The very fact that she knew we weren’t really together meant she was probably the only one I could talk to. But I didn’t know where to begin, because I didn’t understand my feelings myself.
Why do I care so much about Jessa? This isn’t like me.
“You can’t be with her, anyway,” Sasha said.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Well, I mean, you could mess around with her, sure. But you can’t really be with her. A royal and a would-be guardian? It would never work.”
“You’re a guardian. Aren’t we supposed to be together?”
She smirked. “Trust me, no one thinks we’re that serious. Together, in our case, is a loose term. It’s not like you’ve ever been monogamous for long before.”
“Ouch. All right, you have me there.”
“Seriously, this pretend relationship we have going on here can’t last long. Who would believe that coming from you, given your dating history? And anyway, would your parents really let you be with a color alchemist?”
“I haven’t thought about it before. But you’re right. There is no way my father would let someone with that much power cross the line into royal territory. We’re on one side. And you’re on the other.”
“And that is why you should stop staring at Jessa. Let her go. It can’t possibly end well. You and I, on the other hand, understand what is really going on between us.” She winked.
“It’s work,” I agreed.
“Yes. We probably only have a few weeks before our break up, right? Better make the most of it.” She pulled me close as the music changed to a slower tempo. I folded my arms around her.
“Why did you stay with the GC?” I asked. “Why did you decide to come back here if you knew what they were doing?”
She stiffened, but I continued.
“I’ve been thinking about this. If you’re with the Resistance, you probably know someone who could get you out. There must have been chances to leave New Colony. To go into hiding or something.”
“I can’t talk about this.”
“You knew what I was talking about with the northeast. You said you’ve been there. The shadow lands. You saw it too, right?” The image of gray skies and dead things leaked into my mind.
“Lucas.” Sasha pulled slightly from my embrace. “This is not the time or the place. This conversation isn’t our assignment.”
“Our assignment?” I asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Our assignment is to establish a reason to be able to see each other often, sometimes during late hours. We have work to do and we don’t have much time. But we can’t talk about that here, in public. It’s not safe.”
She was right. And this assignment of ours wasn’t so bad. Sasha was beautiful—exactly the type I went for. Blond, curvy, petite. And she had a maturity, a sophistication, that very few of my previous girls had boasted. As if she’d been to more places and seen more things than even I had. She checked off all the right boxes. We could get away with our cover, at least for a little while.
I glanced across the room, not realizing I had been looking for Jessa until I saw her. She was still dancing with Reed. They were chest to chest. His face pressed into the hair at her ear, and her eyes were closed as she giggled.
Oh forget this.
“You’re right, we have work to do. We better get started.” Then I bent my head down and kissed her, hard.
She reacted the way they always did, returning the heat. I pushed thoughts of Jessa out of my head, enjoying the woman in my arms.
After a few minutes of taking my frustration out, I pulled away and looked around. Had we gotten the attention we needed? From the many eyes that kept darting between the two of us, I’d say the answer was yes.
Sasha was getting glares equivalent to daggers from most of the women in the room, but she didn’t care. I liked that about her. She just smirked back and then laughed. It was our secret. According to everyone else, we were clearly a couple. I finally started to relax and actually found myself having a good time.
When the party got its busiest, Sasha pulled me outside onto a terrace. The few people out there scurried inside when they caught sight of us. Giving us privacy, I assumed.
“We’ve got some news for you,” Sasha said softly as she pulled me farther into the shadows. There was no one around us now. “It’s about your mother.”
“What is it? Do you know who’s messing with her?”
“Have you noticed that Jasmine is frequently with your mother when she’s ill?”
I had. I couldn’t imagine why Jasmine had a reason. But if she was responsible, I had no problem doing whatever was necessary to stop her.
“It’s not what you think,” Sasha said. “We still don’t know who’s doing it or why. But we’ve been watching Jasmine carefully, since she’s your mother’s main healer.”
“And what have you found?”
“It’s not Jasmine. She’s never so much as raised her voice at your mom, let alone done anything to hurt her.”
“So I can rule Jasmine out?”
“We think so.”
This was good information. I wasn’t completely sure I could trust it, but my gut agreed. Jasmine wasn’t the enemy. If not her, who?
“Will you keep watching? Let me know if you find anything.”
Sasha nodded. “Let’s go back inside.”
The dance floor was filled to capacity now, and we squeezed our way in with the others. After a few songs, I was aware that we were directly next to Reed and Jessa. Jessa was forcing
polite nods as Reed talked. Actually, I was pretty sure he was holding a one-way conversation. Maybe she didn’t enjoy his company as much as it appeared earlier. She didn’t say a thing. Just stood there as Reed prattled on about his life with the GC.
“What are you thinking?” I heard Reed ask. Maybe the guy had finally realizing that Jessa might have a voice too.
“Can you introduce me to some of the other guardians?” Jessa asked.
Sasha peered up at me, whispering. “Is this the kid that’s working for Faulk?”
I nodded and she glared at Reed’s back. “What a tool.”
I laughed, and together, we turned toward the couple. Jessa crossed her arms, not meeting my gaze. Okay, apparently she was still angry with me. She was right, I had tried to kiss her just last night.
“I’ll introduce you to some people,” Sasha said, intruding upon their conversation. “But I’ll warn you, I haven’t been back here myself for a while, so I’m kind of the new girl too. I don’t know if I told you my name. I’m Sasha.”
Her smile thawed its way right through Jessa’s defensives. The two girls smiled at each other and shook hands.
“That would be great,” Jessa said.
“I can help with that,” Reed said, grabbing her hand and leading her to a group of young people mingling by the buffet table. Sasha shrugged and we followed.
The group appeared to be normal teens. Some wore bookish glasses, and some were more attractive than others. But they all had perfect clothes and hair. They were all dressed in expensive outfits. They oozed wealth and privilege—perks of being a color guardian.
I wondered what Jessa thought of them. She had grown up just outside the capital city. She’d been in the same house, going to the same schools, mingling with the same people her whole life. Her parents had tested well enough to be placed in a middle-class neighborhood and had never fallen below the minimum requirements to hold their jobs.
That’s how it worked. Everything was done via testing. An aptitude test would tell a teen what sort of professions they could consider. But we still believed in the power of the human spirit. So once every year, someone had the opportunity to try for a better job. Sometimes they got it. Most of the time, they didn’t. As long as they passed the minimum for their current workplace requirements, they would get to keep their job. And those who didn’t do so well weren’t abandoned, only reassigned into something more suitable. My father prided himself on taking care of the citizens. So he said.
Each job had a certain standard of living attached to it. What their house was like, what type of school their children attended, whether or not they had the luxury of a car, if they had the opportunity for a once-yearly vacation to the capital city or countryside. Did they get the chance to participate in local entertainment? Well, it was all determined by their job placement.
And that placement, of course, was determined by strict government guidelines and the strength of the royal family.
I’d researched Jessa’s life that first night. Her family had fallen somewhere in the middle. Just barely high enough that she could choose an activity to participate in after school. And she’d chosen ballet. It had been her ticket to a better life. Some artists were allowed to continue their art as their jobs. With her talents, I was sure Jessa had been on the fast track to professional dancing.
I was sorry Jessa had lost that. But then again, being placed here in the palace was the best anyone could hope for…even if living within the royal precincts was a double-edged sword.
We moved closer to the group of guardian teenagers, and they peeled apart to meet us. Their smooth smiles were almost icy. Forced. And nervous, which was probably because of me. I didn’t spend too much time around these kids if I could help it.
Reed introduced everyone, but I barely heard him. I stood back from the group, watching the way they sized Jessa up. Obviously jealous. Every now and then, they looked at me, but I never met their curious gazes.
“Hello,” Jessa said, extending her hand to the nearest member.
The girl’s jaw jutted upward as she refused to return the offer. “I don’t mean to be rude. But I don’t think it’s fair that you get your own party. We don’t even know what you’re doing here. You’re not a guardian. You’re not even training the way we do.”
“Brooke,” Sasha said. “Don’t be like that.”
“What?” Brooke looked to the others. “It’s not like it’s a secret. Everyone knows she doesn’t belong. Not yet, anyway.”
Jessa turned to Reed. “What is she talking about?”
“It’s nothing.”
Brooke laughed. “You’re not safe. You have no control. No training. This party shouldn’t even be happening. This is not how we do things here. It’s not even how we do things in New Colony. You have to earn your place. Period.”
A few of the group members nodded along. Brooke showed no sign of remorse, adding, “This whole charade is completely unfair. Do you have any idea how long the rest of us have to work before we get any sort of recognition around here? Before we even get initiated as guardians?”
“I’m sorry,” Jessa stammered. “What do you mean, initiated?”
Brooke laughed, as if she found the ignorance of Jessa’s question offensive.
“Come off it, Brooke,” Sasha said. “Jealousy is not a good look on you.”
Is this how guardians act, or just teenagers? I hadn’t spent tons of time with people my age, but still, I’d never witnessed anyone being so openly rude. If this was the way these people acted at a party—in front of me, no less—then I could only image how ruthless they were in private.
Jessa’s face had drained of color.
“Jessa did earn this party,” I said, stepping into the center of the girls. “I’ve seen what she can do with my own eyes. You haven’t. She has more potential in her than this whole group of alchemists combined.”
Brooke and her gaggle of girls immediately hushed. I resisted the urge to laugh. Did they think I couldn’t hear them? For a heavy moment, they stared at me, taken aback. But then Brooke curtsied deeply and walked away, followed closely by the rest of the group.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sasha put her arm around Jessa. “They’re just mad because you’re already a superstar and not even a guardian yet.”
“They all heard about what you did at the theatre,” Reed added. “That was some seriously impressive alchemy, separating the colors like that. Uncharted territory for everyone here.”
“It’s not like I planned any of it.”
“We know. That’s exactly why they’re threatened,” I said.
Jessa turned on me, angry. Again. “Why did you have to step in like that? I didn’t ask for that. You just made it worse. Now they hate me even more.”
“I was trying to help you.” I stepped back, hands up.
“Don’t you get it? I don’t want to be a special case!”
I looked around. But when my eyes found Brooke and her friends, I saw that they had joined another bunch of young guardians. The whole group was whispering and staring right at us.
Jessa watched them, a scarlet blush sweeping across her face. I hated to see her upset. But I had to admit, she was cute like this.
“Okay, maybe you’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll never understand girls like Brooke. Just try to ignore them.”
“Have you eaten?” Sasha turned to the buffet table and grabbed a plate. “There is one good thing about these lame parties. The food is amazing.”
The four of us filled our plates with piles of pastries, fruit, meats, and cheeses before finding an empty table.
The atmosphere was unexpected. Jessa and Sasha were acting like best friends, which surprised me. I’d assumed the women would become rivals. Reed and I, on the other hand, couldn’t even look at each other. I couldn’t stand the guy. He kept finding ways to touch Jessa or to inject his opinion into the conversation. He was also trying to be funny. The thing about being funny is that you can’t try too ha
rd. This guy has no game.
All the while, I could sense that Jessa was still mad at me. I touched her arm. “Can I talk to you in private?” She shrugged as I took her elbow and led her to the least populated corner of the large ballroom. “Listen, I know we’ve had our differences, but we need to put them behind us.” I wanted to sound sympathetic, but even I could admit every word felt forced.
“Fine.”
Fine? That was all I was going to get? “Look, about Reed.” I glanced over to Reed and Sasha. He was making her laugh, too. How was that possible? The guy wasn’t funny!
“What about him?”
“He’s working with Faulk, remember? Don’t let him get too close. I don’t think we can trust him.”
She laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on the same side as Faulk? Why do you care what I do? Anyway, what I do with my free time is none of your business. I can be friends with whomever I want.”
“I’m just trying to watch out for you,” I said, and then I bit my tongue to keep from screaming out that Faulk and I were definitely not on the same side.
“I can take care of myself.”
“Really? Because from the looks of it, you can’t. Reed has been all over you tonight. You don’t even know him. You don’t know what his true intentions are. He spied on us just a few nights ago, remember?”
“I know what I’m doing. And anyway, you have no room to talk. You and Sasha were the ones making out in front of everyone. Or have you already forgotten about your girlfriend? You seemed to have forgotten about her last night.”
She stepped back, folding her arms and taking me in. She was right. I wasn’t being fair. But she didn’t know the whole story about who Sasha really was to me. She couldn’t know.
“Fine. Do what you want. But remember that I am in charge of overseeing your training. Reed is involved with it, too. It’s a conflict of interest to get close to him.”