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My stomach recoils at the thought.
“Mia, sweetheart, are you almost done?” Mom appears around the door. “Oh my gosh, baby, you look… my little girl is all grown up.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I inhale a sharp breath and she frowns.
“Mia, what is it? What?
?s wrong?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” She comes inside and perches on the edge of the bed, making sure to smooth out the skirt of her royal blue gown. She looks stunning—regal, even.
“Do you want this for me? I mean, really want this for me?”
“W-what?” Her brows pinch. “I don’t understand…”
Disappointment wells inside me. “Don’t you want me to be with someone I love? Someone who treats me right and cherishes me?”
“Oh sweetheart.” She leans forward, brushing a curl out of my face. “Those feelings will come with time. Relationships take work and patience. You’re young, Mia. You and Cade have your whole lives to grow together.”
“I don’t love him, Mom. I will never love him.”
She rears back. “What are you saying, sweetheart?”
“I don’t want this, Mom.” My lip wobbles, pain lashing my insides. “I never wanted it.”
With a soft sigh, Mom gathers my hands in hers. “To be a prosapia is a gift, Mia. You will have such a good life with Cade, baby. You’ll never want for anything again.”
“He isn’t… good, Mom. He’s cruel and conceited. He treats people like toys.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t know where all this is coming from…” She hesitates, and for a second, I think she might be losing her rose-tinted glasses. But then her frown deepens. “Cade and the Electi are young, powerful men, Mia. And it’s college, baby. Time to make mistakes and discover who you are. But after tonight, once the ceremony is complete, everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
I stare at her dumbfounded.
She doesn’t get it.
She’ll never get it.
I realize that now. I think deep down, I’ve always known it. But I needed to hear the words. I needed to know, once and for all, that she isn’t on my side.
And it kills something inside me.
Something I’ll never get back.
“I should finish getting ready,” I say, steeling my spine.
“Mia, sweetheart…”
“I’m fine, Mom,” I say, coolly. “I’ll be down soon.”
She gives me a small nod and leaves. A shuddering breath leaves my lips.
I go through the motions, applying a thin layer of makeup and finishing my hair with gold-tipped pins. The Electi crest pendant sits heavy around my neck. But tonight, it will be replaced with something more permanent. A brand I will never be able to remove.
Most women wear their Coglio brands with pride, for that brand denotes power and wealth. It denotes belonging to the dark, corrupt world of Quinctus and the Electi.
A world I never asked to be a part of.
