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“And Nova,” Elizabeth called. “Don’t untie him!”
Nova would have made a sarcastic remark, but she probably deserved it after telling him about the rebels.
She walked into the bedroom. Altair had his eyes closed and his head down.
“I’m supposed to watch you,” she said, unsure how he would react.
“Did you decide what to do with me?” He looked up, and she saw a hint of fear in his eyes. She didn’t like it.
“I’m not supposed to tell you anything,” she said.
“You don’t trust me?”
She sat on the bed just out of his arm’s reach.
“Did you think about what I told you?”
Altair lay down on the floor, resting his tied hands across his chest.
“I’ve thought about this before, Nova,” he said.
The sound of her name on his lips sent a shiver of excitement through her body.
“If there was any other way to bring women to Mudden without sacrificing our way of life, don’t you think we would do things differently?”
Nova lay on her stomach on the bed looking down at him with her chin resting on top of her hands.
“Because your family is so benevolent that they would give up their power for the benefit of women?”
He looked at her pensively.
“The rebels are worse. They only cause trouble.”
From what Nova had seen of Brent’s group, she couldn’t completely disagree.
“Maybe, but they have fewer choices and fewer resources. And besides, your family treats them worse than they treat you.”
Altair took a deep breath in, then out.
“Do you truly believe the Mudden way of life is worth saving?” she asked, looking him in the eyes. “When you, of all people, have always stood as an outsider.”
He tried to sit up but got stuck halfway from the bindings. He lay back down with a sigh.
“If I promise not to tell anyone about the three of you, would you let me go?”
“And then what?” she asked. “What would you do with yourself? Continue working for your grandfather while everyone else tries to sabotage you?”
He looked her in the eyes like he was searching deep into her soul.
“You would prefer that I join the rebels? Bring down my own family? Prove Devon right? Become an outcast like my parents?”
She shrugged. “It’s better than being your grandfather’s pawn.”
He turned away.
“Think about it,” she said with a yawn.
* * *
