Page 153 of Rite of Unity

I climbed shakily to my feet.

One of the men stepped forward.“Hands behind your back.Turn around.”

I turned.The metal bit into my wrists, the click of each cuff impossibly loud in the quiet room.His fingers dug into my bicep, steering me out the door.

Sera leaned in her doorframe, a single brow raised, lips tipped up in a cruel smile.She’d been patient, watching and waiting until I handed her something so damning there was no coming back from it.

I said nothing.There was nothing left to say.

Hands behind my back, I nearly tripped and tumbled down the stairs, but the guard behind me held fast.

Sharp laughter cracked from the top step.I kept my eyes forward, jaw locked.If I looked up at Lydia, I would cry.

Outside, a large black vehicle was waiting, back door ajar.

“Duck your head,” the guard behind me instructed.

I slid inside, sitting uncomfortably, angling myself so my hands weren’t crushed behind me.The guard got in, sitting across from me.He stared out the window, weapon resting on his thigh.There was no need for a chaperone now.I was already ruined.

“Will someone let Elias know?”

The guard looked my way.“Your father has been notified.”

I pressed my lips together to hold back the whimper.What could my father do for me?

We stopped, and I looked out the window.Outside, a tall black building made of one-way glass stretched up impossibly high.Every quadrant had one.Citizens averted their eyes, moving by quickly.People went inside, and they didn’t come out.

The guard opened the door.“Let’s go.”

I straightened, inhaling a deep breath.

“Miss Veil.”

I swallowed and scooted to the edge of my seat, stepping out into the crisp morning air.

I wish I had a jacket.

The thought nearly made me giggle.Cold weather was the least of my troubles now.

I followed the guard into a room not unlike the one I’d been in during my psychological trials.

“Turn.”

I did, giving him my back.Two loud clicks and my wrists were free.I rubbed them, grimacing at my crushed ribbon.At least it hadn’t fallen off.It was all I had to remember him by.

“Sit.”

I stared at the cold metal chair with cuffs hanging open for wrists and ankles and swallowed.

“Is my father on his way?”

The man in black touched the trigger of his gun, stroking it, eyes meeting mine.

I moved, sitting on hard metal.Goosebumps broke out on my bare arms.

He stepped forward, slamming the metal down on each wrist and bent down, lifting my gown and clamping metal around my ankle.He lingered, and I stilled as three fingers slid off the cuff, tracing a line up my calf.

It continued to my knee, and I squeezed my eyes closed.