Page 24 of Rite of Unity

“No.”

“Yep.I’m calling it.The future of matching has just been stepped up by none other than Elias Hale.”

I moved into the room.“Mama.”

Faster than a woman her age should have been able, she bolted from her seat, rushing to the kitchen.She opened a lower cabinet, pulling out a towel and sack.

“Please talk to me,” I tried again, watching her crash around the kitchen.

She reached for great grandma’s teapot, the last piece of our family legacy, and dumped its contents into the sink.Carefully, she wrapped the towel around it, then placed it in the sack.Yanking open another cabinet door, she tossed out glass and metal containers.When it was empty, she squatted, sliding the bag inside.

I moved to help her, reaching into the back of the cabinet, and my fingers found something that wasn't a dish.A folded slip of paper, worn at the edges.I tugged it free, catching three words in unfamiliar handwriting before my mother's hand shot out.

To my bestie.

She took it from me.

“Natsukashii naa,” she whispered.

Then she tucked it under the wrapping and began restacking dishes in front of it.

I knelt beside her, wrapping my hands over hers.They were age-worn and frail, trembling in my grasp.

“I’ll be okay.”

She looked up, meeting my eyes for the first time.

The door buzzed, and we both looked toward it.

“Who is it?”Dad yelled.

Mom stood."Get the door,” she said, disappearing into the bedroom before I could say anything.

I twisted my hands together.I was an unmarried daughter.I wasn’t supposed to answer the door.

A wisp of blue caught my eye.

That wasn’t entirely true anymore.I wasn’t married, but I wasn’t unmarried either.It was a gray area, and I was pretty sure it was afforded a lot of leeway.

Three years of balls and reports and white dresses, and it still caught me off guard—how fast everything could change.How little warning they gave you.

For a moment, I stared at the closed door.What if I didn’t answer?What if I never answered the door again?

I stood, brushing my hands down the folds of my skirts, and marched to the entry.

I tugged the door open just enough to peer into the hall.

“Miss Veil?”

I searched the face of the stranger.“Yes?”

“I’m just going to call you Twelve, okay?”

“What?”

A man pushed past me, barreling into our entryway, and a buzz of drones followed.

“Oh, this is perfect.”The man tapped rapidly on a tablet, and the drones zoomed away, flitting around the living room.