Rebels Read Free Page A

confided. “Only your debut entrance. And perhaps for the formal dinner.”
    I refused again and again, and she would sigh dramatically, whole body crumpling as though I had stabbed her with my zinger. Governess believes in enhancements with the same intensity she believes in perfectly tied waist sashes. Her own face ceased changing when she began her yearly visits to the Rejuvenation Island Clinic. You could not discern her age unless you noticed the dullness in her eyes. She has yet to have the sparkle put back in, which is a very painful procedure.
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    Up here in the upmost of Upper Levels, we have everything we could possibly want for, according to Governess, who never fails to want foran opinion. Unfortunately, this doesn’t include an actual person with whom I can have an actual conversation.
    Life Guide doesn’t count. Master comes once a week to oversee my swordsmanship, and he doesn’t count either.
    I have never visited the City of Indra, and the only Middlers I know are the maids appointed to scour the endless white surfaces of the main quarters, and the garden crew that reprograms the synth-trees to bloom for new seasons. Their leaves are gold and red and orange now.
    Last year Governess chose white blossoms. I thought much the same of them as of my white dress. This year they grew apples. They look far better than they taste.
    Veda neighs nervously. I’m getting closer to the edge. “Keep going, girl,” I tell her.
    My Emergence Ball will be the biggest of the season. Everyone will be there, desperate to see Helix Island up close. Desperate to see my inadequacy up close as well.
    And the Proper Young Men of Indrithian Society? They will line up to cohabitate with the Cosmo Airess. I will be forced to pick one of them—that’s how it’s done. That’s how it’s always been done.
    The air grows chilly. The clouds draw closer.
    Veda comes to a sudden halt. We’ve reached the edge. Nowhere else to go.
    I gaze up at the dome that keeps us all protected. It is far above and faint, but I’m always aware of it. It is what keeps us from burning with radiation.
    I gaze down. The floating islands glide through the clouds beneath me, caught in their predictable orbits. They’re beautiful from afar—you can almost imagine each is a slice of paradise, but must paradise feel so limited? For a moment, in the space between, I see the bottomless City of Indra, the twin towers of the High Council rising above all others. There is so much glass that it’s hard to look atdirectly, the way it refracts the sun’s light. It all looks as if it could be broken so easily, yet it has stood for centuries.
    Behold Indra: city of impossible architecture, her beauty timeless, her secrets dark. Whose mind dreamed her to life?
    For a split second, I imagine leaping into the sky and falling into the endless, unknown Indrithian void. Past one of the construction rigs, the crew of Hubbers astonished at my falling form, distracting them from island maintenance for a mere moment. . . .
    The feeling I get is exactly like experiencing an Emergence Ball. Falling into an endless, unknown social void. . . .
    Veda senses something. She backs us up. I shift her so we face Helix Island. My home, though not for much longer, if everything, unfortunately, goes according to the very well thought out and endlessly practiced plan.
    I will return to the main quarters and apologize to Governess. Tomorrow I will open my fan wide and curtsy low but not too low. I shall smile at each of the Proper Young Indrithian Men as though they are the most fascinating Young Men in existence, and then I will choose one with which to spend the rest of my life. At least it’s my choice, right?
    In that moment, I feel something boiling to the surface of my skin. This part of me I cannot control. This part is not only improper but something far worse.