Genesis Girl (6 page)

“He’ll come,” I say, tapping on my platinum cuff. I fake a confidence I’m not sure I deserve.

“I hope so.” Cal folds his napkin. “I’m banking on it.”

Wrap me in silk, twirl me around, and tie up my chest with diamonds. My bare arms are cold, even though Cal has every fireplace in the house burning. I lean into his shoulder and drape my wrist around his arm. His wool jacket is scratchy but warm.

“I didn’t think I’d be so nervous,” Cal says as we descend the stairs. There are executives everywhere, filling up the great hall. The McNeal Solar Enterprises board of directors is out in full force, watching my every step.

“You’ll be fine.” I try to sound reassuring, but I’m not used to so many strangers. Invisible butterflies beat in my stomach. In mere seconds, an older lady in a sequined top approaches, her black hair pulled tight in a French twist with a fleur-de-lis inked on her neck.

Cal whispers in my ear. “Here comes Nancy Robinson, my attorney. Don’t let her manners fool you. Nancy is a shark, and the whole board listens to her opinions.”

“Cal, darling!” Nancy gushes. “I’ve been dying to come as soon as I got the invitation.” She holds out her hand to be kissed, which Cal does, graciously.

“Nancy, I’d like you to meet my new daughter, Blanca.”

“Daughter?” Nancy’s tattooed eyebrows arch. “Is that what you’re calling her?”

“Yes,” Cal answers.

“How … unexpected,” Nancy says. There’s an uncomfortable pause. Other guests join the circle, hungry for information.

I want to tell Cal he doesn’t have to say anything. His private business is just that— private. But Cal’s not a Vestal, so he keeps talking. “My wife, Sophia, was fascinated by the Vestals.”

Nancy’s jaw sets into a fake smile, and her teeth glisten. “Sophia was a wonderful person,” she says. “A true genius.”

I feel Cal’s arm flex right below my elbow.

“You’ll get no arguments from me. My wife was the most brilliant anthropologist Stanford ever had. And she was mesmerized by the Vestals. Sophia wrote her dissertation on Barbelo Nemo.”

“That quack,” Nancy says, her face flat and shiny.

“He’s not a quack!” I say.

“She speaks!” somebody from the back of the crowd pipes up.

Cal places a hand on my arm, already linked with his, and gives a little pat. “Sophia was inspired by Barbelo Nemo,” he says. “She was amazed that he could create something so powerful in forty-five years.”

“Fifty, now,” I correct.

“Whatever happened to Barbelo Nemo?” Nancy asks. Her gray silk skirt swishes around her.

“That’s private,” I answer. Barbelo has retreated to Plemora now, his estate at an unknown location. But that’s nobody’s business either.

“You mean you don’t know or you can’t say?” Nancy asks.

Heat prickles up my spine as I feel everyone watch me. I know these strangers are hungry for information, but there’s no way I’ll betray my Brethren. So I offer a placid smile, straight from Ms. Corina’s lessons in charm and deportment.

Cal clears his throat. “The mystery enchanted Sophia. She wanted to know the unknowable. Vestal secrets fascinated her. That’s why I knew Sophia would have been concerned about that picture of Blanca gathering unfavorable attention before her Harvest. She would have felt responsible. She would have wanted to do something.”

“Because it was Seth who took the picture?” somebody says.

“So it’s true then?” another guest asks. “Veritas Rex is Seth?”

“Oh, please.” Nancy swats the air with her hand. “Everyone’s known that for ages.”

“Yes,” Cal admits. “That’s not exactly privileged information.”

“Seth’s picture really caused chaos,” Nancy says. “He stirred things up.”

Cal nods. “I couldn’t let Seth ruin a young Vestal’s life. Sophia wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Inwardly, I flinch. My life wouldn’t have been ruined, no matter what Cal thinks!
There are many paths a Vestal can take, and they all have honor.

Nancy looks right at me. “The news feed said there were several men after you.” I feel my skin turn clammy. “That man from Korea with the plastic surgery, a time-share billionaire from Florida, and the senator who got in trouble a few years ago with his intern.”

I see delight in Nancy’s eyes as she witnesses the effect her words have on me. I fight harder to stay composed.

“So happily for all, I get a new daughter instead,” Cal says, a little too brightly.

The other party guests aren’t looking at me anymore. Their eyes are on Nancy, waiting to see how she responds. The wait seems endless.

“Excellent,” Nancy says at last. “I’m so happy for you both.” Then Nancy throws her arms around me, and her earrings tangle in my hair. “Welcome to the McNeal Solar family, darling!”

“Thank you,” I say, extracting myself.

After that, everyone wants to take my picture. Most people spend their whole lives and never meet a Vestal in person. But Cal doesn’t let them.

“Part of Vestal culture is not to be photographed,” he explains. “Unless it’s to sell a product.”

Vestals give blessings freely, but never their image. Vestal privacy belongs to their company
.
Or in my case, to Cal. But he doesn’t want my picture out there either. That would ruin everything.

“Are you the new face of McNeal Solar?” a guest asks me.

I shake my head. “No.”

“I want Blanca to have a normal life,” Cal says. “There’s no need for her to do anything but simply be,” he lies.

So the party continues. I eat shrimp, I drink water, and I sample strawberries. I shake hands as Cal leads me through the room. But I’m not here to make conversation.

I am here as bait.

I feel his stare before I see him. The whole room goes silent when he enters the room. Probably nobody but Cal and I expected Seth to come.

He stands by the fire, dressed in a black tuxedo. He’s so cleaned up he’s practically a different guy than the one who was in my car a few days ago. Seth’s hair is slicked back, and the tattoos shoot up his neck from a starched white collar. His hands are in his pockets as if he’s trying to be causal, but his face is like iron.

I don’t have to fake it. I’m completely stunned.

It’s like I’m finally seeing Seth for the first time.

And he’s blinding.

Fast as lightning, I tell my hormones to shut down. Sure, Seth looks different from every other guy I grew up with from Tabula Rasa. Yes, my pulse races at the sight of him in a way it never has around Beau or Ethan. But I am a Vestal, and Seth is a Virus. He’s forbidden to me—unless my purchaser instructs me otherwise.

Tonight I have a job to do, and that’s it. My heart pounds as I lean into Cal and stage-whisper, “Who is he?”

It’s showtime.

Cal squeezes my arm. Then he leads me across the room. “Blanca,” he says. “Meet my son, Seth.”

Seth stares at me, at my shoulders and at my neck. Then he glances at his father with the coldest chill ever. “Blanca and I have already met.”

“We’ve met? Right. If stealing my picture and getting kicked is your idea of an introduction, then we’re old friends. Too bad you didn’t bother telling me your real name.”

Seth smirks. “I was kind of busy.”

I turn to Cal and glare. “You knew?” I pretend to accuse him. “You knew Veritas Rex was your son, and you didn’t tell me?”

Cal feigns hurt. “Blanca, I should have told you. I’m sorry.”
His eyes meet Seth’s
. “You’ve seen her, okay? Now it’s probably best if you leave her alone. You’ve done enough harm to Blanca already, so let her be and stay away.”

I don’t wait to hear Seth’s answer. I flee.

The white silk of my dress billows after me like a sail. When I get to my room, I leave the door open, on purpose.

I don’t have much time.

My skirt’s detachable, and I rip it off. Underneath I’m already wearing my white spandex pants. They match perfectly with my strapless silk top. I throw on my leather jacket, zip on my boots, and start to climb through the open window, right as Seth walks in. Exactly like Cal predicted he would.

“He’ll do precisely what I tell him not to,”
Cal told me before the party started.

“Where’re you going?” Seth demands, bursting into the room.

“To get some air.”

“What are you gonna do, jump? It’s the second floor.”

“There’s a ledge,” I counter.

Seth crosses the room in about two strides and slides his arm around my waist, pulling me back. “I’ve got a better idea.” He sets me on my feet. “Let’s go for a ride on my bike.”

That wasn’t the official plan, but Cal did say I could improvise. Maybe this will be easier than I thought.

Ten million stars light up the night. I can hear music piping out of the manor, but Seth and I are outside, standing in front of the biggest motorcycle I’ve ever seen. It’s got the Veritas Rex cobra painted across each side.

“Here you go, princess.” Seth hands me a helmet.

A
red
helmet.

“I can’t wear that.”

“Safety first, angel.”

Again with the mocking! I wish Beau were here to teach Seth some manners. Or Fatima. She’d probably say something cutting.

“Sorry, Rex or Seth or whatever you name is. But there’s no way I’m wearing color.”

And just when I think I’ve lost, like I’ve totally failed my mission tonight and am going to have to walk back to the party in shame, Seth reaches into a saddlebag and pulls out a white helmet. “Try this one.”

That’s when I realize I haven’t lost. But it’s also when I realize my target is a lot cagier than I knew.

When I put on the white helmet, it’s a perfect fit.

So that’s how it happens. I’m on a motorcycle behind a Virus zooming through the night at top speed, my arms holding on to the guy for dear life. And Seth’s jacket isn’t scratchy like his dad’s; it’s smooth and tight, like him.

Adrenaline rushes through my brain, flooding out lucid thought. I fight to remind myself of my mission. But it’s difficult because this is the first time I’ve ever really been outside. There’s no car, no lead, and no security force protecting me. It’s simply me, Seth, and the night. The freedom terrifies me, and I grip Seth tighter.

Occasionally Seth stops, when we come to a red light or an intersection, and people snap my picture. Am I a real Vestal or a copycat in white? They scan me to find out and shake their hands when their finger-chips register nothing. I have no virtual profile to bounce back.

Hopefully most people can’t tell which Vestal I am under this helmet. But the possibility makes me quiver.

Sometimes the other drivers don’t see us at all. They’re driving away and finger-chipping at the same time. Seth swerves more than once so we don’t get hit by idiots.

When Seth rolls to a stop at the top of a canyon, every square inch of my skin tingles with excitement. He takes off his helmet, so I pull off mine too. Nobody can see us up here. There aren’t any eyes watching, only a cozy bench to sit on, under an ancient oak tree.

Seth helps me off the bike. “So you and my dad … ”