Ever So Madly Read Online Free

down.
    He pushed his tongue into the side of his cheek, grinning coyly. “I’ve never agreed with the separation of classes as such.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Then why did you take issue with the scab?”
    I knew he had as many friends and lovers among the slaves and scabs as he did inside our own sect.
    “Because he wanted to fuck my sister.”
    “I’ve never thought of you as the possessive type,” I said.
    The tailor finished with me and nodded, helping me out of the uncomfortable heap of fabric before gesturing for Jacob to take my place on the pedestal.
    “Don’t use that fabric.” He waved at the one he had smeared juice on and glanced at my dress. “The Barron wishes for us to complement each other while he stands alone in the house red.”
    The tailor barked at him in common, so fast I had a hard time following.
    “Yes, yes, I know he originally wanted me in the red, but we are to be presented at the aging ceremony, and he wants us to look striking together.” He winked at me. “The white and purple like my sister’s gown will look better with my alabaster skin tone, don’t you agree?”
    The only reason I wasn’t wearing it was because the Baron had forbidden it until I was named as his successor.
    The tailor said something about having said so in the first place and went about his work.
    “You are so bad,” I said when the man stepped away.
    “But at least I won’t be washed out in red.” He shrugged coyly. “We have the worst house colors for our complexion.”
    I tried to resist the smile spreading over my lips.
    “See, you know how the Baron looks on the vids!” He bounced his brows. “Looks like a Scilian fruit.” He held his arms out in front of his stomach and puffed out his cheeks.
    I repressed a laugh. “Hurry up. We have orientation to get to.” I ducked out of the room to pull on a large cotton shirt with sleeves that passed below the tips of my fingers and a pair of wool pants that tapered down my legs, hugging them to my ankles.
    When I walked back in the room, Jacob was back in his clothes and waiting.
    “Damn, boys get off easy.”
    He offered his arm, and I took it. We didn’t have far to go as the palace was placed across the great square from the Imperial Institute. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and left my shirt hanging around the tips of my fingers. I would have caught hell for going dressed this way to an official event, but the last thing I wanted was to stand out in a place I’d been attending for years. I already had to be a public face for the House of Akillie. There were some places I tried to hide in plain sight.
    The sun shone through the thin layer of clouds that lingered high up in the atmosphere, causing the bright red glow of the sun to turn the skin an amber hue in the full light. The star above Trenton was dying. Black cracks spidered over the surface, and it cooled by the year, but the home world was such a pride to the Akillie house they refused to abandon it. My boots clicked over the large gray stones that made up the square. They were mined from Becca, one of the hot planets, at the rim of known space and brought in as a sign of wealth. It was one of the planets in Akillie rule and possibly where Mad had come from. I wondered if I would see him again.
    He had to be here to work the Worlds’ Fair. It was unlikely I would cross his path again. But I wanted to.
    He felt so familiar, while at the same time exciting and exotic. Behind my closed eyes, I could see the way he looked at me before he touched our lips together. My lips burned in memory. I licked over them, inhaling, almost thinking I could bring back his scent. Instead I inhaled the clean ocean air I breathed in and out every day.
    “Come on, we are going to be late.” Jacob dragged me up the large stone stairs, out of my fantasy.
    We took seats toward the back, with some of our friends. My brother liked to sit here so we could make an easy escape when the time came, or leave early if