Page 98 of Forged Absolution (Fates of the Bound 4)

Lila leaned against the counter. Camille reminded her so much of Alex, her former best friend. Until recently, she’d always been at Lila’s side, always trying to cheer her up when she grew sad.

But in the end, she’d just been another lying highborn.

Lila hoped Camille wasn’t the same.

“I have to work, but maybe someday soon I’ll take your advice. Comedies and horror flicks should be watched after a breakup, is that the idea?”

“That’s my prescription. That and a few pints of chocolate ice cream. Other flavors are available, of course.”

“Cecily is lucky to have you as a friend.”

Camille nodded, her face barely readable. She wasn’t touched. She seemed sad.

A shadow of guilt played around her eyes.

“What are you thinking of right now?”

Camille poured water into her thermos. “I introduced them. Achille was just some cute guy in one of my classes. He wasn’t even Cecily’s type, but I thought they had something in common.”

“Apparently, they did. They dated, didn’t they?”

“For a time, I thought they might marry.”

“Marry? So oracle children marry? They’re not like highborn?”

“You mean, how do they love?”

Lila nodded.

“From what I can see, they’re like cats. They do whatever pleases them, whenever it pleases them. Some are like Kenna and the highborn—they take more than one lover at a time, and marriage is never in the picture, either out of duty or position or their own temperament. Others are like the oracle and the workborn. They choose only one lover at a time. I’ve never seen the oracle with anyone else except Connell since I’ve known Cecily, and Connell has never even looked at another woman. Cecily believes they’ll marry.”

“How does it work when everyone is mixed together? What if Kenna wished to date someone like Connell?”

“Then she’d have to accept his terms and see only him.” Camille stirred the chocolate mix. “That’s the unwritten rule here. Sometimes those who love many can’t handle that.”

“Does everyone choose lovers among those on the compound, then? It seems a bit incestuous.”

“People visit other compounds all the time. They date outsiders too. Highborn, lowborn, workborn…”

“And what are you?”

Camille smirked. “You are blunt in your questions, aren’t you?”

; “Blunt and curious.” Lila’s eyes flitted toward Dixon, still jabbing at his palm. “My friend seems to have taken an interest in someone on the compound. I want to look out for him, just as you wish to look out for Cecily.”

“I’m not sure what I can tell you about Blair. I thought she couldn’t give a fig about any of it. People surprise you sometimes, don’t they?”

“What do you think the oracle would say if they began to date?”

“Congratulations? It doesn’t matter who you date here. Not much matters, so long as you get your work done. That’s why I hate leaving this place, even to attend class. This compound is freedom with very few limitations.”

“Sounds restful.”

“It is. It’s not like outside. I suppose I’m lowborn, if you really want to know. My parents died when I was young. I was raised by workborn foster parents while my relations stole every credit my parents had set aside for me. I won a scholarship to university, or I would never have been able to attend.”

“What do you think about the workborn, then? Are they really monogamous? I’ve heard they cheat on one another all the time.”