“I don’t know,” she said again, staring at her former friend, as a cloud drifted to cover the moon.

RYLIN

RYLIN STEPPED THROUGH the doorway to the thousandth floor, and into another world.

Not even working at Cord’s apartment—not even the trip to Paris he’d taken her on—had prepared her for this level of grandeur. Everything, from the sweeping two-story entryway to the enormous living room with floor-to-ceiling windows, had all been designed down to the smallest detail, to emphasize the taste and wealth of the Fuller family.

And crammed into this absurdly expensive apartment were hundreds of teenagers, loud and bright-eyed with booze and dancing. Rylin pushed her way forward, trying her best to look out for Cord.

People were looking at her. Most of them noted her off-the-rack dress and cheap shoes and dismissed her negligently; but a few of the glances were more interested. Rylin kept her eyes straight ahead, daring anyone to talk to her. She needed to find Cord. She didn’t like this, the crushing crowds or blaring music or the way everyone’s eyes dilated in their contacts.

This was Cord’s world, she reminded herself. It didn’t feel that way when they spent time together—it felt like they’d created their own world, just the two of them—but these were his friends. He’d wanted to bring her here tonight, before she ruined everything.

Her tablet buzzed with a message from Lux. I’m at the steel forest, and Hiral is here, upset. Where are you? Is everything okay?

I’m okay. I’ll explain later, she shot back. The kids around her noticed her typing with her fingers on a cheap tablet. They looked at her eyes, noticed her lack of contacts, directed even more curious stares in her direction.

Ignoring them all, Rylin methodically made a lap of the party in search of Cord, trying to plan what she would say when she saw him. She grabbed a drink from a passing tray, hoping it would settle her nerves. She shouldn’t have done this; it was a mistake to come. Where on earth was he? She’d looped through the entire party, twice, with no sign of him. Maybe he’d already left.

And then she saw him.

He was in the corner of the library by the living room, talking to a girl with red-gold hair. Rylin caught her breath at the sight of them. The way their bodies were curled toward each other, her hand resting on his arm, their hips just slightly touching—she knew, without being told, that Cord had slept with her.

Rylin stood there for a moment, watching as the girl laughed at something Cord said. She was gorgeous, Rylin thought bitterly, all soft curves and wide eyes and that riotous mane of hair. Cord laughed with her, his gaze traveling over her body appreciatively, his hand falling lower on her waist. The sight of them together was like a blow to the stomach.

Feeling the weight of her gaze, Cord looked up. “Rylin?” he said stupidly, as if he wasn’t quite sure he could believe his own eyes. And really, why should he? What reason did Rylin Myers have to be on the thousandth floor?

They stood there for a moment, the two of them looking at each other, like they were actors in some bad movie and the vid-screen had frozen. “Oh,” the girl breathed, turning to look at Rylin, her strange amber eyes lighting up in recognition. “Is this her? Your maid?”

Those words—the realization that Cord had talked about her with this stranger—unlocked something in Rylin, and she whirled blindly around, suddenly desperate to escape.

“Wait, Rylin!” she thought she heard Cord say behind her, but she wasn’t sure if she’d really heard it over the din of the crowd, and it was too late—she was already running away.

ERIS

“THAT’S HER?” ERIS said again, turning to Cord. “Your maid?” She was pretty enough, Eris had to admit, with her pale oval of a face and sparkling almond-shaped eyes.

“Yeah.” Cord was looking after the girl, his voice thoughtful.

“Why’d she run off like that?” It seemed like odd behavior to Eris. If she’d seen a boy she liked talking to someone else, she would have barged over and forced her way into the conversation and generally made a scene until she got what she wanted.

Cord glanced at her sidelong. “You’re kind of intimidating to other girls. You know that, right?”

“Me?” Eris laughed. She’d been called many things in her eighteen years, sexy and selfish and flighty, but intimidating had never been one of them.

She started to say something else teasing, but as she studied Cord’s face, she realized the atmosphere had shifted. Their easy banter was gone. Cord’s thoughts were turned inward, his mind seeming undecided about something.

“Oh my god,” Eris murmured. “You love her.”

Cord didn’t reply, and that in itself was her answer.

“You love her, even though she used you,” she went on, wondering. “After all your big statements about not believing in love, you’re as much of a sucker as anyone.”

“Love and trust aren’t the same thing,” he shot back, just as Eris’s contacts lit up with an incoming message.

Did you mean that, or were you just drunk?

Eris turned aside, waving her hand at Cord to indicate that she was making a call, and pinged Mariel. She answered after the fourth ring.

“I mean all of it. I’m not even drinking tonight! And I’m sorry,” Eris hurried to say, all in one breath. “I’m so, so very sorry. I should never have said that.”