Elysium by Sylah Sloan Page B

and I half expected to wake up, lying in my bed at Marie’s house, realizing this was all a bad dream. It wasn’t though, and even though a part of me wanted things to go back to normal, I knew it wouldn’t happen, that I would have to accept this new life. I ran my fingers through my hair, under my eyes, and back again to my teeth. I heard a knock at the door and looked at myself once more in the mirror before getting up to answer it. Even though I knew Cadeon was going to come by, it was still a shock to see him standing on the other side of the door when I opened it. He had a smile on his face, but as he took in my appearance, and most likely saw my red rimmed eyes, his entire expression changed.
    “Have you been crying?”
    I was surprised to hear such concern in his voice, but I knew he was just being nice. He did after all help me recover from my transition. I smiled and rubbed my eyes, which only made them redder. “No, I mean, I was just looking through some old things, and thinking about stuff. Everything’s dusty and all.” It was a bad lie, and I knew he didn’t buy it, but admitting I was crying over a picture seemed kind of lame. I was glad he didn’t press it, and, as I stared at him, my pulse picked up, as it seemed to do every time I saw him. He had ditched the white lab coat and now wore faded jeans and a Henley, which I might add, made him look really good.
    “Can I come in?”
    “Oh, of course.” I felt my cheeks get hot and stepped to the side.
    “I thought I would come by and give you a tour of the place, that is, if you would like to?”
    “Oh, yeah, that sounds great.” I didn’t want to stay in this room anyway—looking at all my old things and missing everyone that I loved. He was only standing at the entrance way, but I felt his presence so intensely. I don’t know what it was about him.
    “Would you like to go now?”
    I nodded and followed him out the door, shutting it gently.
    “Everyone is in class now, so it should be fairly quiet.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me.
    I walked a little quicker, so that I kept pace with his long strides. He pointed out the student rooms, which I didn’t bother telling him Mikhail had already done.
    “Most of the upper level rooms are for student housing, along with a few wings on the east and west side of the Manor.” He took me down the staircase and stopped in front of huge, closed double doors. I stayed a few feet back from him, and, as he pushed them open, light speared through the crack. “This is the ballroom. Dances and other social gatherings are held here.”
    I followed him in, my mouth dropping open in awe. The floor shined brightly, and I could even see my reflection in the black marble. A gigantic chandelier hung from the center of the cathedral style ceiling. I could clearly see the crystals covering it, each looking like an iridescent feather. It was strange to look at, but so very beautiful. A four piece orchestra was set up on a stage off to the side, along with elegantly dressed tables and chairs on the main floor. He pointed out the amenities of the room, saying words that I didn’t even understand, but wasn’t about to admit.
    After the ballroom, he took me to the kitchen and the dining hall, which might I add did not look like any cafeteria I had ever seen. He showed me the sitting areas and pointed out chairs that he dubbed “Louis XIV”, whatever that meant. The place was bigger than anything I had ever seen, with more rooms than I thought one building could have.
    “Would you like to see the courtyard?”
    I nodded and followed him as he took so many turns I would have gotten lost by myself. He finally stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. I walked past him and into a beautiful courtyard. Semi-bare trees were lined against a stone wall that was at least twenty feet tall. An elaborate fountain stood in the center of the courtyard, a winged angel seated on the edge, her small hands reaching