BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Eleven

|Motherless|

Julian Fox adjusts his vibrant blue tie around his neck. I'm guessing the flamboyant color was to add accent to his three piece beige suit. All I know, he has awful fashion sense for a rich man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, again," he says. "You're quite the natural beauty. Of course, I wasn't able to forget your face."

I hesitate, taking his hand into mine, firmly. "It's such a pleasure to officially meet you, too." My teeth are clenched. I relax, realizing I might come off as a lunatic.

"She's a strong one!" he laughs wildly. "What an amazing piece of work." Perspiration lines the hairline across his forehead. He wipes away the dampness with a lilac colored handkerchief. "My apologies," he says, "I'm a little overworked today." His mouth spreads into a toothy grin. I notice his perfect teeth. Instinctively, I reach up to glide my fingertip across the front of my mine, not one crooked tooth, either.

Hanna passes him a glass of water. "Here you go, sir."

He smiles up at her. "Thank you, doctor."

I sit in silence, watching him. My hands trembling on my lap, goose bumps pop up on the surface of my skin. This dress doesn't cover much, only what is necessary.

Julian sets his glass down, dabbing his mouth dry. "There are countless plans for you, Irissa." He taps his fingertips against the edge of the glass, not once taking his eyes from me. "Wow, you're truly a magnificent creature."

Why does he call me a creature?

"Don't call me that," I say defiantly.

His smile falls. "Oh, did I offend you?"

"Yes," I say. "You most certainly did."

He looks over at Hanna, giving her a nod. Her heels tap across the floor as she makes her departure. Before she goes, her hand squeezes my shoulder lightly. The room becomes chillier with just me and him, sitting face to face.

"Where is our Presider?" I wonder why the man himself, Sylas, hasn't made his presence known.

"He's a very busy man," he answers. "But you must know that we have only good intentions for you and all our girls."

My eyes widen. "Good intentions? What about our freedom to choose how to live?"

Julian leans forward on his desk. "You and everyone else in this forsaken country don't seem to understand what we're trying to accomplish," he says. "This is to secure our future!"

"There is no future for me or any of the Borrowed," I say. "We will be damaged goods."

"But there is!" he says, his palms slap against the surface of his desk. I flinch from his outburst. "The Swarm that seems to keep plaguing us, and the Endless war, eventually will kill us all. If we present to everyone something miraculous, something no one can deny, then we will ultimately be saved. Do you understand?"

"Our Presider will be a hero..." I say, my voice trails off.

He nods. "So will you, Iris."

The way he says my name carelessly makes my stomach turn. I look at him, trying to read his expression. He seems proud. Something tells me his true color isn't lilac, like a Borrowed's gown, but black and sinister like a raven that represents death.

Death...

"My brother is dead because of you," I burst out. "He died because of PURE!"

Julian scratches at his bald head. "We didn't kill him, the war did," he says. "He's was an honorable man, then."