Expiration Date (Books 1 and 2)

32 All I Ask Of You

Iris~~

The Preeminence sits on the edge of the stone fountain. Half of him is exposed by the amber glow of the lampposts while the other half is cast in shadow. His elbows dig into his thighs, while he presses his face into his hands.

"Jonas?"

He drops his hands, letting them fall to his lap and looks up. He stares at me as if he's not sure who I am.

I take a few steps farther into the courtyard.

He blinks. "Iris." He runs his hands though his hair, from the back to the front, disheveling it. "What are you doing here?"

Reminded of Erik's words, I take a step back before I can realize there's no venom in his words. He's genuinely confused as to why I'm here.

"I needed to clear my thoughts."

"This is a good place for that." He stands and walks toward me. "You've already met with Alix?"

I examine the tip of my burgundy high heel as it presses into the cobblestone paving the courtyard. "Not yet. The timing didn't work out."

He stops a few feet away. "You've won Abella over."

I smile—sincerely. "She's lovely."

"Do you think you'll be happy there?"

"I—" The stars paint the sky in streams of silver as if someone once overturned a bucket of stars and never wiped them up. How different is the night sky in France? Is there too much light pollution where I'll end up that I'll never see the sky like this again? "Eventually I'll be. It will be an adjustment, but I've been on my own before and gotten by."

He takes a quick step forward as if pulled. "You shouldn't have to be alone."

I shrug and feel the chill in the air. I rub my arms.

"I do occasionally visit France." Pulling off his jacket, he drapes it over my shoulders. I place a hand on it to take it off. "No, Jonas, you don't have to—"

He covers my hand with his own. "Let me offer you this before you're gone."

A lump forms in my throat. "It makes it easier knowing it isn't goodbye."

"You know the possibility of your secret getting out to the rest of the country has nothing to do with why I've arranged this?"

"I know." I place my hand on his sleeve where underneath his Mark hides. "Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to destroy the Society."

He places his other hand over the back of my hand and threads his fingers though mine. "Is this the story where she meets the handsome boy?"

"There are a lot of handsome boys in this story. I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

His eyes narrow even has his lips quirk up to the side.

"This girl met their king—"

"Not Preeminence?"

I slide my hand out from underneath his where it rested on his jacket and my shoulder and place a finger to his lips. "Would you let me finish?"

With a sheepish grin, he holds up his hands. "Sorry."

"She fully expected this king to be . . . well a creep."

It doesn't seem like he can stop the grin that spreads across his face or the laugh that comes out of him. "Creep?"

"What do you think I expected to find? A ruler of a mysterious government who happened to be friends with all the forest animals?"

"I take offense to that. I happen to be king of the forest animals."