Iris~~
Colton stands beside me, my arm threaded through his. Bently is stationed on my other side. Below us stairs descend into the ballroom where royal guests and reporters gaze up at us. The trio from Elleany. From the Society. The oddities.
What if Erik hadn't saved me? I would never be standing here, being escorted by the Beta and Digamma as the fiancée of the Preeminence. I wouldn't be attending this glittery ball or wearing this immaculate ball gown. Colton had a plan where I would wear one of Abella's gowns, but she's six inches taller than me and with a much fuller breast. I was not going to fit that dress. Colton then had to ask Vienna for one.
To the right, windows look out on the balcony. In the distance lights from the city twinkle.
"Shall we?" Bently's face is aloof.
I tighten my hold on Colton's arm and nod.
As we descend into the ballroom, the chaos of guests and reporters parts for us until we're given a clear way forward to where Abella and Alix stand on their dais. All the while cameras flash and questions are thrown at us.
"Miss Levine, how did you meet Preeminence Blackwood?"
"Digamma, what are your reasons for traveling to France?"
"Where is the Preeminence?"
"Will the travel ban be lifted, Beta?"
Colton and Bently act as if the reporters aren't even present, and I do my best to mimic them. In their articles, I'll be called rude. But those papers and news stories will go to a world I wasn't a part of for any of my life. There were as nonexistent to me as a story I could read in a book. So, what do I care what they think about me as long as they believe that which the Society needs?
The royal twins approach us, and I curtsey to them, dipping slightly lower than Abella's curtsey to us as the men bow.
Alix makes a short declaration in French and I understand enough to know he's telling everyone to enjoy the ball.
Colton releases me and approaches Abella, holding out his hand to her. She accepts it, and he guides her to a clearing on the ballroom floor. Bently locates Vienna in the crowd and asks her to dance. I don't think that's going to go over well with Colton, but okay, Bently.
Now it's me and the king of France who holds out his hand and bows. My stomach does a bit of a flip as he guides me to where the others await the start of the music; this is more nerve wracking than when I danced with Jonas the first time. There wasn't a crowd of press waiting for me to trip. Honestly, I'd rather be dancing with Colton. Maybe not Bently. But definitely Colton.
The band positions their instruments, and music drifts around us like a fog rolling in. Alix spins me around the ballroom as more couples fall in around us. Colton and Bently and their partners dance as beautifully as they can when they keep glancing at each other.
"Everything all right?" Alix asks right before he dips me.
I want to ask if it ever seems like there's a lot of unnecessary tension, but he would probably get the wrong idea. "Just missing the Preeminence."
Alix pulls me back up as the violins build around us.
"That's all."
As we waltz, he spins me under his arm. "I am rather disappointed he didn't join you."
"He's on a business trip." Not necessarily a lie.
Alix has guided us into the center of the floor, and the other dancers whirl around us. "I'm certain he misses you very much." His hand presses into my lower back, his fingers dipping a little too low, but I'm saved by the song coming to an end.
I step back from him and curtsey. "Thank you for the dance, Your Majesty. If you would excuse me, I need to speak with the Beta."
"I am sure watching the girl you love dance with your cousin is rough."
I try to quirk an eyebrow, which of course just means both my eyebrows go up.
He tilts his head toward the balcony door Colton slips through.
When I step out onto the balcony, I wrap my arms around myself, my sleeves not doing much, if anything, to protect me from the cold.
"What was I supposed to do?" Vienna's voice comes from around the corner.
"I don't know."
As juicy as it would be to peak around the corner, I still value my life, and Vienna and Colton are two of the few people who know I can die. It's best not to tick them off.
Also, can I just say I love the fact Colton said he doesn't know something?
"Bently asked me to dance. I said yes. You already had a partner. Stop being jealous."
"I'm hardly jealous of my cousin."
"Then what the hell is this all about?"
But no answer comes.
I steal the most hesitant of peaks around the corner and find the two of them locked in each other's arms, their mouths kneading at each other like dough. I could step around the corner, and they wouldn't notice.
Even their hands are kneading at their backs and arms.
This is horrifying.
With a groan, Vienna breaks herself away from Colton and I jerk back around the corner. When I hear her running, I don't have time to move before she crashes into me. Her hands fly out, grasping onto me to steady us. Her eyes are wider than mine.
"Iris."
Did she have to say my name?
Colton comes around the corner, hitting me with a glare. I give him a sheepish smile.
"I'll deal with this," he says.
She gives him a grateful look and dashes inside. Enjoy the warmth. Enjoy it as I deal with your ex.
Colton takes off his blazer and hands it to me.
I stare at it.
"Take it."
"I'm waiting for you to strangle me with it."
He throws it, and instinct has me catching it. "You're freezing," he says.
After I slip it on, he places his hand on my back and guides me over to a bench. Before us, the lights of Paris glitter like stars.
"You saw us."
"Unfortunately." I keep my gaze straight ahead, not on Colton, whose leg touches my dress. Who is in very easy range of removing the witness to him and Vienna.
"You can't say anything."
"You've been asking me to keep a lot of things from Jonas."
"It's not as if you can contact him."
"I'm supposed to be contacting him, Colton. What is he going to think when he never hears from me?" I pull my arms tighter around me, the jacket tightening some. I can't even tell him that I'm worried about his brother. He wouldn't understand. If he knew Jonas was Expired, would he worry? Would he want to protect him?
"I know I have to marry an Amoris. This is simply an indiscretion on my part."
"Except it's not so simple."
"No, it is not."
"Is Vienna aware of this?"
"Yes."
The darkness seems to creep toward me, like an ever-nearing void. "If I wasn't getting married to Jonas, you wouldn't have to marry an Amoris."
"I wouldn't be able to marry Vienna. She's a traitor. Traitors can't become the wives of leaders. Even if the Society were to allow it, Amoria never would."
"Like they'll never allow an Expired to marry the Preeminence?"
Colton wraps his arm around me, and even through I'm surprised, I lean my head against him and inhale the smell of his cologne. Even though he's tried to kill me, I feel calm.
"I'm sorry," he says suddenly.
"For what?"
"For everything I've done to you."
"Like bringing me here?"
"I still like to think of that as a present." He pauses. "It will be nice to have you as a sister."
"You mean that?"
"I do."
I rest my head on his shoulder.
"I'm glad I didn't kill you in that hotel room."
"Erik stopped you."
He sighs. "At least there's something good that he's done." He leans down and presses his lips against the top of my head, burying his face in my hair. "Another little sister."
"Only by—"
"Tu es impossible," a voice hisses.
Colton and I sit up straight.
From where we sit, we can see the spot he and Vienna had been. Abella and Bently now grace it with their presence.
Bently scoffs. "I'm the impossible one?"
No light shines down on our bench, and I hope it's enough to keep us hidden.
"You came all the way to France to torment me." Abella crosses her arms.
"As if I would do anything for you."
"Then why are you here?"
"Colton wanted me to come. I'm his favorite cousin, I guess."
"I can see why." Her voice drips with something rotten.
"I understand that as a woman you have a tendency—"
Abella drives her fist into his face, and he stumbles back, clutching his cheek.
Colton and I trade a look.
"Your parents did a horrible job of raising you."
He rubs his cheek. "Blame it on my father. He was the only one around."He steps toward her. "If you didn't have this idea that you're perfect, then maybe I could actually have a conversation with you."
"The same goes to you."
"One day, you're going to say something and severely regret it."
"Will I now?"
Bently pauses before shaking his head. "You're still angry."
"I hardly even remember it."
"Hardly remember it? Are you sure about that?" He's almost up against her.
"Do you even remember?"
"Actually, yes, I do." He swoops down and kisses her, and from the looks of it, she kisses him back, unless the swaying and kneading mean she's trying to kill him.
Colton and I look at each other again.
Bently leans Abella against the railing either to deepen the kiss or to kill her. Who can say? One thing is for certain, I have more fear of these two killing me for catching them than Vienna and Colton.
I'm honestly horrified, and Colton seems to have turned to stone.
Abella and Bently definitely aren't stone.
They don't have the chance to get very far when screams bleed out onto the balcony from the ballroom.