Iris~~
By nine in the morning, Jonas and I are both in a car outside the palace waiting for Sebastian and Tobias. Vienna's phone call was brief. The Amoris attacked. They took Basile. Meet them at Andrew's apartment in Saclay; the apartment he and Basile were staying at prior to his safe house.
"Colton and Erik don't seem to like Sebastian and Tobias," I say to Jonas. All of us in an apartment together is not something I relish. Bently would refuse to set foot in it.
Jonas's smile holds the tiniest bit of amusement. "Colton's letting his grudges cloud his judgement."
"Oh really?" I slip from the row across from him and into the space beside him, and he grabs my hand, turning it over so my palm faces upward. He traces his finger over the lines in my skin as if he were reading my future.
"As I'm sure you can imagine, Colton was quite the arrogant eight-year-old. He insulted Sebastian's father, Isaiah, when Isaiah was not around, and Sebastian attacked him. Colton didn't stand a chance, though the blow he suffered to his ego was worse than any of his injuries."
"And Tobias?"
"He didn't want to be Undici. Being all the way at eleven didn't appeal to him. He wanted to go to college, become a scientist."
"What kind?"
He frowns, his finger stilling. "I don't know. I should. But I don't. Colton always saw it as a betrayal to our family. To him, being born into the Order meant there should be no other path for you. As far as Erik, he dislikes all of us. He may have more specific reasons for Tobias and Sebastian, but I don't know them."
I rest my head on his shoulder as Tobias and Sebastian appear at the top of the stairs outside. "I'm worried about leaving Erik in France."
"I am too." Threading his fingers through mine, he gives my hand a squeeze. "When this is all over and we're back in Elleany, I want to talk to you about your Mark."
I lift my head, studying his face. He doesn't look tired or angry. He looks . . . relaxed. "What about it?"
Before he can answer, the door is opened by a footman, and Tobias and Sebastian join us, taking the seats across from us.
Tobias gives me and Jonas a charming grin. "Off to see the exported. How are they? Bitter? Remorseful?"
Jonas fills them both in on the situation, censoring parts due to the driver being able to hear us.
I twist in my seat to get into a comfortable position and let my eyes close, falling into the embrace of sleep.
******
I'm nudged awake by Jonas. Straightening, I blink my vision back into focus, taking in the scenery through the window.
Saclay is located right outside of Paris. Andrew's building is one of six, seven-story cylindrical buildings that remind me of a dead piece of coral—if coral were concrete. They're straight out of a sci-fi movie from the 70s. Riley, Jonas's Eta, has a penchant for these kinds of films. He'll play them on one monitor while doing his work on another. A fact I discovered a few months ago when I went to his office while trying to plan Jonas's upcoming twenty-second birthday. I'm not sure what he'd think about the images of nature photo-engraved into the concrete.
Vienna throws open the front door before Jonas has a chance to knock.
"How is he?" Though he doesn't specify who, I know he means Andrew. There's worry in his tone. Whether that worry is for Andrew or everyone else's safety, I don't know.
"A lot calmer. He's focused on getting Basile back. He just doesn't know how." Her eyes shift from Jonas to between me and him where Sebastian and Tobias stand silent behind us. "Theta. Undici."
Sebastian does not move, but Tobias bows ever so slightly even though the Undici would never be required to bow to someone of no rank like Vienna.
She allows us inside the apartment. The layout is open, and there are stairs leading up to a second floor. The living area is off to our left as well as the kitchen where Erik and Colton slouch against the bar counter. Their eyes are fixed on us, and there's a preternatural stillness about them. A subtle reminder that they are not entirely human.
I start moving toward them, and Colton meets me halfway, our arms encircling each other. "Are you hurt? Anywhere?" I ask. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Erik give Tobias and Sebastian a loose salute.
Colton chuckles, his laugh reverberating against me. "I'm fine. I promise."
I hold him tighter. "I can't lose you too, not after Bently."
"What about me?" Erik crosses his arms, still slouched against the counter.
I pull away from Colton. "Erik, if you let something happen to you, I'll kill you for the worry you'll cause me."
Erik looks triumphant and turns his attention on Colton. "See, she wouldn't even bother killing you."
"She can't, you dick." He holds up his arm barring his Mark.
"I think you all need to learn what caring for each other means." Her lips pressed into a thin line, Vienna closes the door, our bags stacked to the left of it, the driver having carried them up.
"You're one to talk," Sebastian drawls, lifting his suitcase.
Vienna bites her lip, her expression darkening.
Footsteps sound on the wooden stairs, and Andrew appears, stopping on the last step. He spares only a glance at Tobias and Sebastian. "The French have a plan, I trust."
"No," I say, gauging his reaction. His throat bobs, but his jaw stays locked keeping his expression intimidating. "They did give us copies of the maps Vienna had seen. I say we continue pouring over them as we were before the Amoris attacked last night. Try to find something we missed. The French will help us storm their stronghold if we discover its location."
"Good. Since we're not fugitives anymore, I'm going out for supplies. Erik can show you what we already have." He takes the last step off the stairs and walks past us and out the front door.
Sebastian swears. "The meater couldn't even say hi." He scowls, and I roll my eyes. Large parts of the Society still won't let go of their love for insults of an era past. Amorian is easier to understand than the curses that slip past their lips. Coward. That's what he called Andrew.
"To be fair, you didn't say hi either." Erik strolls across the room and slaps Sebastian on the back only to be met with a glare from the dark-haired Theta.
I clap my hands, calling for attention before Sebastian and Erik can break into a fight. "Tobias, Sebastian, you weren't around but they've made me the leader."
Sebastian's eyes narrow. "But Jonas . . ."
"Your leader made me the leader. It's kind of official."
Jonas wraps his arm around my waist. "She knows the most about what's going on here."
"She understands the intricacies between Amoria and the Society?"
"She's had the most contact with the rogues' Preeminence." It's hard for Jonas to acknowledge Odette's title. Not because she's a female, but because she has no claim to France. She's not a true ruler. She's only a leader.
Nodding once, Tobias says, "Understandable then," at the same time Sebastian shakes his head and says, "If you even try to put her in the Order, I'll mutiny."
Jonas keeps his voice light, but there's still a threat buried underneath the words. "It's fortuitous then that we aren't pirates."
******
After we put our bags away, we gather around the coffee table, printed versions of the maps spread before us. They've changed from the ones Vienna helped us make. Straight from the hands of Mid'haa, these include much more detail.
Vienna sits on one of the arms of the couch, sipping from a cup of tea. A tray of croissants rests in the middle of the coffee table, pinning down the edges of multiple maps.
Tobias rubs his eyes. "I keep almost seeing something."
"A pattern?" I ask.
Vienna sets her tea down and leans over Tobias's shoulder.
He squints. "Maybe? A symbol perhaps."
Colton snatches the map Tobias was studying, ruining whatever he was on to. "If we can figure out the pattern, we could stop the murders."
"Maybe it's like a web, and the center is their base," Vienna suggests.
"A pretty package tied up with a bow." Erik grabs Vienna's tea from the coffee table and gulps it down. Vienna looks affronted. "The Amoris want to give us a present." His voice is filled with skepticism as if it had been steeping in the tea.
In the process of making notes, Jonas drops his pen. "Don't they want the same from us? Iris as a present?"
"If they wanted her as a present"—Erik sets the tea cup down with a thunk—"then they should have told us how to give her to them."
The door swings open, banging against the wall. We all jump.
Andrew's foot is lurched outward to hold the door as he balances four paper bags in his arms. Bread rests at the top of one.
"Di mi," Sebastian mutters, dropping his croissant. Another one of his curses almost no one understands in this century. He's too sophisticated to just mutter my goodness like the rest of us.
"It's good to see you all working," Andrew says with all the haughtiness that only someone raised in the Society could muster. "I hope you're enjoying your tea party." Andrew was already awful before Basile was taken. Now that he's gone, I fear I've only seen the tip of the iceberg that lies under Andrew's skin.
Andrew's apartment is based on actual apartment buildings in Saclay. They were built by Local Architecture Network and are for students. There are actually only five buildings that are five stories each. The images that are photo-engraved on them are from Greek mythology, which is very Society-esque.
A big thank you to passionbymorning for all her help with information about France!