Iris~~
His words slap me in the face, causing tears to rush to my eyes. He doesn't mean that. He's lying. "Fine, lose your pawn, Erik. Because that's all I am to you. Your cousin actually liked and cared about me for who I am. You liked that I was a means to an end. It's my Expiration Date. I'm choosing not to expose it."
Headlights flash in front of my face, and I throw up a hand to shield my eyes. The figure that steps out of the car is more silhouette than person.
"Iris?"
Jonas.
The headlights shut off, and there he stands. Hair ruffled, dressed strikingly casual. It's him. It's really him.
"What happened?" He's looking at my shirt, the shirt that's staining red.
"It's—"
Riley, Eli, and Brydan step out of the car. I'm not sure what to make of Eli's and Riley's presence. Are they here to drag us back, or to make sure Jonas pulls the trigger this time?
I shake my head at Jonas. "I'm fine."
Jonas steps toward me, his face utterly human in the emotions flitting across it.
I start to move toward him when an arm wraps around me. Erik tugs me against him. I'm not letting him act like a protector after all he said to me. I make my own decisions. This is my life and my second chance at it. Not Erik's.
Jonas and his companions step toward us, and I elbow Erik in the stomach, making him let go.
I'm choosing to trust Jonas.
I don't get far before hands shove against my back, and the wind is knocked out of me as I fall to the ground, sand spraying up around me. Erik walks past me, a gun raised at Jonas. My heart stops. Erik is on Jonas before the rest of us can do anything.
He raises his gun and brings it down toward Jonas's head, but Jonas ducks out of the way, driving a punch into Erik's stomach. The other three men point their guns at Erik, but they can easily miss. Jonas can be killed. Erik can't.
I scramble to my feet. "Erik, stop!"
Erik hesitates long enough for Jonas to pull out a gun of his own.
If Jonas dies, the country is doomed. Colton will be Preeminence.
Jonas and Erik are left at a standoff, neither moving closer and neither moving back.
"Erik, give this up," Riley says, his hands shifting on his own gun.
Eli nods. "Let's go home."
I approach Erik and Jonas, fully knowing I'm encroaching on a bull fight. "Erik, we've been caught. I surrender. Now please, put down the gun."
"I refuse to be the Tresais." Erik shifts his weight forward. No. He lunges toward Jonas. Almost in the same moment, a gun goes off.
A bullet tears through me, and I cry out, crumpling to the ground. I grasp at the wound at my side where the bullet hit. My hands quickly turn red. The pain sears. For as many times as I've been around guns, I've never been hit by an actual bullet.
Jonas shouts for his cousins to call an ambulance. There's not a hospital for miles. Does that mean I'll . . . die? No, that can't be right. Not after all of this. Haven't I come too far? Don't I get to win?
Jonas and Erik both reach me, Jonas already tearing his shirt to create a bandage. "Stay with us," he begs.
I've never wanted to see the sunrise again so much. I want to see the stars come out tomorrow. I want to be there for all of that.
I want someone to tell me a story where everyone gets a happy ending. I want a happy ending of my own.
Erik holds me up, letting my back lean against him.
The wound seethes. My eyes roll back.
Jonas presses the scrap of his shirt to the bullet hole. The blood mixes with the wine on my shirt. With them side by side, it's clear which is which. It's also clear I'm losing a lot of blood.
Erik's fingers tighten on my arms. "Iris, I didn't mean what I said—"
"Stop. Not now."
Erik's angry words to me minutes ago don't seem to hold as much weight as they did. Facing death shows you what matters and what doesn't. But I can beat it again, right?
"Iris," Jonas says, his voice thick, "we're going to get you help."
"Jonas"— Eli crouches next to us— "people are watching."
"See if any of them can help her." Jonas presses harder on the wound. "I'm not going to let you die, Iris."
I close my eyes, taking deep breaths. "Erik, you have to get them out of here." The rebels. If they get their hands on Jonas, they'll kill him.
"Not without you."
"What are you talking about?" Jonas shifts, his leg moving against my hip.
"There are rebels around here," Erik says to him.
"Erik, just make sure you all get out." If I die, I know I'll be in Heaven. I'll watch out for them. Maybe I'll meet my parents. "Remember, you have a family." My throat tightens. "Don't waste that."
"Jonas!" Eli yells.
Jonas shifts his arms under me and lifts me up. The pain deepens. Erik takes over in pressing the scrap of cloth to the wound. Jonas carries me toward the restaurant, Erik at his side.
"Jonas," my voice sounds weak. His eyes are set against the backdrop of the stars. All of which start to darken. "I do love the stars. I want more nights of staring at—" I choke on a sob, the pain agonizing.
Tears fall down Jonas's cheeks. Maybe I did change the Society. I proved to them they aren't always right. Maybe I even touched the heart of the Preeminence. He touched mine.
The world blackens, and I let out a long breath. I don't know if this is death or if I'm succumbing to the pain. I feel Jonas press his lips against my forehead, and I hold onto that feeling, that tether, and then I let it go. I'll never be ready to say goodbye to this world but if it is time, knowing that my life wasn't wasted makes it easier. I got to do the impossible. I got to live past my Expiration Date.
This Book is Now Expired