Colton~~

"You don't have to stay back there, you know." I shift in the lounge chair, sinking into the cushions. I've never been so comfortable keeping watch.

Grass crunches as Vienna comes closer, stopping beside the second lounge chair, her arms wrapped around herself.

"I thought you'd be asleep."

She shakes her head before dropping her gaze to the empty chair. I nod, and she eases down into it.

"I thought I would give Jonas and Iris some time to themselves."

"That's nice of you."

She props her shoulders on the armrests and looks at me. "Isn't that why you volunteered for first watch?"

I settle back farther into the seat. "I've been found out."

Her lips inch up.

"Stop that."

Her smile grows. "What?"

"Looking at me like I'm better than I am."

She tilts her chin up, resting the back of her head against the seat. "What do you think it's like to be on Amoria? To walk on a planet and know it's not Earth beneath your feet?"

The stars seem to wink as if they're taunting me to reach for them. "I suppose it's amazing for the first two days and then gets less and less remarkable as the days go by."

"Why haven't you been before?"

I shrug. "I suppose I'll be making trips there if I do end up having to marry an Amoris. I can't imagine marrying anyone back home."

"Colton." She turns toward me, both of her hands on one armrest. "You were sure Amoria would never let Jonas marry Iris. Did he say something to you?"

I look down. It's getting harder to look at her knowing that at any moment Jonas could give me the words that seal my fate. "No, but he did refer to her as his fiancée in front of Odette."

"You know I want Iris to be happy. I've always seen myself in her. She didn't belong in the Society either, and I wanted her to succeed." The chair creaks as she stands.

"Vienna, you belonged. Your family is in the Society's circle."

"You know what I mean." She pulls her phone from her pocket. "Don't worry. It's just for music. No one knows I have this." She scrolls through the device and holds her hand out. "Come on. Up."

I get out of the chair, wary.

She frowns at me. "If this is possibly the last night I can imagine you're mine . . ."

I place my hand over hers, and she threads her fingers through mine.

"Then we're going to do something I've always wanted to do." She taps her screen and drops her phone on the lounge chair. A punk rock song from the early 2000s begins to play.

"If we had been normal and gone to high school, we would have gone to this thing called a prom."

"I'm aware of what a prom is, Vienna. Why would you want to go to a dance where everyone has no idea how to dance to the music they play and instead sways awkwardly when we had balls? Masquerades?"

"Maybe I wanted to sway awkwardly with you." She clasps my other hand.

"We're supposed to be keeping watch."

She cocks her eyebrow. "Colton."

I shake our arms. "How are we supposed to dance to this?"

"Be awkward."

She twists her hips, pumping our arms. I try to imitate her, and she laughs.

I grimace. "I'm sorry. I know this is important to you. I just don't know—"

She presses her lips to mine. "I don't love you because you're perfect at everything but because you'll always try to be. You put one-hundred percent of you into everything."

I take a deep breath and let my shoulders relax on the exhale. I can make myself believe this moment will last forever—if I try hard enough.

She tosses her head back and throws herself into the music. A grin spreads across her face, and I feel a small smile appearing on mine. I swing our arms and step side to side. I almost had myself convinced that Jonas's request would be denied, but now that he's back, I feel my confidence sliding, not merely slipping. My son, the future Preeminence: I should see that as an honor, but it seems like a punishment.

The song ends, and a 1940s love ballad begins to play.

Vienna wraps her arms around my neck. I place mine around her waist, pulling her against me.

"Your neck."

She rests her head on my chest. "I don't want to talk about it."

We sway back and forth, her body warm against mine. I think I now understand the appeal of proms.

She sighs and kisses me through my shirt, right over my heart. I tighten my hold on her.

*******

The next morning, I pour pancake batter onto the skillet, and Vienna sprinkles blueberries over each patch of batter. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing here. How do I know when to flip it?

Basile nurses a coffee while Andrew and Erik fight over the last of the cereal. How long before we'll have to start rationing food or risk a trip to the grocery? Maybe we could try a disguise like Iris, Erik, and Bently did when they went into Paris.

Bently. The thought of my missing cousin leaves a pit in my stomach. What are the Amoris putting him through at this very moment?

Iris stumbles down onto the barstool beside Basile without a word. Erik lets go of the cereal box and Andrew being in mid-tug falls back. Grabbing a mug from the cabinet, Erik fills it with coffee and offers it to Iris.

She manages smile, and her nostrils constrict as she breathes in the aroma. She wraps her hand around the mug, her engagement ring on display. I swallow, turning back to the skillet. They would have had time to talk about the fate of their engagement last night. Vienna and I gave them more than enough time. I reach for the spatula, but Vienna places her hand over mine.

"Colton . . ."

"What?"

"It's okay." She slips her other hand under mine and picks up the spatula, and it's only with her hand no longer on me, that I realize my arm is shaking. I drop it down to my side, rubbing it against my jeans.

Erik scoops the first pancake onto a plate. "Where's Jonas?" He sits down next to Iris, taking the last barstool.

"He's on the phone with Gwen."

Gwen. I haven't spoken to her in so long. I miss our rant sessions as she tells me about the latest absurd statement that Eli said or what adorable thing Seong-ho's girls did.

Shaking her head, Vienna drops the second pancake onto a plate and walks it over to Iris.

"Thanks."

"Isn't it five in the morning for her?" Vienna asks.

Iris nods. "Which is why Jonas figured it was urgent."

By the time the fireplace opens and Jonas appears, the skillet is off, and I'm halfway through my third pancake.

My brother looks like the sky fell on him. His hair is a mess. His expression dazed. His shirt is even wrinkled.

Iris is up and out of her seat before Jonas can say a word. He grips his phone in his hand.

"Jonas?" Iris places her hand on his shoulder.

"Alix is demanding to see me. And you."

"He doesn't know you're with me."

"He's decided that I must be. And if he doesn't see us tomorrow, he's threatening to break our alliance."

"He'll arrest you both," Erik says.

"I've known Alix since we were babies. He'll hear me out."

Vienna gathers up her hair in her hands. "Preeminence."

"You can still call me Jonas, Vienna." He sounds tired.

"Jonas, Alix, he isn't . . ." She pulls her hair to the side and angles her neck so Jonas can see what's left of her bruises. He keeps his face stoic, but eventually his head hangs forward.

"Meeting with Alix under these circumstances is not ideal, but nevertheless, it must happen. We cannot break our alliance with France and still expect to be able to get Bently back."

"And what if the Amoris come for us tomorrow?" Andrew asks.

Iris takes a deep breath. "Like Jonas said, this isn't ideal. We'll spend the day planning."

Erik scoots his chair back, emitting an awful scraping noise, and stands. "Planning for when you two don't come back?"

"Erik . . ." both Iris and Jonas say.

"To think I was actually starting to think you would keep her safe. But if you were actually a leader of anything, cousin, you wouldn't submit to Alix's whims like a dog who can't stand on his own feet." Erik turns on his heel, walking for the door.

Iris follows after him. "Erik—"

He pushes open the door.

"Don't—"

The door slams behind him. Ever the dramatic one, aren't you, Erik?

Iris's shoulders slump forward.

"What are you going to tell Alix?" I ask Jonas.

He rubs at his arm where his Mark is hidden by his sleeve. "I'm going to tell him about our family tree."

Poll: Can Vienna be trusted?

Yes

No