Iris~~

For a second, I am whole.

Then there's a crack. Just a tiny crack, and a piece of me falls away. And then another. And another. And at first it feels as if it's only one piece at a time, but then it's as if it's two, then three, then four. I shatter until my entirety is nothing but a pile of shards on the ground where I stood.

"No." Jonas's voice cuts like a blade. "You will not put her through that."

Odette. I look at the building. Odette is in there.

Odette who tortured Bently. Who killed and killed and killed and forced me to watch, to hear.

Two Veil approach, and I shrink back.

I won't see her.

I won't do that.

Stepping in front of me, Jonas grabs hold of the Veil on the right and punches him.

The other Veil grabs my arm.

No.

I whirl, rounding on the Veil, and I drive my elbow into the spot beside his shoulder blade. He releases me and turns, but I send my fist into his face beforeONLYONWATTPADBENDERhe can grab me.

Gathering my skirts in my hands, I backup.

I can't go in there. I won't.

I won't be made to feel like an object again. I'm a person with feelings. I'm human.

"Iris," Moretti's voice taunts from somewhere behind me. "Where do you think you're going?"

I grip my skirts tighter. What would happen if I punched him? Because at this point it doesn't seem like he will let either of us go. For all I know, he plans to keep me locked up in a cell with Odette.

Odette.

I feel the world shift as if it's suddenly titled on its axis. What will she do to me? We were told Amoria disapproved of her actions on Earth, but wouldn't they enjoy watching her tear me apart? Bently and I were the ones she didn't get to kill, and while Odette seemed to want me alive back then, those feelings could have changed during her imprisonment.

Jonas continues to hold the one Veil back, but the one who tried to grab me stalks toward me. Jonas notices, but before he can do anything, his Veil punches him in the jaw, sending him stumbling back.

The other Veil is almost upon me, separating me from Jonas.

I bend my knees, ready to launch into a defensive tactic when a pair of muscled arms wrap around me and tug me against a hard chest. "Behave." Moretti's beard scratches my cheek.

Jonas whirls toward us, his eyes wide. His attention slipped, the two Veil are able to subdue him.

I thrash against Moretti only to see more Veil slink from the shadows. One pulls my arms forward and clips a pair of handcuffs on my wrists.

Jonas shouts, but whatever he says is muffled; it's as if my ears have been submerged underwater; there's a hum in my eardrums.

I sway.

But the Preeminence's arms keep me from falling. The wrong Preeminence's arms.

Hands brush the sides of my hair, grazing over the tips of my ears, and cloth presses against my eyelids, stealing my sight.

"That should keep her subdued," a voice says as hands tug at the ends of the blindfold, tying it into a rough knot against my hair.

Don't beg.

Don't crumble.

After all, I already know I'll get noONLYONWATTPADBENDERsympathy if I do. No one cared to stop me from pounding on the bedroom door.

I'm dragged forward, Jonas's muffled shouts drifting away, and I know when I step inside because the air suddenly turns warm.

There's a buzz, but other than that and the sounds of the Veils' breathing, their footsteps, and the scuffle of my slippers as I'm pulled along, it's quiet.

What will they do with Jonas? Is this to be our new home? Only minutes ago I was wrapped in his arms, his fingers splayed on my thighs and his lips on mine.

Now I'm being dragged away from him and toward a murderess who crowned herself

queen—a Preeminence.

Blood pounds in my ears as my heart races past the point of my control, my fear too strong and too far gone to tame.

I'm brought to a halt, and a gust of air hits me before I'm shoved forward. Stumbling, I right myself so as not to fall on my chained hands. Enough light had been slipping through the blindfold that I can tell most of that light is now gone.

I'm no longer held by the Veil, which can only mean—

"Iris?" Her voice sends sharp goosebumps that sting as they race up my arms. The hair rises on the back of my neck.

I yearn to cower back, away from the direction from which her voice comes, but somehow I manage to hold my ground.

Jonas will find a way to me.

Colton will appear.

They always do.

It can't be up to me to save myself. I couldn't do it last time she had me.

It's always been that we all save each other.

Cold fingers touch my shoulders, and I jolt. "Don't touch me."

Odette tuts. "Is that how you greet a friend?" Her hands go to the back of my head and tug at the knot there. The blindfold falls away from my eyes, and before me is a long dark room lit by candlelight. A small bed draped in purple sits at the far end. The dark gray walls are carved with names. Her victims.

This was my wish for her.

Her hands have slipped down to my shoulders and curl around the bones there.

I let out a shuddering breath. My hands are still chained, so even though I'm in a position where I could drive the back of my head into her nose, I'm not sure I'm in a position to put up an equal fight.

Turning me around to face her, she flicks her purple eyes across my face, the corners of her eyes creased as if in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

I go to take a step back, but her grip on me tightens. I don't think she's strong enough to kill me with only her hands.

"Raggioet?"

I flinch. "You're not in control anymore. I don't have to answer you."

She works her jaw. "I'm not the one in chains."

Eyes on my face, she steps around me. "I think I could probably do whatever I want to you, and no one would bother stopping me." She pauses, her eyes flicking to the wall to the side of her. I don't see a door anywhere, but where her eyes go must be from where I entered.

"Where's your Preeminence's Digamma?"

I tremble at the mention of Bently, at the memory of what he was put through. "Do not mention him."

She frowns, stepping toward the wall near where a name is carved. Ines. "Do I not have the right to mention her either?" She traces the letters. "Such a pretty name. Ines . . ." She draws out the letters. "Do you remember her?"

I swallow hard as in my mind I see Odette drive a dagger into the woman's heart.

I look away from her. "Enough, Odette. You're tiring me."

She draws away from the wall, moving toward her bed. "Why are you here, Iris? Did Amoria decide it wasn't safe for you to be free? Did your Digamma have something to do with that?"

I grit my teeth. "You're really grasping at straws, aren't you?"

She sinks down onto the edge of her bed, arms spread to the side. "You forget he was my Delta."

She has no idea Jonas is Expired then. No one told her.

Odette cocks her head. "Have you seen Anastasie or Isabeau?"

"No."

"And your Preeminence, how is he?"

"He's on Earth, and I'm here. You tell me."

"So your wedding fell through."

"As did your plans to rule France."

Standing, she stalks toward me.

I force myself to hold my ground. I can't let her back me into a corner.

"You'll finally be where you're meant to be."

"And where is that, Odette? Dead?"

"Locked away on a shelf."

"Lucky then you have no shelves."

She turns around, her back again facing me, and she raises a hand in the air as if she actually has the power to dismiss me. "You'll have all the Orders fighting for who gets to display you." She lowers her hand. "In the end, raggioet, you'll be nothing but a lovely butterfly pinned forever beneath glass."

Just a reminder that there's a Discord for Expiration Date. I sometimes share excerpts from the new versions of the books. There's a scene from the new rewrite of Expired I haven't posted on Wattpad yet that features Iris and Jonas and sand. Think the beginning of this book, but they're just realizing they might be falling for each other. Hint: If you join, it's in channel "general-b2-pt2-corona-australis." Send me a DM, if you want an invite!