Expiration Date (Books 1 and 2)

40 This Is Fun?

Iris~~

Colton slips his phone into his pocket. "Now as that's taken care of, I'm going."

"Where?" I wrap my arms around myself. There isn't much heat in the safe room. I went to bed wearing a nightgown that might as well as have been a slip. Even in sleep, the Society feels you have to look good. To them, baggy shorts and an oversized t-shirt as nightwear would be a calamity. When the alarm went off, I barely had time to tug the thin dressing robe on. The silk fabric is solid at least and my Mark is still wrapped in the bandage despite the Society being told it was misprinted. I never know who is going to break into my bedroom at this point. I'd prefer to keep it covered up.

"I'm not going to let the Veil have all the fun." He heads toward the door, making his way past his extended family.

I follow him. "You think fighting rebels is fun?"

"It's what I've been trained to do my whole life."

"But won't it make it more difficult for your Veil to fight them if they're worried about you?"

He taps his arm where his Mark is hidden underneath the sleeve of a long-sleeved t-shirt. I'd say at last a casual piece of nightwear, but I'm sure it cost at least a pretty penny if one of the tailors on staff didn't make it for him. If it isn't from a luxury brand, the fabric is probably still sickeningly expensive.

And now he's going to go fight rebels in it.

"That's why we have these things called Expiration Dates, Iris."

"Really? I hadn't heard of them."

He rolls his eyes, heading over to a Veil, probably to let him know he's leaving and that there's nothing he can do about it. I keep my eyes fixed on the door as Colton leaves. There's an antechamber on the other side, like in an aviary. There you don't want to let the birds out. Here you don't want to let the rebels in.

I don't have my phone. I lost it in some hallway when I encountered a rebel on my way here. I'm certain though Jonas should have been here by now.

Maybe he ended up in another room. I ask one of the Veil, but she tells me the Preeminence hasn't checked into a safe room.

"He said he'd be here by now."

"Where was he coming from?"

"His room."

A round of gunfire from somewhere nearby makes us both jump.

"I'll send a team to check."

More gunfire.

Who knows when the team would be able to get to him. "Where's the staircase?"

She dips her head to the gun in my hand. "Do you need more ammunition first?"

I nod, and she shows me to a small box and pulls out the correct clip for my gun. When I rushed out of my room, I had to choose between my gun buried in my dresser or the knife under my pillow.

I sacrificed time for the gun.

The Veil presses her hand against a stone on the wall, which causes a portion of the wall to slide back, revealing a hallway. "Head left. Take the fourth door. I'll get a team to head there after you."

"Thank you." I hurry down the hallway, trying not to think about what it means that Jonas is Expired and hasn't checked into a room.

I push open the fourth door and run up the steps on the other side, my bare feet scraping on the stone. Choosing my gun meant I didn't have time to go to my closet and grab a pair of shoes.