35 Third Party

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Jonas~~

I land on top of Iris with a grunt split seconds before our foreheads collide. I brace myself with one arm on the ground beside her head. My other hand rubs my forehead.

"Iris, what is—"

She covers my mouth with her hand. "Jonas, I love you," she whispers, "but I need you to be quiet."

I give her a nod and look up into the most unlikely group of faces. When I tracked Colton here, I expected to find Iris and Bently, but Vienna . . . Andrew? And Erik? And a man I have never seen before in my life?

I was also not expecting my fiancée telling me to shut up after being separated because I was on another planet.

Iris moves her hand from my mouth and down my left arm until it rests over my Mark. She gives it a squeeze.

I feel it. Barely. But a slight tingle is there prickling under my skin.

I'm around them so much that my arm hardly burns anymore especially after being on Amoria.

But with Iris drawing attention to it, I feel it.

When I returned home and found her, my brother, and three cousins missing, Gwen told me everything she knew: Colton took Iris and Bently to France and they are now wanted by the French government because an Amoris is murdering and Marking people. I didn't expect to find the Amoris within three hours of landing.

I get off Iris, making sure to keep my head below the tops of the crates.

Iris gives me an unsure look and places her hand over mine. She's not the only one with news.

"Preeminence Blackwood, what a pleasure," a feminine voice rings out. I grip Iris's hand. "There is no need to hide. I just wish to speak to you and the Raggioet."

"Raggioet . . . Expired?" Andrew's head snaps toward us. Iris holds his stare until he looks away.

"Please do come out before I have to do something rash."

"We have to," Iris says to me.

"No."

"We don't have a choice. We're a bit cornered back here."

My sigh signals my agreement. She gives me a faint smile. We're in Paris. What do I have to give in order to have a romantic dinner with the woman I love rather than a night where both of our lives are at risk?

Her hand still over mine, I thread my fingers through hers and draw us both to our feet.

The Amoris smiles, walking toward us. The other woman with her follows a few feet behind. They both wear the same pair of black leather pants, but where the woman in the front wears a tight purple top, the other has on a gray turtleneck.

"I am so glad we get to meet," the Amoris says.

I dip my head, careful not to meet her eyes. "Likewise."

"Your fiancée and I have been getting to know each other. I am sure she has told you all about it."

I draw Iris to my side. "I'm afraid we have not had the opportunity. Might I know to whom I have the pleasure of speaking?"

She drops into a shallow curtsy. "Preeminence Clarignon." Preeminence.

"Clarignon? I know your family well."

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