43 Saclay

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Iris~~

By nine in the morning, Jonas and I are both in a car outside the palace waiting for Sebastian and Tobias. Vienna's phone call was brief. The Amoris attacked. They took Basile. Meet them at Andrew's apartment in Saclay; the apartment he and Basile were staying at prior to his safe house.

"Colton and Erik don't seem to like Sebastian and Tobias," I say to Jonas. All of us in an apartment together is not something I relish. Bently would refuse to set foot in it.

Jonas's smile holds the tiniest bit of amusement. "Colton's letting his grudges cloud his judgement."

"Oh really?" I slip from the row across from him and into the space beside him, and he grabs my hand, turning it over so my palm faces upward. He traces his finger over the lines in my skin as if he were reading my future.

"As I'm sure you can imagine, Colton was quite the arrogant eight-year-old. He insulted Sebastian's father, Isaiah, when Isaiah was not around, and Sebastian attacked him. Colton didn't stand a chance, though the blow he suffered to his ego was worse than any of his injuries."

"And Tobias?"

"He didn't want to be Undici. Being all the way at eleven didn't appeal to him. He wanted to go to college, become a scientist."

"What kind?"

He frowns, his finger stilling. "I don't know. I should. But I don't. Colton always saw it as a betrayal to our family. To him, being born into the Order meant there should be no other path for you. As far as Erik, he dislikes all of us. He may have more specific reasons for Tobias and Sebastian, but I don't know them."

I rest my head on his shoulder as Tobias and Sebastian appear at the top of the stairs outside. "I'm worried about leaving Erik in France."

"I am too." Threading his fingers through mine, he gives my hand a squeeze. "When this is all over and we're back in Elleany, I want to talk to you about your Mark."

I lift my head, studying his face. He doesn't look tired or angry. He looks . . . relaxed. "What about it?"

Before he can answer, the door is opened by a footman, and Tobias and Sebastian join us, taking the seats across from us.

Tobias gives me and Jonas a charming grin. "Off to see the exported. How are they? Bitter? Remorseful?"

Jonas fills them both in on the situation, censoring parts due to the driver being able to hear us.

I twist in my seat to get into a comfortable position and let my eyes close, falling into the embrace of sleep.

******

I'm nudged awake by Jonas. Straightening, I blink my vision back into focus, taking in the scenery through the window.

Saclay is located right outside of Paris. Andrew's building is one of six, seven-story cylindrical buildings that remind me of a dead piece of coral—if coral were concrete. They're straight out of a sci-fi movie from the 70s. Riley, Jonas's Eta, has a penchant for these kinds of films. He'll play them on one monitor while doing his work on another. A fact I discovered a few months ago when I went to his office while trying to plan Jonas's upcoming twenty-second birthday. I'm not sure what he'd think about the images of nature photo-engraved into the concrete.

Vienna throws open the front door before Jonas has a chance to knock.

"How is he?" Though he doesn't specify who, I know he means Andrew. There's worry in his tone. Whether that worry is for Andrew or everyone else's safety, I don't know.

"A lot calmer. He's focused on getting Basile back. He just doesn't know how." Her eyes shift from Jonas to between me and him where Sebastian and Tobias stand silent behind us. "Theta. Undici."

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