Jonas~~

I sit on the edge of Colton's tub while he showers on the other side of the wall I rest my head and shoulder against.

"August is really going with her?"

I've been telling him about the arrangements I've made for Arrietty, her family, and now my Delta for when they leave tomorrow. "Yes."

"Erik won't be happy about that."

"The whole point is that Erik doesn't find her. If he knows to be unhappy about it, we've failed. Besides their breakup was amicable, wasn't it? And years ago." The mirror starts to fog, and I slouch more into the wall. "How are the Rosens handling Vienna's . . . that whole situation?"

Even through the running water, I hear Colton sigh. "They're distraught but offering whatever help they can."

"And nothing's been found to connect them to the rebels?"

"No." The water shuts off. "Towel?"

I grab the folded towel beside me and hold it in front of the shower door.

"Have you spoken to Brydan yet?" He takes the towel.

"He tried, but I couldn't do it."

Colton steps out of the shower, the gray towel wrapped around his waist. "If you can sit in here after the past few weeks and still have a conversation with me while I'm showering, why can't you speak to him?"

"Necessity dictates I get along with my Order."

"How fortunate for me." He twirls his hand with a flourish as he walks into his bedroom. It's true though. If Brydan was in the Order, I'd have to move past what he'd done. For the sake of the country.

I hear Colton open his dresser drawer. "Once Iris is gone," he says, "will it—"

An alarm interrupts him, sending me jumping to my feet, goosebumps racing down my spine. That alarm only has one meaning: rebels.

I enter Colton's bedroom, phone in hand, as he's pulling on his shirt. While I dial Iris, I head toward his wardrobe and open its doors. I shove my hand through his jackets searching for the button until I feel the square in the wood and press down.

The back panel of the wardrobe slides away as my call is sent to voicemail. I curse.

Before Colton steps into the wardrobe, he hands me a gun.

"Go. Make sure everyone gets to safety." I slip my phone into my pocket to check the gun. Only a few bedrooms in the Society have passages that lead down into the safe rooms. Mainly the rooms of former and current Order members.

"What about you?"

Iris has never experienced one of these attacks, and she's not high on our family's must-save list. "If I follow you, I'll be hard pressed to get away from the Veil."

"Should I come with you?"

"Someone has to be down there to lead." I jerk my head toward the door. "Go."

He takes a step down the staircase. "Do you think it's Erik?"

"That's my fear." I shut the wardrobe doors, pulling out my phone to scan the list of those who are checked into a safe room. Iris's name isn't listed.

Don't panic. Not yet. If I do, I fail not only her but me as well. Where would she be if she's not already following someone down to a safe room?

Her own room would be the obvious place.

She went to bed at least an hour ago, and if Erik is here for her—for her Mark, it will be one of the first places he'll check.

Gun drawn, I step out into the hall. There are a few Society members running toward the end of it where a staircase will take them underneath the Estate.

I make it to Iris's room without any trouble, and find the door unlocked—not broken. I crack it open. "Iris," I call out. There's no answer.

I take a deep breath and continue to push open the door. Unless she's hiding somewhere in here, her room is empty. The covers on her bed are thrown back, and her robe isn't on the hook by the bed. If she had time to grab it, she wasn't taken out of her room. Unless they intercepted her on her way out.

I can't stay here, but I'm not going to a safe room until I know she's made it to one. As I again scan the list on my phone, I ring her, and by the time it goes to voicemail, I've seen she still hasn't checked into a safe room.

Could she have gone to my room, or would she possibly try to intercept Erik, make him see reason? If the latter is the case, I have almost no chance of figuring out where she is.

From my room, she'd be able to get to a safe room, but she won't be able to get into my room. I locked it before I went to Colton's.

If she is headed that way, I need to get there before she finds it locked, and as I hurry down the hall, I send up a prayer if that is her destination.

When I'm only a few rooms away, a door opens.

My gun is trained at the man before he even steps out of the room. Dressed in tactical gear he has a bullet proof vest strapped onto him. I fire, hitting him below the shoulder where the vest doesn't shield.

He falls back against the wall, hand going up to the wound. His eyes meet mine right before I drive the butt of my gun against his head. As he sinks to the ground, still conscious, I fire two bullets into his leg to keep him down and take his gun.

If Iris were at my door, I would have seen her long before I encountered the rebel. Needing to get out of the open, I unlock my door, trying to settle my nerves so my hands won't shake.

My phone rings the moment I step inside.

It's Colton.

"Jonas, she's here. With me." I wish I could say that brings me more comfort than it does.

"I'm in my room. Which one are you in?"

He tells me, and I let him know I'll be down in five minutes.

Tucking my phone into my pocket, I'm headed for the wardrobe, when I hear my door creak.

I whirl, raising the gun I took from the rebel, my other tucked into my waistband. But I'm too slow. Erik barrels into me, slamming me into my wardrobe and knocking the gun out of my hand. I feel my phone crack, and the gun in my waistband digs deep into my back.

Pinning me, he grins. "Hello, cousin."

"I don't want to fight you." I struggle to get a grip on him.

"Please. I know you've been itching to."

I manage to grasp his shirt and drive my forehead into his. He stumbles back, and I have to blink to clear my vision. "If you're looking for Iris, you're too late." I form a fist and hit him with an uppercut to the jaw.

"If I wanted Iris"—he rubs his chin with a grimace—"why would I come to your room?"

"I think you're old enough to an answer that question yourself."

"To be honest, that's not something I'd ever take into account because I don't think you'd know what to do with a girl in your room." He lunges, but I step out of the way just in time, and he crashes into the wardrobe. The wood rattles.

I drive my elbow into his back. "What are you after?"

Turning, anger flashes in his eyes right before he lands a punch to my stomach. I grunt, the air escaping me. His fist strikes my chin, and the force sends me reeling back.

"Surrender, Jonas."

Cupping my jaw, I stare at him. "What?"

"Come with me and I'll end the attack."

"I know we have our issues, Erik, but this is taking petty to a new level." He's brought a troop of rebels to attack the Estate just to take me prisoner? They don't even have a secondary goal? "What is it you really want?"

He comes at me again, but I use his momentum to wrap my leg around his and send him to the floor. He rolls onto his back and drives his legs into my stomach. I stumble back as he scrambles to his feet.

"I want Marks to end. I want the Society to be in pain. And I want you for once to not get everything you want." He kicks me in the stomach, sending me into the wardrobe, and his hand wraps around my throat. As I pry at his hand, his fingers tighten, and he draws my head forward before he slams it back into the wood door—

The room blurs. Black spots creep into the edges of my vison.

"Er . . . ease."

He slams my head back again. The room continues blurring.

"I wanted to do this the easy way."

No, you didn't.

My head hits the wood again, and my legs give out. The room tilts.

My vision darkens.

And I feel myself slip.