69 Distraction

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Iris~~

As one, Anastasie and Isabeau rise from their thrones.

"So very naughty." Isabeau shakes her head. "Trying to leave us. Hurting our Preeminence." I'm not sure if she's referring to me or Bently.

They each draw their guns, pointing them our way. My hands are full with Bently, Jonas's with Odette. Even if Jonas were to drop Odette, the Beta and Tresais would shoot before he could reach for his gun. Bently has one strapped to his hip. Could he grab it fast enough? With his head injury, would he even be able to shoot straight?

My instinct is to shield Jonas. An instinct I'm unable to act on.

Anastasie and Isabeau descend the steps of the dais, their guns never lowering.

"Now, Bently," Isabeau says, "unless you'd like to see how Iris looks while bleeding on the floor, restrain her."

"Don't," I order Jonas's Digamma. Not their Delta. Our Digamma.

"Iris," he hisses, his mouth close to my ear.

"They won't kill me." I keep my voice low so only he can make it out. "Not with Odette here."

His hand tightens on my arm. "That's quite the assumption." Especially with Odette's eyes closed and the fact that she may be passed out.

"And you, Preeminence." Anastasie cocks her head at Jonas. "Place our leader on the ground. I'd expect at least you wouldn't entertain the idea of seeing your bride dead at your feet."

As they continue to walk closer, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Tobias and Sebastian hover in the entryway Odette used when leaving during the revel I attended.

I don't care how they've managed to stumble upon us. I only care that they did.

Jonas lowers Odette to the ground, his eyes kept forward on those holding the guns.

Anastasie and Isabeau are close enough to us that they don't see Tobias and Sebastian silently making their way into the room. I pray Odette's passed out because if she gives away Tobias and Sebastian . . .

"Bently." Anastasie's trains her gun on me. "Now."

Bently musters his strength, turning me toward him. "Forgive me, Iris," he whispers against my ear, his breath fanning over the ridge of my ear, my neck.

"Don't." If I'm restrained and they try to go for Jonas—

Bently's hands tighten around my back right before he brings his mouth to mine, his lips pressing against mine with a need that slams into me.

"Bently—" Jonas's voice cracks.

I try snaking my hands between us to push him away, but Bently wrenches me against him, pulling his mouth away so it hovers over mine.

"This is what they really want." His voice is rough. "Help me save us."

He's right, damn it. Seeing me kiss Jonas's Digamma in front of him is exactly the kind of act the two of them would relish in. I can't see Jonas, but I'm not sure I could stand to see the betrayal he must be feeling right now. I wish I could tell him what this really is. That my heart is still his. But now is not the time.

Tobias and Sebastian need the distraction.

I turn my face away from Bently and toward Anastasie and Isabeau, their expressions as hungry as wolves as they look at me in Bently's arms.

Sebastian and Tobias are closing in on them, Tobias seeming to go for Anastasie, and Sebastian, Isabeau. I don't know why they haven't shot them yet. Why they're insisting on waiting. But they're Blackwoods, and Blackwoods never pass up an opportunity to be dramatic.

Bently presses a kiss against my cheek, featherlight and tender. I keep my eyes on the Amoris, even as I feel myself shudder.

"What are you doing, Bently?" Isabeau asks, lowering her gun.

He buries his face in the crook of my neck, and I feel him inhale before his lips brush against my skin, and he pulls back. He places his fingers on my chin—his eyes meeting mine as he says, "Kissing the woman I love before you take her from me."

My knees buckle at the sincerity in his voice, but Bently's regained enough of his strength that he keeps me upright. He has to be lying. He has to. For them. But that look in his eyes. Adoration. Fear. Hurt.

Jonas wrenches him away from me, holding onto him by his arms. I can't see Jonas's face, but I can see Bently's somber expression. The look in his eyes has changed to something I can't make out, but whatever it is, it makes Jonas hesitate before he slams his fist into the side of Bently's face. The Digamma hits the floor right as Tobias and Sebastian close in on their targets and whip their guns into the back of Anastasie's and Isabeau's heads. The women slump to the ground, gasping. Tobias drives something into Anastasie's arm while Sebastian does the same to Isabeau's.

Before I can move to check on Bently, Jonas offers him his hand. Bently accepts it, and my fiancé pulls him to his feet. They're both grinning when they pull each other into a hug.

I can only stand there and blink.

Tobias and Sebastian set to work on restraining the Beta and Tresais. Odette's still slumped on the ground, definitely passed out.

Running a hand through his brown hair, Bently gives me a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry about that. Knowing the two of them, I thought that would be the best way to distract them." He spares a quick look at Jonas. "This probably doesn't even need to be said, but for his sake, I don't actually love you. I thought it would really sell the scene though." He rubs his cheek, eyes again on Jonas. Eyes that had looked so convincing only a minute ago. As relieved as I am to hear him claim it was an act, I'm not entirely convinced it was, not as I practically felt the emotions coursing through him. "Nice shot."

Jonas looks a bit smug. "It was an honor to act with you, cousin."

"You certainly didn't pull your punch."

Jonas shrugs. "Consider it payment for prior or future bullshit on your part."

I take a deep breath. With the immediate threat gone, I spare a moment to look my fiancé over—the fiancé I wasn't sure I'd ever see again.

He somehow looks taller. His eyes are alert, his cheeks flushed. He's grown out a layer of stubble, and for a brief instant, all I want to do is test how it feels under my hand.

I didn't think it was possible for him to be more attractive.

If I wasn't engaged to him, I'd say it really was unfair.

He turns to me, holding out his hand, his expression a bit unsure. I place my hand in his, and instead of pulling me toward him, he comes to me. With every step of his, I feel my heart pound. I want to place my hands on him—his face, his chest, his back . . . Hell, I just want to feel him and know he's here. That he's not an illusion I've conjured up.

He drags his knuckles over my cheek, and a shiver runs up my spine. He leans down, his lips brushing against mine as he says, "Hello, love," and presses his mouth against mine.

He's here.

I'm here.

This is real.

I grip his shirt as he pulls back.

"You're alive," he murmurs.

"How could you come here? If something had happened . . ."

He kisses me again. "If I get to live, so do you. You came for me. I will always, always come for you. No matter where you are. I tried to come sooner, but . . ." His eyes land on Tobias and Sebastian who have secured Anastasie and Isabeau and are making their way toward us.

"How did you find us?" Jonas asks them.

Sebastian scratches his head. "We tracked you."

"What?"

"I snuck a tracker on earlier," Tobias says. "When I patted your back."

Sebastian gives him the side eye. "He missed the first time."

Tobias ignores him. "We were worried you'd do something foolish. And you have to admit you're developing a habit for running off."

A noise draws my eyes to the entryway Tobias and Sebastian came through. Erik and Vienna now stand there. Erik's eyes lock with mine, and he smiles, no hostility in his expression.

Vienna looks back the way they came, saying something I can't hear before they head our way. Next appears a man I haven't seen before. He's tall with black hair that's slightly disheveled, his skin a medium-olive tone. At first glance, I'd say he might be Persian, but once he gets closer to us, Colton and Gwen behind him, dragging a bound man, I see that his eyes are purple.

I take a step back.

Jonas slides his hand over my lower back, a silent gesture that I'm okay.

The man comes to a stop before me and drops into a bow. Jonas sucks in a sharp breath.

"I—We—" I throw Jonas a helpless look. "We aren't married yet."

The male rises, a smile on his lips and purple eyes shining. "My bowing has nothing to do with him. It is an honor to meet you." He holds my gaze, reading my Expiration Date in them. "You are a source of wonder to many on my planet. I truly cannot believe I am allowed the opportunity of meeting you."

My mouth hangs open in a very undignified manner. "You mean your whole planet doesn't want me dead?"

He frowns. "Some, but to tell you the truth, we all deep down want to be like you. To be able to outrun our death. Even those who want you dead wish they had your fate." He holds out his hand. "Alastair."

I shake his hand, a bit numbly. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Colton tosses the man in his hold to the floor and casts his gaze on the forms of Odette, Isabeau, and Anastasie. "Have we missed all the fun?"

The man clutches a bleeding hand.

"It seems you've managed to find your own source of amusement," Jonas remarks coolly.

Colton's eyes give me a once-over, and I can't help but see it as him making sure I'm okay. I wrap my arms around him. It takes a moment for his hands to come up. They hover over me, and I feel their presence just over the mesh of my dress before he presses them against my back with more force with every second that passes.

"You're alive," he murmurs. "I hardly allowed myself to hope—"

"Colton!" Vienna's scream cuts through the air.

We don't have time to react.

A gunshot cracks, and Colton lurches against me, blood spraying from his shoulder. He yells in my ear before his weight sends us both to the ground as more gunshots ring out. Soldiers pour into the room through both entryways.

Colton tries to get up, gritting his teeth.

And then Jonas is there, grabbing at Colton.

"Jonas," Colton bites out. "You have to get out of here."

"Not without both of you."

Colton shakes his head as Jonas makes some leeway with getting him up. "You're—"

Erik slams into Jonas, sending them both to the ground. 


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