Desperation by E. A. Foley

Author:E. A. Foley [Foley, E. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-17T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Iris’s mind went blank. Her blood turned to cold saline. It froze before fury expanded outward from the pit of her stomach to consume every part of her body. Her flesh seared as thousands of white-hot needles pricked it. The heat wasn’t strong enough to melt the icy waters flooding her veins.

Jaden’s voice sent a shiver down her spine which had nothing to do with the coolness of the evening. Iris was caught unaware. She’d entered her room knowing she would be shocked. Knowing she would find Zarina behind the doors. Hoping she could figure out what the hell was going on and walk back out. Safe. Now she knew nothing but biting fury.

The cold reached her eyes. They froze. As did her emotions. For once in her life, Iris’s face betrayed nothing. All her thoughts on fixing the problem—of making everything better—shattered.

How had she missed this? She knew Zarina was up here. That Morrigan had inadvertently allowed Iris and Violet to escape from the ballroom and was allowing herself to be controlled and manipulated by another—the why baffled Iris but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She needed to figure out how she hadn’t realized Jaden would be in here too. More importantly, how he managed to conceal himself from her within the same room when his magic was so familiar to her.

Mere seconds passed since he spoke. Iris watched, rooted to the spot as Jaden walked forward and placed his hands on Zarina’s shoulders. Her friend turned her head and kissed his left hand before looking up into his face. A sappy, adoring smile brightened her eyes. Iris’s mind raced.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? How did Jaden conceal himself from me? Has he been trained by someone else? Someone more powerful than me? Someone who could hurt my friends? Hurt me?

What do I do? What do I do? Violet is waiting in the hallway. Can they tell she’s there? What about Aerianna and Cirrus? What about the blue-eyed man I danced with? Is it him? Did I misjudge him? Is he the one pulling my friends away from me?

What do I do?

“What do you want, Jaden?” Iris asked flatly.

“To start with, where’s Violet? She’s not downstairs, so she must be here somewhere. Where is she?” His voice held a hint of laughter. A cat amused at a mouse he believed to be cornered.

Iris said nothing.

“Oh, come now. It really is a simple question. One that even you can answer in your present state. No? Fine,” he said with a sigh. “I guess I’ll have to search for her myself. Though if I find her, it will be more difficult for both of you.”

Iris bit her lower lip to stall for time. It was something she’d done since she was a little kid. Zarina had seen it throughout middle school—even into high school and college. She knew Iris did it when she needed to make a very difficult decision. Jaden made to move around Zarina, but she laid her hand on his, her eyes fixed on Iris’s mouth.

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