chapter 1

Iris ran.

She didn’t even think about running away until she saw the state of Orion’s brown stained white shirt. She just twirled away in a flurry of red curls and hit the road with speed she didn’t know she was capable of. The sites of the city blurred around her as feet followed the familiar route to Etês-Vous Faim.

Maybe it was minutes, maybe it was hours, Iris didn’t know, but she eventually arrived on the street housing the French restaurant and came to an abrupt stopped. She was so occupied with getting away from the Academy students that she didn’t feel her thighs burning or her shortage of breath until she was safe enough to feel it. Her chest heaved and she squatted down, mindful of her skirt, trying to calm her racing heart, thankful that she was alone.

Alone?

Why was she alone?

Did Victoria run towards her own home?

Iris sprung upright, the heel of her hand smacking against her forehead. In her hasty escape, she completely forgot to grab Victoria and drag her along. Guilt gnawed at her insides and she considered turning around and getting her, but her mind stopped her.

What if she ran back and they weren’t there anymore? What if they were still standing there, waiting for her return? Were they even doing anything to Victoria? Orion did say that she could go, but only if Iris licked the ice cream from his shoes. And she didn’t do that. No, instead she shoved her ice cream onto his pristine shirt that probably cost more than her entire family’s income.

That’s when her actions finally dawned on her. The relief bubbled away as she contemplated how her future would look like. She would go to school tomorrow and find a red card in her locker, she would be seen as easy prey in hunting season and be picked apart, firstly by the R5 and then whatever they left of her would be tossed to the rest of the student body. A panicked scream threatened to explode from her throat as her fingers grabbed the roots of her curls. Her eyes widened when she felt the stickiness of the ice cream knot into her hair.

Damnit!

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here early! I need your help with my math homework.” The familiar voice of Danika exclaimed from behind Iris. It was unexpected and caused her to spin around in alarm to confront the sudden noise. Startled, Danika stepped back, her doe eyes wide with fright.

Iris could only imagine what she looked like: her fiery curls burning in every direction, forming a mane around her face, a chocolate stain on her hairline, the flush in her cheeks so intense it covers her freckles, green eyes wide with anxiety and white, trembling hands hanging by her side.

In short, Iris looked like a hot, panicked mess.

In comparison to Iris, Danika looked relaxed, albeit concerned, in her Westwood High uniform: a simple white buttoned shirt under a blue school dress. The uniform didn’t fit her very well, it didn’t fit anybody. Westwood freely gave the uniforms to all the students, knowing that the majority of them couldn’t afford uniforms nor enough clothing to wear.

Making eye contact with Danika, Iris willed her thumping heart to calm down and placed the clean hand over her chest.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Danika gently grasped Iris’s arm, before pulling her into a hug. “Want to talk about it?”

No, Iris didn’t want to talk about it; she wanted to cry ugly tears, raise her fists to the heavens and curse the day of Orion Crawford’s birth, and shriek all the frustration through speakers for the whole world to hear. She was about to do all of the above before she remembered what Danika said before she asked Iris whether she was okay.

“Not now,” Iris said, pulling out of Danika’s warm embrace. “Later. Just let me calm down first.”

“Are you sure?” Danika asked, her eyes flickered between Iris’s face, hair, and hands.

“Yeah.” Iris nodded reassuringly. “When Zoya comes after her art classes. Then I only have to tell it and listen to you guys shout at me once.”

“That bad? The homework can wait.”

“No, we still have a few minutes before our shift starts. What were you struggling with?”

“Are you sure?” Danika asked. “You look like you got chased by a bear. Or got run over by a truck.”

Iris waved her concern away. “We don’t have bears here. I don’t think we even have any in our zoos.”

“Seriously?” Danika groaned. “You look about ready to fall apart and you are worrying about bears and if we have any in our zoos? What happened?”

“I told you,” Iris said, frustration evident in her tone. “I promise I will tell you. Only after Zoya gets here. I don’t want to tell it twice.”

Danika fell silent, eyes still filled with worry as she looked at Iris’s shaking form.

Seeing her look, Iris clenched her eyes tightly, guilt creeping into her stomach. Today has been a whirlwind of emotions but did not mean that Iris could take it out on Danika.

“I’m sorry,” said Iris. “It’s been a frustrating day but that is no excuse to snap at you.”

“I know.” Danika nodded. “I should not have pushed. How about we clean you up and then we get started on my homework? Does that sound okay?”

Iris sent a tired smile to her friend, her heart swelling in her chest. “Thank you. I would appreciate that. Because I don’t know if you had noticed but I have ice cream in my very curly hair. And I’m pretty sure it is dripping into my shirt.”

“It is,” Danika confirmed. “Your hair looks like a strawberry and chocolate milkshake.”

“I can confirm that it does not taste like what it looks like. Unless you like the taste of shampoo and conditioner.”