Zoe sympathized with him, the same way she sympathized with Iris. Of all people, it didn’t make sense that Iris didn’t see the truth about the stars. It didn’t make sense her eyes hadn’t been entranced by Prince Andre’s beauty. She wondered how that was possible.
“Wait!” Andre said, pointing at Iris kneeling down to the glass, and wiping it with a towel.
“You think she finally saw it?” Zoe chirped.
“Let’s see.”
Iris wiped the glass a couple of times, as if trying to see clearly behind it. When it cleared, she locked her gaze downward for a long time. Andre and Zoe’s breathing tightened, longing for the moment she saw the truth. Iris was still looking and looking. Her gaze was expressionless. Did she see the world for what it really was?
Finally, Iris stood up and waved her hands in the air. "They're just stars beneath my feet."
52
Colton was losing it. He could not believe Iris challenged the Beast, and was taken so easily. How could she not consult him? He knew she was stubborn and impulsive, and he actually liked these traits in her. But how could she? He thought he’d found the love of his life here in The Second.
He was digging like crazy into the soil of the Ruins. Hours and hours of being alone in this world wasn’t helping him. He needed to do this. No family, friends, cars, or looks filled the void Iris left behind.
“Stupid, Iris. Why did you do this? I can’t live here on my own. This world seems so fake, and you were the only thing that made it right. You were that rock that stabilized my life, and gave meaning to it.” Colton dug the shovel elsewhere.
The Ruins were gloomy, like always. He was searching for something only Iris was capable of finding. But he was determined to get it tonight.
Dig here. Dig there. Look for it everywhere.
Finally, he found what he was looking for. He tucked it in his pocket, and ran away to leave the Ruins.
Half an hour later, he was in his car, speeding up through the city, running traffic lights, and not caring in the least. He pushed the gas pedal and saw only Iris’s face in the horizon. She was so far away. So far away.
Colton stopped in front of the Sinai Tower and got out of his car. He convinced the guards he was here on behalf of his father, got through, and took the elevator up to the roof.
The police had set a number of guards on the rooftop. Androids like those who guard the schools. But nothing was going to stop Colton. Nothing.
“I am walking toward the guards,” he called Cody on the phone.
“Roger that, bro,” Cody replied. Colton heard him click some buttons on his keyboard. A moment later, the guards froze like machines. “It’s clear now,” Cody said. “But hurry. You only got two minutes before they wake up.”
“Thanks bro,” Colton said, and walked toward the center.
Suddenly, a guard showed up in front of him. The police had left a human behind.
Colton didn’t hesitate. He punched him in the face instantly. The man was strong though, and punched back.
“You should really leave,” Colton told him. “The energy I got in my heart is much stronger than anything you have seen.”
The policeman grinned at the young boy’s foolishness. Sadly, it was his last grin in a long time. Colton punched him again, drawing out a tooth. Then he followed with another punch that knocked the man down.
“That’s my bro!” Cody clapped on the phone.
Colton walked to the middle of the rooftop and took a deep breath.
“Ready, Colton?” Cody said.
“I am.” He pulled out the red rose he’d finally picked up from the Ruins, and watched it with eager eyes. He smelled it for a moment with closed eyes.
“It’s time.” Cody said.
“You need anything from up there, bro?” Colton joked, disguising his fears.
“How about you bring Zoe back with Iris,” Cody said. “You know I’d have joined you, if I hadn’t had that awful cold all week.”
Colton laughed. “Anything else?” he said, staring at the stars in the sky, those glittering stars separating him from Iris.
“Don’t forget to write,” Cody said.
“I won’t need to,” Colton said. “I’ll be back soon. It’s only stars separating me from Zoe and Iris. How bad could it be?” Colton gazed at the stars again. "Damn, Iris. Now I literally have to go to the moon and back to be with you." He raised the red rose, defying the Beasts’ sovereign, in the air. If they took the challenge, he’d be the first boy to ever be taken by the Beasts, willingly or not.
53
Miles and miles away from Colton, up in space, Iris sat cross-legged on the glass floor above the stars. She had requested an old painting to practice her Pentimento hobby. Prince Andre was kind enough to grant her this wish. She'd been here for seven days, doing nothing but sitting here and working with the paintings.
Iris knew the Beasts were watching her; those ugly Beasts trying to persuade her that her whole world was a lie, and asking her to look at the stars.
Even Zoe visited her a couple of times, talking in codes and riddles, hinting at things. Zoe said she loved Iris so much, she'd die for her. It was true. And Iris would have done the same. Hell, she'd already done it by defying the Beasts for her.
Still, Iris told Zoe that all she could see were the beautiful stars.
Iris, now alone in her chamber, pushed the painting aside and stood up. She lowered her head and gazed down at the glass floor, pulling the hem of her wedding dress slightly up. She did it as if she were about to dance. Somewhere far below was the place she came from; where she met Colton Ray.
She had no idea that at this very moment, Colton was holding a red rose up and defying the Beasts, only to be with her. But somehow, in a rare and exclusively human emotion, she could feel Colton's presence, as if he were near without even seeing him.
She didn't need much explanation or knowledge to analyze her feelings. They were just there, and looking down at the galaxy made her feel a star or two closer to him. How many light years were those?
Even if her attraction to Andre was unearthly, her heart belonged to Colton. He was the one she had always wanted. Her first kiss. The only one she'd dreamed of growing old with. And maybe have kids. And ironically die with, and be buried next to.
True, they might give birth to deformed kids, as ugly looking as she and Colton really were. But it didn't matter. She didn't need an alien race to tell her how to deal with her human problems. As ugly as they were, she and Colton could work it out. They had to work it out. It's what their humanity was all about.
The first time she'd realized what she really was while on the ship was shocking. But then she comprehended it had never been about the looks. The strength humans can show and the stars humans can cross were in themselves unearthly traits. If the beautiful aliens wanted to judge them, they should try living on Earth first, get on their knees and see a plant, feed a dog, or raise kids. Then we'd see how long they'd survive.
Iris knelt to the floor again with her bare feet. She stretched an arm out to touch the glass, looking at the gray skies and the burned stars with a broad smile on her face. It wasn’t a beautiful sight at first, but it did hold a beautiful dream at the end of her gaze: Colton. She could feel him down there somewhere, waiting for her.
And in this precise moment, Iris had an epiphany, that Colton at the end of her gaze, beyond the burned stratosphere, was her Pentimento.
Hold on, Colton. She thought. I’m coming for you. If I keep insisting that I still see the stars, they'll want to get rid of me and send me back to The Second. Stay strong.
The END…
Want Iris’s, Colton’s, and Andre’s story to continue?
Just visit: www.Cameronjace.com and enter your email. You’ll get personal updates from me. I promise you’ll be the first to know when Book Two is released! But here is the thing; my lovely beta readers had different opinions on this ending. Some thought, like me, that the story ends here with an op
en ended scene. And some encouraged me to continue it and write book 2, which should be called Stars Beneath Her Feet. I will leave that up to you to decide. So if you think there should be a second book, don’t miss out:www.cameronjace.com
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Thank you so much for reading.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays,
Cameron Jace
Oh, One Last Thing…
When you turn the page, Kindle will give you the opportunity to express your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter automatically. If you enjoyed my book, would you take a second to click that button and let your friends know about it? If they get something out of the book, they’ll be grateful to you. As I will!
Wish you the best of holidays and a fantabulous new year,
Cameron
Pentimento: a dystopian Beauty and the Beast Page 18