Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
IRIS
Isobella and I had killed someone.
I was expecting horror to floor me. Consume me. But it didn’t. I only felt… relief.
By ending him, we’d avenged countless lives, and saved countless others.
The sensation of the tree branch still in my hand made me feel powerful. From behind, I heard the chaos growing and becoming louder now their leader was dead. I heard footsteps approaching at full speed, hammering on the ground. We turned as one.
A masked man was approaching us, so we went for him first. We swung the branch with such ferocity, such strength, that the sheer force of it made his head give way with a crunch.
Another figure came at us, taller than the first. Isobella swung the branch at his ankles, taking his feet out from under him. Once he lay sprawled on the forest floor, she brought down the branch like a guillotine. Blood sprayed everywhere, coating our clothes and our face.
Another figure approached, storming towards us.
His mask had been lost and I recognised him as faculty at the school.
He briefly got the chance to wrap his hand around our throat, before Isobella kicked him in the groin, and brought the branch down on him again and again, until it snapped against his spine.
Once he was dead, we looked around the clearing.
I could see Archer fighting against Draven and another man.
Fear pooled in my gut, but as I watched, I realised he had control of the situation…
He ducked a swinging punch from Draven with sharp precision, barely shifting his weight, then pivoted on his heel and drove a swift kick into the other man’s stomach.
The impact sent him stumbling backwards before he hit the ground hard, sprawling across the earth.
Everyone was either dead, wounded or fleeing. I caught sight of one man launching himself over the cliff, as if death by drowning would be better than facing the flames that had now fully engulfed the area… or us.
After what felt like both seconds and hours, when there was no one left to fight, Isobella seemed to retreat slightly.
First, I regained control of my own mind, so I could think my own thoughts again as hers drifted away. Then, when she was satisfied she’d done as much damage to the cult as possible, she finally slipped out of me altogether.
I felt oddly… empty. It was weird, I could feel her absence, and was surprised to realise that I missed her. This girl had suffered at the hands of these people, worse than we had, and I felt her need for vengeance – for revenge – as if it were my own. I felt just as relieved now as she did.
A shout sounded.
My head snapped towards Archer instinctively – just in time to see Draven hit the ground face first. Archer stood over him, his chest rising and falling hard, shaking out his fist. I hurried over.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked, slightly out of breath as I reached him. I no longer had the strength of two people inside me.
He looked at me, startled, and placed his hands on either side of my face.
‘Iris…’ His voice broke slightly on my name.
He pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
‘Fuck, Iris, what happened?’ he asked, pulling back just enough to look at me properly, assessing me for injuries. ‘What was that?’
I wrapped my arms around his neck. ‘It’s okay,’ I breathed. ‘I’m okay.’
‘I don’t understand,’ he said, shaking his head slightly. ‘What happened to you? How did you do that?’ His gaze flicked briefly over my shoulder towards where the others still lay motionless on the ground. ‘Those men were twice your size,’ he went on. ‘Even I couldn’t have taken them.’
Despite everything, a small smile pulled at my lips. ‘Isobella,’ I whispered. ‘I’ll explain later.’
For a moment, he just looked at me, like he had a hundred more questions and no idea which one to ask first. ‘Okay… later,’ he agreed with a small nod.
I looked around. ‘Is it over now?’ I asked quietly. The clearing was almost empty.
He rested his chin on top of my head and pulled me tightly against him. ‘It’s over,’ he repeated.
‘Archer—’
‘Yes?’
‘Your father…’ I looked up into his eyes. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘We don’t need to talk about that right now. I—’ He swallowed hard. ‘I can’t talk about it right now.’
I nodded. ‘Of course, but know that I’m here when you’re ready.’ I pulled back so I could properly look at him. His face was bruised, and he had a split lip. ‘Is it a bad time to tell you how handsome you look with a few battle scars?’
A small smile tugged at his lips, though he grimaced as if it hurt. ‘I guess I’ll have to get into fights with all-powerful cult leaders more often, then.’
I shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t be against it.’
He chuckled quietly. ‘Though, mind if I sit out the next one?’
‘I suppose—’ He stopped suddenly and peered over my head. ‘Oh, fuck.’
‘What is it?’ I asked, turning to follow his gaze. ‘Oh shit,’ I echoed, fear flooding through me.
Rory had re-emerged into the clearing, alone this time, and gripped in his hand was one half of the branch I’d snapped. His expression was murderous, his skin pale, his hair a mess, and his gaze locked on something ahead of him.
We followed his line of sight and saw Adora huddled in a small ball beside the altar, sobbing quietly.
We both sprinted towards her. Rory noticed us and sped up too, but he was clearly injured – trying to run with a limp – and, as he drew closer, I noticed burn wounds along the side of his face.
Archer wasted no time grabbing him. He pinned Rory’s arms behind his back, and although Rory fought against him, he was too injured to overpower Archer’s strength.
‘Stop resisting, arsehole,’ Archer spat. ‘It’s over. You’ve lost.’
The branch he’d been stubbornly gripping finally fell from his fingers and landed harmlessly at their feet.
‘Iris?’
I turned at the sound of my name to find Adora standing just behind us. Her eyes were wide, her skin pale, her expression grim.
‘Hey,’ I whispered softly. ‘You don’t need to watch this.’
Watch what, exactly, I wasn’t sure – but I was certain Archer wasn’t going to let Rory walk out of this clearing in one piece.
‘Come on,’ I said gently, reaching for her hand and trying to guide her away. I gestured towards the trees, away from the fire that was still clawing its way higher and higher. ‘Let’s go over here.’
Adora shrugged off my hand and walked straight past me towards where Archer held Rory.
‘Adora—’ I started, but she didn’t slow. She stopped directly in front of him.
She was quiet for a long moment, just staring at him. Then, barely louder than the crackle of the fire, she whispered, ‘Why?’
My eyes brimmed with tears.
The arsehole scoffed and ignored her.
‘Answer her, prick,’ Archer growled, driving a kick into Rory’s leg. Adora flinched.
Rory only shrugged. ‘It wasn’t anything personal, love.’
I stared at him, stunned. ‘Nothing personal?’ I snapped. ‘Nothing personal that you led her on for an entire year? Lied about loving her? Lied about being our friend?’ My voice shook with anger. ‘You’re sick.’
He turned to me, eyes wild. ‘It was my fucking birthright!’ he screamed, spit flying from his mouth.
‘I was supposed to be the next leader! As soon as you,’ he looked at Archer, ‘fucked it up, it was my turn.’ He turned back to Adora.
‘You were supposed to die, and I was supposed to be the next great leader, but you couldn’t even do that right, could you? You slut.’
Tears brimmed in her eyes. ‘But I love you,’ she whispered, and something in my chest splintered. Cracked.
The look he gave her was pure venom. ‘I never loved you. I was only doing my duty – to my grandfather and the Society.’
A flicker of white flashed beside us and I turned to see Isobella, a question written plainly across her face. I hesitated for only a heartbeat before reaching for Dora’s hand. Her fingers were cold and limp in mine. She let out a small gasp upon noticing Isobella, but she didn’t pull away.
She didn’t seem afraid.
I wasn’t sure she could feel much of anything right now.
Isobella’s gaze shifted to Dora, silent but insistent, willing her to understand. A quiet exchange passed between the two of them. It only took a few moments.
My friend nodded.
And then everything happened at once.
Isobella moved like lightning – so fast that if I blinked I would have missed it. She hurled herself at Rory, becoming him. Forcing her way inside. Breaking him apart from within.
His scream cut through the clearing like a blade, drowning out the sound of the fire, and then suddenly Rory was running.
Faster and faster.
Straight for the cliff's edge.
He didn’t slow, and he didn’t hesitate… as he jumped, and vanished into the waiting sea far below.