45. Iris
Iris
It’s hard to tell how much time passes in the void.
But I think I’m losing my mind.
Especially when I hear the Slayer shouting my name. I’m absolutely losing it, my mind conjuring his deep timbre to keep me company in this lonely space. I can’t physically cry, but the pain in my soul is vast.
Why did I spend so much time pushing him away? I should have never let go of his hand in that office and if I had a second chance, I’d never let go of him again.
Either of them.
“Iris, can you hear me?” His words sound like they are underwater and it’s a cruel trick of my mind.
“Stop it,” I hiss to myself.
“Iris!”
I swear the sound is getting closer, but it’s still so far away.
“I have little time. I need you to listen to me.”
So I listen, he just repeats the same phrase repeatedly and I try to remember the words verbatim. Has my coven sent him here? Is he now lost to the void forever?
“Are you stuck in here with me?” I ask after he says the last word for the third time, but he doesn’t reply.
I’m lost in the void again, all alone. I want to hear his voice again so desperately, but there’s nothing. All I can do is go over the words the Slayer said, unsure if he was real or not.
It clicks the third time I repeat the phrase. It’s a spell, one I’ve never heard before, but it must be something that can help get me out of here.
I don’t have my wand or a physical form. I’m not sure what I am or if I can even cast magic while I’m in here.
It’s hard grounding myself when I can’t feel anything so I just visualize my life; laughing with my best friends, moon rituals with my coven, taking walks in the woods with Scarlett, and the way I feel safe with the Slayer and Adam.
With all the joys in my life at the forefront of my mind, I repeat the words, fill them with my intention.
It could be minutes or hours as I focus on the spell, willing myself out of the void. I’m ready to give up, but then I feel it, a cool breeze against my skin.
The chanting I’m doing starts to carry sound, and I don’t dare stop.
With a sharp crack of pain, I feel it the moment I’m out of the void and back into my body.
I barely open my eyes to look around at where I am, and I have a sick feeling that Celeste is keeping me somewhere she can keep a close eye on me.
My suspicion is proven correct as I see the small blinking red light in the corner.
A security camera.
I close my eyes again, not moving an inch, not wanting to tip her off that I’m out of the void and back in my body.
My coven is coming for me, that much I’m sure of. As for the Slayer and Adam?
A tear rolls down my face, but I don’t dare wipe it off. I can’t think like that. I’m getting out of here and I’m getting them back, no matter what it takes.
It's hard just lying here, doing my best to not trigger the cameras or garner the attention of Celeste. Can she feel a ripple in the void?
My breathing hitches as a vision hits me and I do my best to not flinch or open my eyes.
It's hot, sticky, and so humid it feels like the air is heavy; the crowd is bustling around me and the faces are familiar, but some of them are different. Ember hasn't aged a day, but Violet has smile lines around her eyes and Silas' hair is going gray around his face.
The Slayer is near the Alpha shifter, a child hanging on each arm as he uses them as weights, lifting them off the ground as they giggle.
"I told you, little wolves are no challenge for a slayer," he bellows at them, lifting them in the air. "Iris, my mate, the little hounds are out of control."
"No, we aren't, Auntie Iris," the little girl says, the left side of her hair white, the other half black.
She looks just like Violet, and I can tell without a doubt she's a hybrid just like her mother.
When I glance away from the little girl, I see the Slayer's face, his eyes flash, showing me that Adam is there too, a warm smile on his face as he transitions to the man.
"You two better go eat the rest of the cake before it's gone," Adam tells them and the kids fall off his arms, scurrying over to the food table.
He goes to approach me, when suddenly everything goes black. The vision fades away.
The vision sends a ripple of pain through me, because I'm pretty sure it was a vision of what could have been, not what lies in my future.
I lie on the bed, wondering if I should have stayed in the void after all.