CH.21 Demons ways
"Iris!"
His voice sounded in her mind like he was screaming her name as she was leaving. It sounded so sweet on his lips. It almost managed to seduce her.
She left her horse in the forest. She took off its bridle and set it free.
Let it roam freely across the wide plains.
She threw the hood of her velvet cloak over her head, the spell hiding her from the sight of all living beings.
The forests connected to the palace gardens.
A vulnerable place, protected by no walls.
She walked around the guards. Not even the whisper of the summer breeze betrayed her.
She crept into the palace unnoticed, walking through the winding corridors immersed in the night.
Deserted, interspersed with screaming silence.
The footsteps led her to Anastasia's chambers.
She stood before them, not hesitating, but something held her back.
Maybe fear. What if it doesn't work out?
What if she was discovered? What if she couldn't find a way to break the enchantment?
Would she forever pretend to be someone she isn't? Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself through the double doors inside.
The moon illuminated the chambers with a silvery glow.
She walked through the darkness, avoiding the mess lying on the floor.
Her stepsister had never been one for order.
Anastasia slept peacefully in her luxurious four-poster bed.
Carefree. She held everything she had ever desired in her fist. A smile graced her lips.
She must have been dreaming something beautiful, and Iris was about to shatter those dreams.
She approached the sleeping, unsuspecting Anastasia.
"Anastasia," she whispered softly in her ear. "Anastasia."
She stirred but didn't wake up. She was still flying somewhere in the realm of dreams.
"Anastasia."
"Not now. Give me a moment."
"Anastasia."
She woke up, opening her eyes briefly. She saw nothing but darkness. It must have been a dream, she thought. She closed her eyes again and tried to fall asleep.
"Anastasia!" she said her name this time with bitterness in her voice.
She sat up in fear. She looked around the bedroom, gaping with emptiness. No one. Just her and the shadows of the night. Iris laughed, hidden under the magic sewn into her cloak.
"Who is it?" she asked the void, frightened. It wasn't just a dream. It wasn't a dream.
"Anastasia."
"Show yourself, coward!"
Iris was pacing around the room. She was amused by how her stepsister was cowering in fear under the covers, searching for the enemy hidden in the darkness. Fear crawled over her skin. On the desk she found a paperweight in the shape of a lion. She picked it up. It was quite heavy.
"Anastasia."
"I'm not afraid of ghosts. They're not s— "
And then, she was stunned by a sharp blow to the head from something heavy. She fell into sweet unconsciousness.
When she woke up again, her head and whole body ached terribly.
She wanted to stand up, but she couldn't move.
She was tied up. Her legs and arms were tied to a chair.
She didn't understand what was happening.
She looked around the room, shrouded in darkness, broken only by streams of moonlight.
She saw a bathtub, a sink. She looked at herself in the mirror.
A trickle of deep red blood was running down the side of her face.
"Hello!" she called. "Is anyone here?"
"Of course." Iris entered the bathroom with her face and her nightgown on. "Did you think you tied yourself up while sleepwalking?"
Anastasia stared in silent amazement at the person standing before her.
She looked like an exact copy of her. She had her eyes, her hair , the curve of her lips.
Every detail. Even the freckles that adorned her face like stars.
For a moment, she herself questioned which one was the real one. Is she her or her she?
"Who are you? What are you?" Panic played in her voice and face.
"Your worst nightmare, Anastasia." Her lips twisted into a sinister smile. "You can call me karma."
"Help!" she screamed.
Iris silenced her immediately. She covered her mouth with a scarf, tying it tight.
She couldn't scream, couldn't say a word, not even the faintest cry escaped her throat.
She was twitching, writhing. It was clear that she wanted to scream for help, but the magic in the scarf silenced every sound that tried to escape her mouth.
"Don't try," Iris laughed. "No one can hear you. And if I were you, I'd calm down and cooperate if you don't want to die."
Anastasia calmed down. She sat motionless, staring at her captor, who had stolen her face. She was trembling. Tears welled up in her eyes.
?
Jace had gathered Iris' favorite flowers, forget-me-nots, in the meadow.
Although she had never said it out loud, she feared being forgotten.
He wanted to show her that he would never forget her.
And now that she was home again, even with her heart broken, he hoped he would have a chance with her.
He wanted to be the hero who deserved her and would heal all her wounds.
As soon as he approached her house, he sensed that something was wrong. A tense silence hung in the air. He noticed a thick line of salt winding around the entire house and a symbol drawn in chalk on the door frame. It was open. He didn't dare go inside.
"Iris!" he called. No one answered. "Iris!"
"Iris is not here." An unknown man appeared on the threshold.
He was immediately caught by his eyes. They were golden. They shone like sunlight on the surface of the water.
"Who are you?" Jace asked him.
"Iris never mentioned me?" His expression was stony, unreadable. And Jace was good at reading people.
"Not a single word."
A wicked grin graced his lips. "I'm her personal demon," he said, somewhat concealing that her husband was too, knowing this jealous boy wouldn't do what he wants if he knew he lost her heart.
"That's a lie! A hideous lie! Iris would never mess with demons." Jace didn't believe his treacherous words.
"Are you sure you know her that well, Jace William Smith?"
The fact that he knew his full name scared him.
Iris was the only one who knew it, his entire past. He hadn't heard it since he left his father after the king had stripped him of all his possessions, and he was taking his anger out on him.
And now it came from the mouth of the man who called himself a demon.
Could he really be a demon? Those eyes, the way he carried himself, the grace in his words.
The energy that radiated from him was definitely not human.
"Where is Iris?" he asked him.
The demon rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Definitely not here, as you've probably noticed. She's in the palace with her prince right now," he replied. "Of course, not as herself. She had to steal her dear stepsister's face so she can be with the one she truly loves. Not you."
She didn't love him, she just wanted him.
It was a fickle desire. To want. And so fleeting.
She was drawn to him by the anger he intended to extinguish.
But to do that, he needed the stupid human to let him out.
But his mind was too busy trying to comprehend the vastness of the world, which seemed so small to people.
It all sounded unbelievable to him. Like one of those fairy tales she kept reading would become a reality.
"What do you mean?"
"Get me out of here, and I'll tell you."
Jace stared at the symbols painted on the door frame, remembering his grandmother telling him that salt works against evil spirits.
"If Iris imprisoned you here, she probably had a good reason. I guess you won't be one of the good demons."
Luc laughed lightly. "It was just a minor argument. Nothing that couldn't be resolved. But to make that happen, I need your help. And believe me, I'm just as uncomfortable asking a poor human for help as you are helping a demon."
"That's good because I don't plan on helping you," Jace said.
He showed his back to him, but Luc stopped him before he could leave.
"I can grant you any wish. Anything. I can give you gold, all the treasures of this world, power you've never dreamed of. All I ask in return is that you release me from this prison."
He had Jace's attention. He turned to him with interest. Luc saw his desire reflected in his eyes.
"But I can't give you Iris," he added. "That's the one thing I can't give you, not that I want to."
He wouldn't give him something he himself craved so much. Why would he give him his wife?
And at that moment, his attention was lost.
"Thank you, but I'm not stupid enough to play your demon games. Save your empty promises for someone else."
He turned on his heel and started to leave.
He dropped the flowers he had picked for Iris.
She broke his heart. She never chose him.
He would have given her the world and his heart, but she gave it back to him, crushed.
And she didn't even say goodbye. She went back to the prince she couldn't have. And he couldn't have her.
"Come back!" Luc called after him. "There must be something you want."
"You can't give me that." He didn't let himself be tempted by his sweet words and left.