32. Iris
Iris
The sensation of being teleported feels odd, especially over so much distance.
It takes me a moment to gather my bearings as our feet touch the cold stone ground. The Slayer doesn’t let go of me, his warm body engulfing mine, and maybe I hold on a little tighter than I should.
This craving for him continues to intensify, and I know eventually it’s going to reach a boiling point, but we have a mission to do. We don’t have time for such frivolous things.
“Are you alright?” he questions, pulling away and gently squeezing my shoulders. I give him a quick succession of nods and he smiles. “Do you sense any magic?”
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath and blessedly, I don’t sense any wards in place. There’s just a general ominous presence. It’s hard to tell if it’s the prison itself and all the terrible things that likely happened here or if it’s because the spell book is here.
“No wards or magic detected."
“Good,” he says, standing tall. “Do not stray away from me, actually…” He grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. “We shall not part our hands until the mission is over. Yes, I like this.”
His palm is warm and comforting in mine as I hold the map, following the orange glow of the magical signature. Luckily for us, the island is currently closed for tours as we walk hand in hand in the tunnels. I have to use my wand for light as we go deeper and deeper into the bowels of the prison.
The heaviness of this place gets thicker and thicker, and maybe I hold on slightly tighter to the Slayer as we move.
“We’re close,” I whisper, and he keeps his eyes on alert. He can see far better in the low light than I can.
Based on the map, it seems like we’re right on top of the damn thing. We’re inside of a small, windowless cell as we look around. Of course, they wouldn’t just leave it on a shelf, but where could it be?
The Slayer doesn’t let go of my hand as he uses his foot to tap on the floor to see if it’s under there. Meanwhile, I see if there’s a loose piece of wall. The concrete is thick, but eventually I tap a spot that seems hollow.
“Right here,” I tell him, and he comes over, only now letting my hand go as he easily pries and punches through the wall. It’s hotter than it should be as debris go flying and a plume of dust bellows in his wake of destruction.
I cast a quick cleaning spell to vanish it all and sure enough, I spot the orange glow. It’s further back than I thought, the space more like an escape tunnel than a hidey hole.
“I’ll get it,” he says and I frown at him.
“I’ve seen what happens when you touch one of these things. Plus, I’ll fit in easier.”
His brows furrow, not liking it one bit, but my logic makes sense. I place a hand on his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”
“You get out if anything seems at all suspicious.”
His protectiveness and my acceptance of our bond have me feeling bold. “Seal the promise with a kiss?” I question and initiate intimacy for the first time.
The Slayer looks beyond excited as he smiles, cupping my cheek and leaning down to press his lips against mine. My whole body shivers when he does. How for a second did I delude myself into thinking that this wasn’t true fate?
There’s no running away from your mate, and yeah, there’s a lot we still need to work through and a whole slew of dangerous shit hanging over our heads. But one thing for certain: I want him. I want them both—as they are—whatever that looks like.
We part from the kiss, and when I stare into his voided eyes that once felt ominous, I can’t help but to see the softness and longing that lies underneath this facade.
“I’ll be right back,” I say and he rubs my cheek one last time as I crouch on my hands and knees and start crawling through the tunnel.
There’s no way the Slayer would have been able to fit in here. In fact, I think I’ll need to crawl backwards to get out. I cough a few times. It’s musty and dark in the small space.
The glow of the spell book is my guiding light as I keep pressing forward. There’s a deep sense of unease in this place, especially as a few pieces of the wall scratch my elbows and knees, but I don’t let it deter me.
I don’t know what a future looks like with potentially two partners who share a body, one of which has a penchant for blood lust, but for the first time I kind of want to find out.
So that means I’m getting these fucking books, destroying them, and doing everything in my power to make my life as normal as I possibly can.
I’m only a few feet away when a cold chill licks up my ankles and my vision goes hazy, clouded with another vision in itself.
The air is cold, almost paralyzing, as my hand trembles before me. Blood coats my skin as I grip a bloody stake.
I want to look around in the vision for more context, but just as quickly as it comes, it goes. My heart thuds in my chest and my need to get the fuck out of here is dire. With shaky hands, I grab the book. Nothing happens, thankfully, as I shuffle backwards toward the exit.
As I get closer to the cell I hear the Slayer shout. “She isn’t here.”
I pause, not moving in the tight tunnel. It feels like the walls are closing in on me and I’m doing my very best to keep steady, even paced, breaths.
“Don’t play stupid with me, brother. You think I don’t have cameras alerting me when someone steps into this cell? I knew it would be you.”
“It doesn’t need to be this way,” my Slayer responds.
I’m trying not to make a single noise, but muffling my tears and fear is becoming harder with every growing second.
“What’s your plan anyway, huh? Kill me, and what, share my mate?”
“Fuck no. I’ll kill the others. Neither of them have an heir old enough. It would be years before they would come back for another cycle.”
“She isn’t your mate,” the Slayer says vehemently.
“She could be.”
“No. She’s not. I’m sorry that you and our fellow brothers didn’t make the same deal, but Iris is mine.”
“Iris,” the other man says with a disgusting interest that has me trembling. “She will be mine in every lifetime. I will bring her to the void with me.”
What. The. Fuck?
As soon as the words come out of his mouth, I hear a cacophony of fighting noises.
I can’t see anything with my back to the dark entrance and he told him I wasn’t here.
I don’t know who’s winning and I’m on edge and the space is so tight I can’t even grab my wand to portal.
The only thing I’m holding on to is the spell book.
For a moment there’s a brief pause in fighting and I hope with every fiber of my being that the Slayer is alright.
I want to call out for him, but I keep quiet, waiting for him to tell me it’s safe.
A hand grips around my ankle and roughly pulls. I scream, trying to find purchase in the tunnel. The Slayer would never be this rough with me. I hold on to the book, pulling it along with me.
“There you are,” a deep voice that sends terror down my spine says.
He pulls me roughly out of the tunnel, my knees and elbows scraping on the poorly dug out attempted escape path. There’s nothing I can do before I’m ripped completely out of the spot. I keep the book with me, knowing he can’t touch it.
I land on my ass and wince as the man glooms down at me.
Andrew Aaron Van Staden stands before me, and he just doesn’t look right.
Whereas the Slayer has a gentle gleam in his eye, this man is the opposite, he looks crazed.
He’s a hulking man, with a darker complexion with yellow undertones, tattoos cover his arms and neck, leading all the way to his shaved skull.
His brown eyes are wide and wild as he stares down at me like I’m an object rather than a person.
It’s clear to me then that there’s no humanity left in him.
“Naughty, little mate, stealing my book,” he says, tsking me.
He stares at the book and I glance to my left, where the Slayer is staked to the wall by his shoulder. He’s attempting to get a grip on the stake and free himself, but it’s in there deep.
I whimper as I watch him struggle, hating seeing him in pain.
I go to reach for my wand, and Andrew kicks it away.
“A witch, how interesting,” he says, leaning down and examining me even further. “I’m not sure if you’re worth the two-thousand year wait period, but we’ll see. Go put the book back,” he orders me.
The Slayer is in bad shape, and I glance down at my wrist. I know what I need to do. I’m going to get us out of this situation. I just need him to have ill intentions toward me.
With a groan I realize that I need to piss this slayer off.
“No,” I tell him firmly, and he raises a blonde eyebrow at me.
“No?”
“You fucking heard me.”
He laughs sardonically and raises his hand, ready to strike me.
I can hear the Slayer groan in anger, but his hand never meets flesh.
The manacled bracelet works just as my grandmother promised, freezing the man in place for thirty seconds.
As quickly as I can, I grab my wand off the floor and rush over to the Slayer.
“Sorry,” I hiss as I hold his shoulder with one hand and rip the stake out with another.
My hands are coated in blood as I glance down at them and I realize this was my vision. He takes the stake out of my hand, moving quickly, fueled by anger and frustration.
He doesn’t waste a second, and just as the timer runs out, the Slayer is jumping in the air and thrusting the stake right into the other man’s heart.
I gasp and watch with unblinking eyes as it all happens. The dying man glares at the Slayer as he presses the stake deeper and deeper, puncturing his heart well past repair. My Slayer doesn’t let go of the stake until he’s sure the other man is completely dead.
His soul is now back in the void, unable to return to the mortal lands unless his family gains access to the book.
His back is to me and it raises and falls with each of his deep breaths.
“Are you alright?” he asks, not turning to face me.
“I’m alright,” I whisper, grabbing the spell book off the floor with shaking hands. “Are you alright?”
He doesn’t answer with words, just holds his hand out for mine, still not looking at me. Both of our palms are covered in blood, but I take his hand without a second thought.
I realize my feelings are deeper than I imagined. Watching him nearly get killed in front of my eyes has changed everything.
I’m no longer afraid of what we need to do, and most of all, the thought of possibly losing him and Adam is abhorrent.
Maybe I didn’t want this to begin with. Maybe I still don’t totally understand the Slayer or what drives him.
But what I do know…my heart beats for him—for them.