by Maya Daniels
“And if I’m right, he will be grateful. And alive!” Tugging on his hand, Iris walked backward. “If nothing else, at least my magic can keep us safe for a while until we have a solid plan.” What she didn’t tell him was that it’d hurt like a bitch the whole time she held the protection. He doesn’t need to know that as long as we can protect Fern, her mind supplied.
“Hop on, and don’t you dare pull on my hair like that, ever again.” Bending his knees, his look sent a dire warning of retaliation if she pulled that on him again.
Iris blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. She couldn’t believe that she’d actually reined him in like a runaway horse.
“Sorry,” mumbling, she shuffled towards him. “I freaked out a little thinking of what could happen to him.” She tried to reach for his shoulders, but a sharp pain in her hip made her stagger. Oh hell, no. Not again! she screamed in her mind.
“You are forgiven.” Darion’s face softened, and oblivious to her pain, he turned again so she could climb on his back.
Iris knew that it’d be unbearable, and she might pass out while he ran, but she couldn’t waste more time. Every second she stood there could cost Fern his life. Grinding her teeth so hard she thought her jaw would break, she grabbed Darion’s shoulders and wrapped her legs around his hips.
“Don’t worry, Iris.” Misunderstanding her grimace and the tight grip she had on him, Darion petted her thigh. “We will find him before you blink.”
With that, he bolted like an arrow again, and Iris prayed with everything in her that he was right. Because if it took longer than a few minutes, she wasn’t sure she would be conscious to help when they did find him.
As Darion raced in the direction that Fern had taken, Iris held on with all the strength in her. The pain had dulled a little, so she was able to at least breathe through it and stay conscious. It still felt like someone had stuck a hot poker in her side and was twisting it slowly. Dark spots danced in front of her, so she tried to look around them to distract herself.
For the first time, she noticed the faint outlines of hills in the distance and a mixture of excitement and dread swirled in her stomach. Iris pressed her face into his shoulder because it felt like Darion had kicked up a gear. Maybe, finally, her words penetrated his brain, and he understood the danger of Fern’s situation. However, the only thing Iris could concentrate on at the moment was that with each second, the pain lessened.
Fern raced towards the distant hills doing his best not to think about Iris, or specifically about Iris alone with Darion while she was wrapped around him. He knew how ridiculous he was acting, but the witch pushed all his buttons just by her mere existence and there was nothing he could do about it.
Not even Ivy knew what Iris was capable of and that thought set Fern on edge. It reminded him too much of Lazarus, and everything in him rebelled against the idea of anyone having that much control over him.
The screech of the shadow behind him made his anger bubble up, and he pushed harder to get to the rocky hills so he could take it out on the creature. Fern never considered himself cruel, but the internal war in him tore at his sanity. He wanted to lose himself in Iris, but at the same time he feared that she might be like Lazarus and he wanted to wrap his hands around her neck so she couldn’t hurt him or anyone else. Swirling his staff around him, making sure the shadow kept its distance, he ground his teeth together and pushed all thoughts out of his mind.
The ground changed from dirt and dried up soil to a pebbled rocky path. In less than a few blinks, he bent his knees, pushed off the ground as hard as he could, and sailed up in the air towards the sharp edges of the rock in front of him.
Darion held Iris so tightly around her thighs that his arms were going numb. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to make sure she didn’t fall, or because her words echoed in his head that Fern might die. Lately, his friend had been an ass, but Darion cared about him like a brother. Fern had the superior strength and shouldn’t be underestimated, but Darion had speed on his side. That might help when Fern saw him, he would hopefully know that reaching him had more to do with innate speed rather than Darion’s desperation to find him while he still breathed.
When Iris spoke to him, her eyes almost glowed like a Fae’s, and some ancient power that made shivers rake his frame looked back at him through her. Darion wasn’t sure what exactly was going on with her, but he knew two things. Fern cared a lot about her even though he fought it, and Artemis would have his head if anything happened to Iris. With that in mind, it could be the devil himself looking at him through Iris, but he would protect her with his life. If I reach Fern in time, I might actually keep my life after all this is over, Darion thought glumly and put more speed into his movements.
Fern cursed his broad shoulders when he got stuck between two sharp rocks in his attempt to hide. He stupidly ran straight for the tiny gap, looking at what was past it. The caves were staring him in the face and he didn’t use his brain when he should’ve. He knew that when he found the right cave entrance, nothing would follow him there. So, instead of taking the longer time to go around them, or even climb, he literally gave his life on a platter to the damn thing. The shadow had proved to be more intelligent than he’d initially thought. Every time he managed to find a small opening or an entrance to the many caves in these hills, the shadow would follow shortly after like a hound dog sniffing for its prey.
Grinding his teeth, he jerked his shoulders sideways, scraping his skin in the process, and instead of sideways, he was now stuck with his back exposed to the creature. He couldn’t have made for an easier pray. He was a sitting duck, and the damn thing was never far behind him. No matter how hard he pushed, it felt like the rocks were moving closer, trapping him between them with his arms pinned to the sides.
“How in the worlds did I get stuck like this,” he whispered through clenched teeth, still wiggling to free himself.
Fern stilled when the air around him shifted, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He stopped struggling, holding his breath in hopes that by some miracle the shadow would pass by; otherwise, he was screwed. Standing as still as a statue and clenching his jaw, he did his best not to flinch when a feeling like icy fingers trailed up his spine. The air around him dropped in temperature and his skin pebbled at the drastic drop. His knuckles turned white with the strength of his grip on his staff, but he didn’t move. The shadow was right behind him. Fern could feel its icy, putrid breath on his skin and the ghostly feeling of its shadow form pressing closer. At that moment, his heart beat so fast it felt like it wanted to escape without him.
He miscalculated the strength of the shadow, and it was too late to turn the situation in his favor. Fern felt his life force slowly leaving his body, and he became weaker by the second.
Out of nowhere, green smiling eyes popped in his mind, so vivid that it took Fern a second to realize that Iris was not standing in front of him, but she was in him, in his heart and soul. The thought of Iris flipped a switch inside him. His heart slowed to a regular beat, his whole body relaxed, muscles unclenched, and calmness enveloped him like a blanket. He would die at any moment, but she would live. If his life were needed for her to be safe, he would give it willingly. He stopped struggling against the shadow. If what Ivy said was true, Iris would heal his realm, and everyone would be safe. He’d done his duty, and he’d protected her to the best of his ability. She would live.
A lump clogged his throat at the thought of never seeing her again. At death's door, he sifted through his feelings, with no judgment or restraint. What he found took his breath away. He was angry at himself for not being able to protect her better when Claude came after them. He was mad at himself for letting Lazarus drag him by the nose in circles until it was too late. And he’d taken it all out on her, blaming her for things she had nothing to do with because he’d been scared that he wasn’t good enough for her. Fear had gnawed his insides that if he allowed her to get close to him, she would find him
lacking.
A puff of icy air exited his lungs and clouded his face as all the weight pressing on his chest lifted when he had no other option but to face himself. In the end, he was just a coward. Scared of a witch who barely reached his shoulder. He felt his energy slowly draining from him, and his legs gave out, causing him to almost dangle between the two rocks still holding him prisoner. Her face still floated behind his closed eyelids, and a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. The cold was taking over his body, and he wasn’t sure if it was a memory of her or a hallucination. Whatever it was, he was grateful to see her one last time before he died.
“Oh, Iris.” With a heavy sigh, he whispered her name. “I wish I had more time.”
“If you stop playing the sleeping beauty, we can get the hell out of here. You’ll have plenty of time then.”
At first, Fern thought he’d imagined Iris’s voice, and his heart clenched at the sound of it. That was until the shriek of the shadow nearly burst his eardrums, and the cold that froze his insides retreated, leaving him feeling like a thawed piece of meat between the two rocks. It was gone and replaced by the warm air as fast as it arrived.
“Fern.” Darion’s deep voice made Fern look around confused, and he wiggled weakly to see where it was coming from.
“Darion, I think he is stuck, or hurt.” The worry in Iris’s voice made him warm up inside a lot faster.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled barely above whisper, not wanting her to see him as pathetic as he felt at the moment.
“I’m sorry about this.” That was all the warning Darion gave before his large hand shoved between his shoulder blades, and he was propelled forward, dropping on his hands and knees.
“Oh my God, he’s bleeding.” Looking at the blood covering Fern’s arms, Iris was horrified. In her head, he was bleeding to death, and she felt faint at the sight.
“He’ll live, Iris. It’s nothing but scrapes from the rocks.” Darion couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice. “We need to get out of here before that thing comes back.”
Finally, Fern was able to take a deep breath, and he turned around to see where the other two were. Darion stood almost on top of him, looking down as if expecting him to argue, but Fern couldn’t be bothered with his friend at the moment. His focus stayed on the woman who stood protectively before them, palms lifted in the air in front of her, pushing a shimmering purple shield towards the snarling, snapping shadow that threw itself at it making sparks fly around. Such a tiny little creature, but she had so much fire in her that she took Fern’s breath away.
“Do you need help to get up, or are you going to gape at her all day?” Darion waved his palm in Fern’s face.
“I thought I told you to keep her away from the shadow.” Taking the offered hand, Fern lifted himself up, grunting from the needle-like sensations assaulting his entire body.
“Have you tried making her do something that she doesn’t feel like doing?” Darion grabbed his arm to steady him as Fern swayed on his feet. “How did that go for you?”
“Ladies, we need to go.” The strain in Iris’s voice made Fern snap to attention at once. “You can exchange beauty tips later. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold it away.”
Snatching his staff off the ground, Fern was next to her in two long strides. Darion came to flank her on the other side as the three of them faced the writhing shadow. Iris had never felt such joy as when she saw Fern standing next to her.
When she and Darion finally found him, she thought she would die from a heart attack. Fern was sandwiched between two large boulders, and the creepy shadow was wrapped around him like a lover, the mouth full of sharp teeth close to his neck. Everything around them was frozen like some macabre ice castle, the ice sparkled in rainbow colors. Fern’s frozen hair sat around his shoulders like a diamond helmet and everything in Iris screamed that she was too late. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t fighting, he just stood there, still as an ice sculpture.
Darion dropped her on the ground and threw himself at the shadow, but the damn thing only snarled him in its icy embrace as well. That snapped Iris out of her shock and pain, and her palms shot up in the air, sending a blast of purple energy at the shadow. It shrieked as if she’d ripped its heart with her bare hands and bolted away from the two men. That was enough for Iris to run and place herself as a guard between them and the shadow.
Grinding her teeth, she tried her best not to show how painful it was to hold the shield up. Again, like the last time, she couldn’t pull her hands down or break the connection with her magic. Unfortunately, Fern was as perceptive of some things as he was oblivious of others.
“You can lower the protection now, Iris. I will hold it back.” Fern twirled his staff away from her as if trying to show her that he really could do what he claimed.
“I can’t.” Her voice was more breathless then she liked, but the pain and Fern’s nearness together were making her ready to faint.
“Of course, you can. I’m not injured. I’ll hold it back.” Frowning slightly at her lack of faith in him, he tried to pull her behind him, but she dug her heels in, not moving an inch.
“Iris…” There was a warning in Fern’s voice, but Darion grabbed his arm in a tight grip, shutting him up.
“She’s not saying she doesn’t want to, you fool.” Glaring at his friend, Darion jerked him away from Iris. “She is saying she can’t. Look at her arms.”
That’s when Fern noticed her struggling with her own body. Her shoulders were hunched slightly like she was trying to pull the shield towards her, but her arms stayed up in front of her as if they were not part of her body. Fear grabbed hold of Fern’s heart, and he dropped his staff before pushing Darion away, making him stagger back a few steps. Stepping around her, Fern placed both hands on her face. His gut dropped at the pain on her face and the unshed tears glistening on her long eyelashes.
“Iris, how do I stop this?” He searched her face, but she only stared back at him, unblinking. “Please.” His voice broke, and he had to clear his throat. “Please tell me how to stop it.”
“I don’t know how.” Iris pushed the words through numb lips.
The worry in Fern’s eyes made her heart beat faster. So, he didn’t really hate her like she assumed. It made the pain a lot more bearable. He kept holding her face between his warm palms and stood there as if by sheer will alone he would make the pain go away. Her heart melted even more, then swayed a little when the shadow hit the shield again and drained her a bit more.
Darion, in his fear that something would happen to Iris, took hold of her arm and yanked as hard as he could, hoping to lower it.
To Iris, it felt like he was trying to pull her arm out of its socket and a scream ripped out of her throat before she could stop it. Before she could react, Fern’s fist connected with Darion’s face, sending the other Fae flying back, until his back hit the side of the rocky hill and his head smacked off it before he dropped to the ground. Moving around her again, he started going after Darion with a feral growl rumbling in his chest.
“Fern, please!” Iris called out, making him turn towards her. “He was trying to help. Please don’t hurt him.”
Groaning, Darion lifted himself to his feet and wiped the blood dripping from his split lip with the back of his hand. His citrine eyes were not glaring at Fern. They shone like he was fighting tears and they were trained on her. Iris gave him a weak smile in hopes of showing him that this wasn’t his fault. It only made him hang his head in defeat, his black hair falling like a curtain hiding his face.
“Fern, please,” Iris repeated, looking back at the furious Fae in front of her. “Is there somewhere we can go without this thing following?”
“The caves are the only thing I can think of. That’s where I was headed.” The glow in his gaze faded slightly, and Fern stepped closer to her again.
“Then let’s go!” Determination set on her face as Iris straightened her shoulders. “I’ll walk backward, you guide me, so I don’t break
my neck.”
Without saying a word, Fern stepped so close to her she could feel the heat of his body on her skin. Ducking around her, he popped up a breath away from her face, right between her outstretched arms, and grabbed her waist, lifting her up. Iris wrapped her legs instinctively around him and regretted it the next second. As soon as her core connected with his bare lower stomach, an electrical current zapped through her, sending her mind spinning and hormones raging.
Fern’s nostrils flared, and his eyes glowed a deeper shade of sapphire as he looked at her with so much hunger that the breath froze in her lungs. And then, as if he loved torturing her, his hands grabbed hold of her ass and pressed her closer to him.
Iris forgot all about the shadow, the magic draining the life out of her, and the pain. At that moment, all she knew, all she saw, was Fern. The clearing of a throat brought all the unpleasant sensation back, and she broke the eye contact, looking down at Fern’s chest as it moved up and down a lot faster than usual with each breath he took.
“There is an entrance not far from here. Will you be able to go inside while holding the shield, Iris?” Darion’s voice helped Iris to snap out of the trance Fern had produced.
“We need to get there, and we will see. I don’t fight creepy thingies on a regular basis, so I don’t have much experience with the shield. It kinda happens when my life is in danger.” To distract herself more, she tried making a joke as she turned to look at Darion. “It’s like pulling a rabbit out of your ass.”
“Humans do that?” The horrified look on his face made her snort, then almost choke on her own tongue.
“No.” She gasped for air before groaning in pain. “It was supposed to be a joke.” Fern side-stepped Darion.
“You really are a strange human, Iris.” Shaking his head, Darion followed close behind, staying far enough from the magic swirling behind them.
“She is not human,” Fern murmured close to her ear, but the disgust that usually followed that statement was surprisingly missing in his voice.
