Iris
Page 28
“This, Nexus City, is a secret you all need to share with us, tonight.” He might be on the balcony, but seemed so wrapped up in his speech that he didn’t bother to glance at the blank screens in front of them. “Watch as Iris connects with the clouds, the rain, and the lightning.” He turned to look at her and smiled like a proud father.
Rain splattered her face, and she couldn’t help but turn toward the heavens. Each drop seemed to wash away the bad things she’d done along the way and somehow made it all justifiable.
Iris gazed down at her hands, holding them out to the rain so they’d cleanse all the blood she’d shed. Not just for the times she could remember, but also for the ones she couldn’t.
She opened her heart to the world outside. Strands of hair slipped from her braid, rising around her as a cold wind swept up and buzzed inside her ears. She felt the hum of electricity in the air, a second before lightning hit the railing in front of her.
“That’s it, Iris. Call the elements of destruction and show us what you’re capable of,” Kingsley whispered to her.
Her heart pounded faster as the rain beat against her, and the clouds above started to shift. She watched them move quicker than she’d ever seen before. Eventually parting, until a single ray of sunshine actually broke through the bleakness.
“She can perform miracles!” Kingsley called, spinning around to face the sky. “What the hell?”
Iris laughed, unable to stop herself. He’s finally noticed the blank screens!
The clouds shifted again, blocking out the heat of the sun.
Lightning struck a second time, and her fingers buzzed with its power. It would be so easy to zap him with the rush of energy flowing inside her. Each fingertip itched to do it, but when she turned to reach for him, a blur of movement charged in front of her and dove for Kingsley.
“You killed her,” a deep and raspy voice said.
Iris recognized the bounty hunter. He raised a large fist and smacked Kingsley in the chest.
Kingsley sucked in a breath before reaching for her wrist. His long fingers wrapped so tightly around her, she could feel her bones protest at the pain.
“Let. Me. Go.” She gritted her teeth, while trying to pull her wrist from his grip. She thought he might release her when Lex smashed his fist against Kingsley’s face and blood spurted from his mouth, but he didn’t.
Instead, Kingsley Wentworth held on tighter.
When Lex shoulder charged him, and both men lost their balance and fell over the balcony, the momentum pulled her over as well.
The last thing she heard was Fox calling her name. She’d miss him.
This isn’t such a bad way to die. I’ve always wanted to touch the sky.
Chapter Forty-Five
“Fox, no!” He didn’t know who had called his name and tried to stop him, but he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was stop Iris from going over.
He raced out onto the balcony and didn’t think twice about the rain falling on his body, wetting his face and clothes. All that mattered was reaching Iris, but he got there too late. She’d already gone over the railing with them.
The satisfaction he’d gotten while watching Lex beating his father faded. The bastard had taken her with him.
Kingsley Wentworth had the last laugh.
“No.” Fox turned his face to the sky. The small glimpse of the sun had captivated all of them, and he knew Iris had somehow done it.
Tears blurred his vision when he thought he heard her voice. Wiping his eyes, he mourned her loss. For the first time in his life, he felt the wind on his skin and hair, taking comfort in it.
“Fox!” She sounded so close, but he knew it was just his imagination.
I saw her going over the balcony.
“Fox…”
What the hell? He pressed up against the railing and looked over it. Hell, Iris was dangling from the balcony, holding onto the bottom railing near his feet.
Iris is alive.
He fell to his knees, and wrapped his fingers over hers, but that wouldn’t get her up and over the railing. He couldn’t think straight.
“I can’t hold on much longer.” Her legs dangled wildly below her as the wind picked up its pace.
Fox stood up again and leaned over, as far as he could. It still wasn’t far enough to reach her. If he leaned any further, he’d fall to his death before she did.
“It’s okay, Fox. We’ve got you.” Both Ed and Innes were suddenly on the balcony with him. Each grabbed one of his legs and held on tight as he used the railing to scale lower. He gained a lot more distance than he would have on his own and was amazed at how he hadn’t hesitated to trust his life to a man who he’d previously despised because of his seeming devotion to Kingsley Wentworth, as well as trusting the daughter of the opposition.
“Iris, let go.” He wrapped his hands around hers, holding on for dear life. “I’ve got you!”
She didn’t take her eyes off his as she released her grip completely from the railing and now hung from his hands. Any second now, she could slip from his grasp, or Ed and Innes could let him go, but he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he used every ounce of strength he had to drag her higher. His shoulders and arms burned, but he had to do this.
I won’t let her go.
“Pull me up!” he yelled to the other two.
They yanked and yanked, until they pulled his legs back and over the railing.
He didn’t take his eyes off Iris. Not until he’d pulled her over the railing with him, wrapped his aching arms around her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. Everything hurt from the exertion, but she was here and in his arms, so it didn’t bother him.
His father was dead, and the implications of that statement were huge, but he’d have to deal with it another time. Right now, the only thing that mattered was Iris.
“We need to get you to the tree,” he said.
She nodded but sank closer into his chest. “Soon…”
Fox didn’t protest, just held her close to his heart. His life would never be the same again.
Nexus City wouldn’t either.
About the Author:
Yolanda Sfetsos lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, daughter, and cat. She loves to spend most of her days writing stories. Her muse doesn’t like genre restrictions, and loves to toe the dark, otherworldly edge of storytelling.
When she’s not writing, she spends as much time as possible with her small family. She also enjoys watching movies, TV shows, anime, going for walks, and reading.
You can visit her website at www.yolandasfetsos.com
Other books by Yolanda Sfetsos:
Numb6r of th6 B6ast
Shade of Grey
Touching Moonlight
Alex Wales: Promise
More books by Yolanda Sfetsos from our sister company,
Damnation Books:
The Alyce Kerr, Faith Healer series:
Faithless
Careless
Boundless
Damaged
Better Off Alone
Christmas Day of the Dead
http://www.damnationbooks.com
Also from Yolanda Sfetsos:
Alex Wales: Promise
by Yolanda Sfetsos
eBook ISBN: 9781615724178
Print ISBN: 9781615724185
Science Fiction Erotica
Novel of 61,882 words
After Alex Wales crash lands on a planet that doesn’t even show up on her navigational map and her ship is damaged, all she wants to do is get help and leave the planet as soon as she can. She’s got something to deliver and time is running out. Instead, she stumbles onto a very alluring man who takes her to his village—a seemingly utopian society led by a Priestess.
Stuck on this planet with no way of getting off, Alex finds herself drawn to the alluring Damon. But when locals start turning up dead after being mauled and eaten by some sort of monster, she’s thrust into the middle of the investigation.
As t
he layers of the mystery slowly unravel, Alex and Damon find themselves facing their pasts, and the many lies woven around the planet of Eden.
Also from Eternal Press:
Revelations
by Carrie Lynn Barker
eBook ISBN: 9781615723775
Print ISBN: 9781615723782
Science Fiction Adventure
Novel of 72,624 words
Christiana Fletcher sets off from her orphanage home in search of her father, who doesn’t know she exists. She finds him dying and exposes herself as the experiment she is, using her abilities to cure him. Able to heal with her hands, she is a wanted loose experiment.
Chris and her father are chased by two men. After an accident nearly kills her, Chris wakes in a hospital alone; her father gone. She is given a choice by a strange man who knows she is an experiment but has no idea of her ultimate powers.
This man takes her to a desert place where others like her, escaped and released experiments, live in secret. There, she meets the love of her life, Jonas, a man with scaled skin and pointed teeth. Her life there is short lived, as a single mistake ends everything she loves.
Chris becomes the hunter to avenge the people she considered family who lost their lives in the desert. She seeks out and destroys government bases that create people like her.