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Chapter 131
My eyes snapped open, and a rush of adrenaline laced panic overtook me. The bedroom was bathed in moonlight but was also flat and void of any color. It no longer felt real.
The colors and sounds were all in my head, all overlapping one another as my panic grew. I hadn’t realized I was screaming, or that I was thrashing in bed, tangled in the blankets.
All I could hear was my mom. You’ll never win against my Rachel, never. Over and over it played in my head, overlapping Aidan’s warning and that voice…
I couldn’t begin to process that otherworldly voice, not while the image of my dad and little brother still burned itself into my memory. The smell of tears and burning flesh stung my nose, but only the first one was real.
“Ah!” Adley shrieked, and my mind snapped to the present as I felt her tumble off the bed. My scream cut off at that moment, sending the room into silence. The thud of her body hitting the
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Iridian Chapter 132
I counted down the hours until the solstice, and when that didn’t help I counted the minutes and seconds.Training was both my saving grace and the bane of my existence since Apollo and Helios seemed to be under direct order to keep me distracted until it was time to attend the party.While I was tired of being pulled back and forth, it did keep me from thinking about how terrified I felt. Considering my family survived the trip and all of us survived this solstice party, there would be one hell of a reckoning for me to face. In all my years, I never thought I’d make my mom this mad.Dad would be disappointed, that’s for sure. He’d purse his lips, shake his head, and then leave me to stew in my thoughts. His method worked on Zack, who would spend the afternoon sulking. I used it as an escape, which mom knew all too well.She was the one I wanted to avoid, the one who would corner me and demand answers to questions I’
Iridian Chapter 133
“If blue balls were a thing, I’d so feel sorry for the guy.” Adley’s look dripped with sympathy—and pity, both emotions Dain would’ve appreciated.He left the two of us to our own devices, which didn’t last long when we realized how much help we’d need getting into these outfits. Luckily, Leslie was always on standby.I slipped the scrap of silky black fabric over my head, slowing as I pulled my arms through the delicate straps. Leslie moved to the front of me and held the dress so my make-up wouldn’t stain the material, then darted over to help Adley.The deep v in the front made it impossible to wear a bra, but the soft material was surprisingly strong and held up my breasts without a problem. Moving felt a bit awkward though, like one would pop out given the chance.“I’m noticing a theme here…” I said, smoothing out the front of my dress.Leslie dashed over to my side
Iridian Chapter 134
The anteroom as Alexandria Russo called it, was just a big empty room with minimal furniture and decoration. We followed the siblings through an arched doorway, down a hall that opened into a small room.This one was unfurnished as well, but the moment I looked up, I understood why. The room itself was a work of art, all culminating to the mural on the arched ceiling. Rectangular with polished marble floors and pillars that lined the walls every five or so feet, the pale blue walls were blemish free and quickly changed into the colors of the sea as it reached twenty feet high.Churning waves were painted across the sloped ceiling, crashing against the rocky shore of an island. Lush vegetation covered everything, and even crawled up the sides of a castle painted far off in the distance. A big, round sun hung in the sky, making the different shades of green glow. The longer I looked, the more I could smell the tang of salt in the air.Against the far wall, at the
Iridian Chapter 135
The roar of the crowd was deafening, as was the blast that split the air. Instantly the music ratcheted up in volume, and most began to dance.Something dark and twinkling began to rain down on all of us, like tufts of obsidian snow. Before I could stop myself, my eyes were pulled away from the Russo’s. My jaw went a little slack, and I immediately scolded myself for not looking up when we had first stepped through.The ceiling was domed and made entirely of glass. The blues and purples of the night sky bled together like a watercolor painting, but the stars remained bright. Attached to the metal frame that held the clear panels were cages—actual cages, suspended on thick chains. They hung at various heights, and more than one was occupied.From what I could see, the people in the cages were women—naked women. They ran their hands over their body as they thrashed and twirled to the music, all in their cages fifty feet above the ground. That was
Iridian Chapter 136
‘I’m on the dance floor…you led me there—well, whatever was wearing your face did.’‘Stay exactly where you are, Rachel. I’m going to find you.’ The gritty promise in his voice would’ve flooded me with relief, but I could feel the air beginning to thicken again.I shook my head, forgetting he couldn’t see it. There were too many people, all dancing and writhing as they bumped into me. Eyes too glazed to even tell I’d been standing there, let alone wonder why I was the only one not dancing. When my thoughts began to fumble and slow, panic set in.‘I can’t stay here, Dain. There’s something—there’s something wrong with the dance floor. It’s messing with my head; I have to get off.’ I said in a rush, shoving past a couple that looked on the verge of having sex as they danced.The moment I stepped off the dance floor, I could breathe
Iridian Chapter 137
‘Dain, I’m with the real Apollo…I made sure of it.’‘This must be a potion of some type—but then how are they vanishing so quickly? It’s rare to have a skill like that…’ His inner voice was thoughtful, and not at all concerned that the person he was with wasn’t a friend. ‘…you said something about old magic?’‘Apollo asked me if you’ve felt any. Have you? What does it even feel like?’ I asked.‘You’ve felt it before, darling. Castle Mist is full of old magic. As for this place, I haven’t felt any.’I thought back to my time in the castle, shimmering under the sun like a beacon for the entire kingdom. I had learned so much while also facing death a handful of times.Abel had succumbed to the White Bull’s melody within those very halls, and the truth about Camille had been revealed. Every brick held magic so wild that anyon
Iridian Chapter 138
I had my hand against the marble wall, contemplating whether I should demolish it when a little boy’s giggle echoed down the hall.It was a sound I used to find obnoxious, especially when I was knee deep in calculus homework and Zack only had his times tables to work on. Half of the time Dad would steal the sheet and sit hunched over at the kitchen table, mumbling about how math was different in his day. He’d quickly work through the problems himself, and Zack would pretend to listen while Dad explained how he got his answers. His squeaky laugh made it impossible to focus on my own work.It was a sound I never thought I’d hear again.My heart skipped a beat when I turned around and caught a glimpse of dark messy hair and a toothy smile that belonged to my little brother.He was peeking around the corner twenty feet away, only half of his face visible. Another giggle and he vanished. The fading patter of his feet made my adrenaline spike,
Iridian Chapter 139
“Rachel, Rachel, Rachel.” He shook his head in disappointment, but the truth was written across his twinkling eyes and malicious grin. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you, the first thing you do after murdering someone is make sure they’re actually dead.”I tried to take a step back, to put some distance in between us but my feet were glued to the kitchen mat I stood on. The logical side of me latched onto the one explanation that brought us comfort, that this was another trick and that Dain’s blood-thirsty brother was still dead.We couldn’t find his corpse…“I saw your body. I saw you dead.” I insisted, forcing my voice not to tremble. As afraid as I was of Callum and the empty look in his eyes, I was too prideful to give him the reaction he was wanting.There was no way I’d imagined it, seeing Callum’s charred and blistered corpse. His skin blackened and rough o
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