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Chapter 163
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Iridian Chapter 164
I’ve always heard about the excitement or dread one feels the night before an event. Whether it be a wedding, or the birth of a child, adrenaline and restlessness would swirl beneath the skin for hours on end, stirring all sorts of thoughts until sleep became an impossibility. No one talked about afterwards, when every ounce of that pent up exhaustion hit you like a freight train, sending you veering off course and headfirst into a coma-like sleep. I’d barely managed to wash myself free of the blood and grime, scanning my pale torso from head to toe for any wounds. The small cuts and scrapes I’d sustained were already healing, though the bruises would take a bit longer to switch between their myriad of colors before fading entirely. Lying in bed, surrounded by the plushness of silken blankets and lacey pillows left me feeling inadequate. We hadn’t been gone from the castle for long, at most a good four hours, yet I couldn’t help but feel as though everything had changed. The girl w
Iridian Chapter 165
I was burning, I had to be.The pain was all consuming, a wildfire that was impervious to even my magic. Not a single cell went untouched, erupting in agony one after another. Only the smallest of sensation told me I still had a body, that it hadn’t become a pile of ash.A pair of hands touched my skin, and as I felt the heat they radiated, my eyes snapped open, and I recoiled.Dain’s face, chiseled around his jawline but soft where those pools of night sky stared out at me, was bright with surprise and confusion. His raised hands were the only indicators that told me it was his touch I had run from.“You’re freezing.” He said quietly, his head tilted but his gaze remained unfaltering. “You were screaming the word murderer over and over again.” With a few seconds of hesitation, he continued in a low voice. “I have nightmares too. After so many years, they don’t get to me as much, but sometimes I’ll wake up covered in shadows, unable to see even the smallest hint of light even though I
Iridian Chapter 166
Even though I asked if they’d tag along, the first two days of training I endured alone.It was strange enough going through the motions without Adley by my side, not that I could blame her, but some small part of me had hoped my parents would find a way to accept the magic that thrummed in my veins.The voice of the bull whispered in my head, warning me they would never accept me—never love me for who and what I was. I was more determined than ever to prove it wrong. Acceptance wouldn’t come over night, I knew that.Just as I thought I had some semblance of control over myself, night fell and I slid into the once peaceful realm of dreams where nothing but horror and madness awaited me. It was in my dreams that it taunted and tortured me, wearing down my control until I felt disconnected from my body—an outsider possessing someone else’s form.As I opened my eyes each morning, I was already exhausted. Fighting a war at night and training during the day was wearing on me, and I knew it
Iridian Chapter 167
“You got a tattoo?!” Zack gasped loudly, interrupting my lengthy story about the game I’d barely won.I narrowed my eyes at him, unable to hold the expression for long when a cheesy grin broke out over his face. Mom’s eyes were burning holes into my back, as though she could see past the layer of clothing that covered my phoenix tattoo. For her sake, and that of my own life, I made sure to exclude the bloodier details of my victory.“Yes, and you know who gave it to me?” Lowering my voice, I forced the words between clenched teeth and tried not to be obvious as I tilted my head in Mom’s direction. Unable to pass up the opportunity to hear his stunned gasp a second time, I smirked and whispered, “…it was Gerald.”“Nuh uh.” He shook his head vehemently, drawing my attention to his messy hair.I had but a few seconds to admire how long it had grown during my time away before he launched into a slew of questions that left me struggling to keep up. Even with a headache and the echoes of pa
Iridian Chapter 168
I woke from the horrible nightmare with a start, my eyes instantly watering from the sunlight that scalded them. A rush of panic swallowed the scream in my throat but did nothing to stop the stomach clenching sensation that came when standing at a great height and staring at the ground far below. A cool morning breeze lapped at my face, chilling the sweat that clung to my rosy skin.How had I gotten out here?For several seconds I held still, staring at my feet as they hovered halfway over the balcony’s ledge. The stained-glass doors leading back into my suite were thrown wide open, but I had no recollection of having touched them in the first place.Half of me scrambled to find an explanation for my current whereabouts, while the other tried to make sense of the disturbing memory the White Bull had shown me.I’d long ago discovered Dain’s mishap and how the Bull had whispered in his ear until my mate was desperate enough to let him in, but I hadn’t known the full extent of the horror
Iridian Chapter 169
“Wonder where he gets that from.” He remarked, a smirk stealing his face.Turning my head even further, I spotted Zack off to the side of the room. He had ventured closer to the circular platform, but his attention wasn’t on the steep mountainside cliffs. Currently, it was on a large leather-bound book with golden thread wrapped around the spine. I couldn’t blame him for finding that one alluring. The sunlight hit the gold and made it shimmer, creating the same hues of yellow and orange that were on Apollo’s suit.I opened my mouth to warn him off the book when a muscular arm appeared from a patch of shadow. The shadow seemed to hover in mid air, and the hand attached to said arm snagged the back of Zack’s t-shirt and dragged him back a few feet.Zack didn’t seem surprised. In fact, the way he threw his head back and cackled before sprinting to another shelf gave me the notion that this had been going on for a few minutes now. Sure enough, I watched as he reached for another book and
Iridian Chapter 170
I was saved from training with Helios when he flagged me down and gave me news of Aidan. The guy I grew up with had finally awoken from the magically induced coma he’d been put into, and as I raced down the winding corridors with the remnants of my rage still weighing on my mind, all I could think about was that this was finally over.Aidan would see, he had to.For almost a full minute I stood in the doorway staring at him, tallying up the physical changes he’d gone through since we last saw one another.The most noticeable change was how he shifted from the build of a lanky teenager to that of a man, set with broad shoulders and a sharp jawline coated in dark stubble. It was the subtle changes I cared about, like the unnatural stillness in the way that he sat, propped against the plush pillows of his hospital bed. The Aidan I grew up with couldn’t sit still, not without tapping his foot or fidgeting with something in his hands. Right now, his eyes were glued to the wall of tall wind
Iridian Chapter 171
I expected another nightmare, another horrifying memory proving how hopeless my plea for help truly was.The White Bull hadn’t been lying when it said there was something different about me. Perhaps it was because of this “Champion of Light” nonsense, or the simple fact that I could conjure light stronger than the flame that burned through just about everything. All I knew was that even though Dain and Apollo fought against the White Bull, they were both taken over the moment it slipped into their heads. I could feel it stirring, urging me to do these horrible things, but I still had control. For now, anyway.The last thing I expected to see in this dream was a dazzling sky full of rich blues and purples, along with my flame-colored wolf waiting in the background.Rayna stood tall, her tail swishing in a gentle breeze that felt warm against my skin. A blackened forest stood behind her, with tree’s that kissed the stars dangling in the sky. Her eyes—our eyes, stared back at me, patien
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