Chapter 15: Chapter 15

IRIS

His lips were so extremely soft... a hint of a touch, barely more than a tender brush, but soon this gentle play ignited a fire in me.

The first kiss started gently, almost fragile, as if he was afraid of scaring me off. But then I opened up to him and, with a heavy, greedy sigh, he deepened the kiss, his mouth demanding over mine.

Avery’s tongue stroked my lower lip slowly, a silent plea that I couldn’t ignore. I let him in, and immediately our tongues played around each other, sometimes hesitantly, then wildly, as if they were exploring each other first, only to fight passionately for dominance shortly afterward.

My breathing quickened. My fingers dug into his neck as if I wanted to press him closer to me, but closer was impossible.

Suddenly, he lifted me up and, instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist. His grip under my thighs was firm, sure as he carried me without breaking our kiss for a moment.

His steps were quick, decisive, as he opened the door to my room and pushed us inside, closing it behind him with a soft bang. Then he pressed me against the wall, his body tight against mine, every curve, every line of him burning into me.

Avery’s hands roamed over my hips. My back arched under his touch as his lips pressed relentlessly against mine.

Every time he pulled back briefly, only to come right back, I could feel his desire—it was almost unbearable. I had longed to taste that mouth, to feel his breath, ever since our first meeting.

But now that it was happening, everything was so much more intense than I could have imagined. The warmth of his body, the scent of his skin, the soft moans that escaped between our kisses—it was driving me out of my mind.

And although I was afraid of doing something wrong—after all, it was my first kiss—my body seemed to know exactly what to do. Every movement, every touch was natural, as if I’d been waiting my whole life for it.

His fingers ran through my hair, tugging gently, and I made a throaty noise that only made him more eager. But Avery soon convinced me that I was doing the right thing, when he briefly broke our kiss and stuttered, “Perfect.”

He looked into my eyes while he was so close to me, and all I saw in those eyes was love and tenderness. He continued to kiss my face with light kisses—my cheeks, the tip of my nose—while he wrapped his arms around me.

“I’ve been waiting... for so long,” he whispered, and then crushed his lips back on mine.

The feeling he awakened in me was unknown to me. Passion and desire mixed with the purest love I had ever felt.

It was priceless and perfect... he was right, it was perfect. His strong body was made for mine, and while we were kissing in each other’s arms, I felt like I was floating.

Our kiss became so intense it seemed to me that we were completing each other. The room seemed to burn with our lust in a red glow... a red glow?

The glow wasn’t just light... it seemed like an invitation... a door. It pulsed behind my closed eyelids, a warm, vivid red that nestled like liquid metal over my thoughts.

Not garish, not hard, but deep and impenetrable, like the afterglow of a setting sun behind black smoke. Then it started to breathe.

With each slow, rhythmic flare, it pulled me deeper, loosening the seams of the present. The color turned into a weight that pressed me down, a hand that grabbed me and pulled me backwards... through time, through memory, through everything I was about to forget.

Suddenly, I wasn’t here anymore. The space around me fell into fragments, and I fell... not down, not up, but back.

To a moment that I had long since buried. The heat of the red light became the heat of a past summer, its pulsation the beating of a heart I once knew.

~Avery and I played in the backyard of the big mansion. We were kids and we ran around laughing... The first day Aidan was born we stood outside the door, and excitedly waited to see him for the first time... a conversation with our fathers, after we did something stupid. ~

~Avery held out his hand and said, “Don’t worry, we’re in this together.” ~

I broke the kiss when I realized that the flashback I was having had brought back memories. I opened my eyes in shock.

The room wasn’t red from our passion, but from the red glow that was around me. It moved around me like a second skin that clung so tightly I gasped when I saw it.

I put my feet on the floor and, in an attempt to create distance between me and Avery, I raised my hands. The energy I felt radiated around me, and in a second, Avery flew to the other end of the room, breaking the window.

The shards fell around him, the clinking sound mixing with Avery’s dull thud and the heavy moan he made. All the furniture in the room moved to the side, and I even ended up pinned to the wall behind me. ~Iris, stop it!~

What was this?

“Avery!” I shouted in fear when I saw him unconscious on the floor.

That fear caused the red shield around me to dissolve and disappear, pushing me down to the ground.

I got up and ran to Avery, trying to wake him up. “Avery!... Avery!” I shouted in panic as I gently caressed his face.

A thin thread of blood was dripping down his forehead, caused by the blow. I had hurt him. He was bleeding because of me.

What had I done?

My panic was so great that my hands began to tremble.

“Iriis!” I heard Ava scream as she pounded on the door.

My ears began to ring, a battle in my head that made the sounds around me blur. A pounding that grew stronger and stronger, until I lifted my gaze and looked at the door Ava burst through.

When she entered, her eyes shot to the floor and widened in shock. She ran to Avery, falling to her knees and calling out to her brother.

Shortly after her, my brother and Inna rushed into the room, looking around in a fighting stance. When they saw Avery on the floor, they came over to help us too.

Everything around me was blurry. My eyes were staring at my hands with Avery’s blood on them.

~Had I killed him?~ I couldn’t get my thoughts in order. All I could think about was... I had hurt him.

“What happened?” Aidan asked.

His voice came through to me, making me lift my gaze to him. But I just looked at him with tears in my eyes and despair for Avery.

“Quickly, Inna, get Keijou, we need a healer,” Aidan said as he took over Avery’s care.

I sat next to them, on the floor, and continued caressing his face.

“Avery... please wake up,” I stammered through my tears.

His face was pale, and the trail of blood running from his forehead across his face was so intense.

Soon, Inna returned, accompanied by a man. He looked intimidating, decorated with various chains around his neck and tattoos on his arms and chest.

The man knelt down next to Avery and asked me to step aside in a kind voice.

His body began to shine in a white glow, and he placed his hands on Avery’s body. I watched in amazement as the blood on his forehead faded and the cuts that had formed magically disappeared.

“What… What’s going on?” I asked, confused.

“Don’t worry, Iris. He’s a healer, he’ll help Avery,” Ava said as she hugged me.

She was so worried, but not just about her brother—about me too. Her words were soft, comforting, and full of compassion for me.

I dared to look at her, and in her eyes I could see these feelings reflected.

Ava pulled me into a hug, and out of fear that I might hurt her too, I did not return it. But still I heard her whisper, “Don’t worry… everything will be fine.”

We watched as Keijou treated Avery’s wounds, concentrating with his eyes closed. And when he finished, his white glow disappeared.

“We have to take him to his amicus. Only he can further speed up his treatment,” Keijou said.

Aidan and Keijou picked up Avery’s body and carried him unconscious from the mansion.

Eyon, his amicus, was already standing in front of the door and excitedly stood up on his rear legs, neighing loudly.

He had sensed it. Eyon knew that Avery was hurt—I could see it in his eyes.

They lowered him to the ground in front of Eyon, who immediately approached him. The unicorn touched Avery with his horn, and they both glowed a bright purple color.

Eyon took a few steps back, watching his friend come to his senses.

A groan could be heard as Avery began to move.

What have I done?!