IRIS
Not just suspecting, not just hoping⦠I knew what I was capable of. Power flowed through my veins, hot and wild like liquid fire.
It burned, but it didnât destroy meâit cleansed me.
Every doubt, every insecurity, every shadow of my old life dissolved in these embers, blown to ashes by a power stronger than anything Iâd ever known.
My bodyâno, my true selfâwas awakening. It was as if Iâd been wearing armor all my life that was now melting, falling off, freeing me.
The force was not pushing me; it was pulling me, gently and inexorably, back to what I should always have been. And I⦠I yielded.
Because this was no strange feeling. This was no theft, no obsession.
This⦠this was me. I remembered who I was.
I remembered everything⦠everything!
When my memory came back in bits and pieces, I hoped I would know who I was and who all these people around me were. But now, I did know.
I opened my eyes and felt my power. I saw the force, I saw my auraâbright red like fire hovering around me.
Bael let go of my head and the energy I released erupted, throwing everything around me against the wall. Devas created a shield and blocked my energy, but still, everyone smashed into the wall.
I looked at them, and with a wave of my hand, they all got back on their feet. As if I erased their injuries with a wipe, as if I had never touched them.
The flowing red aura in front of Devasâs shield followed my instructions and sinuously retreated back towards me. As they all stared at me.
I was no longer the lonely, weak Iris from the bookshop. I was Iris⦠daughter of Liora and Baldur.
Sister of Aidan and child of Antaris. I was the heir of two mighty bloodlines, the sacred legacy of Liora and Baldur flowing through my veins.
I was the shield of my people, their protector, their unwavering light. And though the darkness might rise, though it might call out my name, I did not tremble.
I was my motherâs strength, my fatherâs fire⦠and I would not be afraid. I was unique and the ~only~ one of my kind.
I was a demon with elven blood. I was full of anger and wanted revenge for my parents.
I was not Iris⦠I was Rage. And that was all I felt⦠rage.
The aura around me only became stronger. Like a rolling, bloody sea in a storm, lashing around me with so much power.
Till I looked into Averyâs eyes as he rushed up to me, and I was snapped out of the trance. His touch made me softânot weak, but devoted, as if my body was melting just for him.
His eyes opened my heart in a way I would never have thought possible. It was as if Iâd tied us together with invisible threads, as if I could feel his every thought before he even thought it.
I felt him and his emotions for me, as clearly and tangibly as if they were my own. The connection between us was no longer a tenuous bond, but an unbreakable rope that held us tightly together.
My aura wrapped around him, stroking his skin like a scorching wave, and his soft moans made my blood flow faster. The red mist of my power broke over him, pulling him even deeper into me.
He was bound to me. He was made for me.
He was mine.
Suddenly, a door seemed to have opened for me; I looked through his eyes. Felt his heart beating as if it were mine.
I knew him. Every look he gave me when I didnât yet know about our connection.
And every look of mine that he enjoyed with so much caution. The way he watched me even when I didnât realize it.
My every movement brought out an enormous explosion of love in him. More⦠deeper⦠more meaningful every day.
Each time, my laughter filled him with pure bliss. My voice, which to him sounded like the most beautiful melody.
How our eyes met and awakened a thousand butterflies in him. And then⦠his desire.
It flowed through me like a hot stream. The way he craved meânot just my body, but everything I was.
His erotic dreams, in which he didnât just take me, but idolized me. How he longed to penetrate me deeply, to feel me, until we no longer knew where he ended and I began.
My scent drove him crazy, my touch drove him insane. At that moment, we were no longer two bodies, but one.
Merged. Perfectly.
I pulled Avery to me and kissed him, not wildly, not greedily, but with a devotion that said everything words couldnât. Love. Yes, this was it. This was love.
Now I understood what soul mate really meant. I remembered it too.
And with these memories, I gave myself to him, not only as a lover, not only as an ally. But as the one promised to him from the beginning of time.
Nothing else mattered. Nothing was more important than he was.
I would be anything for him... give everything for him. Because I knew he would do it for me, too.
An unbreakable trust so strong... more important than my own life. We hugged and kissed like we hadnât seen each other for a long time.
It was as if our souls were finally united and love and tenderness were the only way to celebrate this union. His lips were different than before, not just gentle, but more.
As if every kiss revealed a new layer of him that I had never seen before. My lips parted on their own, greedy for his taste.
And when our tongues touched, it was like the world around us blurred. I was floating... not because gravity let go of me, but because he was holding me.
Firmly. Secure.
He tasted sweet, but not like sugar, like something that could only satisfy my craving. An addiction that pushed deeper into me with every movement, every soft moan he pressed into the kiss.
I pulled him closer, my fingers clawing into his back as if I could draw him even deeper into me. I didnât just want to taste him, I wanted to feel him.
His breath, mingling with mine. The heat of his skin beneath my fingertips.
The way his body pressed against mine, as if he was afraid I might disappear if he let go of me for even a moment. And then that low, rough moan that took my breath away.
It was not a sound of pleasure. It was not just that.
It was a confession.
~I canât live without you~.
âWe are still here. Donât fuck in front of us... freaks,â I could hear Devas say with a laugh.
I parted my lips from Averyâs just to look into his eyes. His eyes glowed crimson purple and glanced at me lovingly.
âMy love...â he whispered as he held me tight.
Aidan coughed noisily to get our attention while Devas chuckled loudly.
I felt tired, and my body gave out as I collapsed into Averyâs arms, dropping to my knees.
He held me tightly, and I felt his concern and fear for me deep down. I felt his feelings. I felt his pain for me, and the powerful love that he felt for me.
âAvery,â I whispered.
But this time, his name sounded different. With meaning. My will to live. My power.
âI am here! I am here, my love. You are so strong. My beautiful Iris,â Avery said to me.
His eyes filled with tears.
Finally, after so many years, I could feel exactly what he was feeling.