Chapter 31: Chapter 31

IRIS

~You have to be careful, Iris, otherwise they will kill you!~

~

I heard the voice of my amicus in my dreams just before I woke up.

My eyes fluttered open, but this time not in fear from the terrible noises I had heard in my dreams. Not today.

Avery’s arms were wrapped around me and I exhaled deeply.

I often dreamed of the island where my amicus was being held captive. And every time I woke up, I felt scared.

Except today, because Avery was with me and this time it was different.

I felt his body behind me as he breathed deeply, pressing his chest against my back. His naked skin pressed against mine was so comforting.

Just the touch of his body seemed to soothe me.

Avery pulled me even closer and kissed my shoulder.

“Are your dreams always this terrible?” he asked, his voice low but gentle.

I turned to face him, gazing at his sleepy face.

Avery pulled me close to him, burying his face in my neck.

“Do you see it now, too?” I asked softly.

He nodded, taking a deep breath as his hands ran over my back.

“Not only can I feel your thoughts, I can see them now... as if they were my own,” he replied.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Until now, he could only sense my feelings, especially the fear after those dreams. But now that our connection was complete, he saw everything in his mind as if it were his own thoughts.

He felt my fear as if it were his own, and unlike me, he could handle it better.

“No...” he said with a smile, “It’s not that... I’m taking it from you. Your anxiety. Just like your pain last night.”

His words hit the mark, like he was reading my mind.

~So we can talk... without speaking?~ I thought, the words remaining unspoken.

“Yes...we can,” he grinned. “Unless you block me...like Devas showed you... Like you did last time.”

Gently, he pushed me down onto my back and leaned over me.

His lips traced my neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses and playful bites on my sensitive skin.

I immediately felt his desire inside me, his thoughts filled with images from the previous night. The feeling when he was deep inside me.

The taste of my skin on his tongue.

His senses had literally exploded when he licked my pussy.

I gulped before our eyes met.

“We’d better get up slowly,” I whispered.

The corner of his mouth pulled up in a cheeky grin.

“We’ve still got plenty of time,” he replied.

I opened my mouth to answer him, but there was a loud knock on our door.

We both looked in the direction of the door, and he started laughing.

“Get up, you freaks. It’s time for the meeting,” Devas called from the other side of the door.

“Give us five more minutes, we’ll be ready...” Avery replied.

A chuckle could be heard.

“Neither of us could sleep because of your light show and moaning. So get up!” Bael exclaimed, annoyed.

Avery and I started to laugh loudly as we looked at the door.

When we got to the breakfast table, our friends were already sitting there.

They were eating and laughing and talking about the upcoming rescue mission.

The table was a battleground. Crumbs everywhere, five different toppings spread out in an anarchic circle, and a jam jar in the middle, around which a diplomatic incident was raging.

“Give me that,” Ava snapped and reached for it, but Devas held it up with monkey-like agility, while at the same time passing a piece of bread to Bael as if it were completely normal.

“This is mine,” Devas countered as he dramatically smeared a knife-edge of jam on his bread.

Noah, completely unimpressed, bit into Jade’s bread, prompting an indignant “Hey!” But then she just laughed and almost pushed him off his chair.

They weren’t just behaving like friends. They were a family.

~Who knows what awaits us on this island, maybe this is the last time we sit together like this.~

“Stop it,” Avery said gently. “We’ll get through it.”

I smiled at him. His calmness brought me so much peace and even when I was in doubt, he was there to reassure me.

I took a deep breath and looked again at our friends.

But when they saw us, there was cheering and whistling to celebrate our Soulmate connection.

I laughed and buried my face in Avery’s arms as he stood proudly in front of our friends.

“Give her a break,” he said with a grin.

But I could feel how proud he was. Our soul bond meant so much to him, just as it meant to me.

“Go sit down, lovers. It’s time to eat. We’re going to need our strength for today,” Ava said, laughing.

And she was right... we would need our strength.

Avery’s arms were now covered by his battlesuit, but I still remembered the tense muscles as he had pulled me so hard against him earlier.

His lips, now speaking with Devas, had kissed me fiercely, and just last night they were between my legs.

My mind wandered to his tongue, which had just licked the knife so casually, just as it had brushed across my aroused nipples.

Suddenly, I felt his hand on my thigh, while his gaze remained fixed on Devas.

~Stop with the thoughts~, his voice murmured in my head.

I reached for the glass and took a hasty sip of the juice he’d poured me.

~If you’re not careful...~ his thoughtful voice threatened, ~...I’m going to take you back to the room. I’ll lean you over the bed, pull your hips towards me... And thrust into you. So hard and so deep you’ll...~

I choked. Juice spurted from my mouth onto the table, and everyone looked at me.

Avery’s amused grin revealed just how silly I must look.

“Anyway...” Devas continued impassively, furthering their conversation.

~Don’t do that anymore~, I begged him in my mind.

His adorable laugh echoed in my head.

~Then be good and don’t fuck me in your thoughts while we’re sitting at the table,~ he replied.

When Devas got up, the others followed him, ready for the final briefing.

But Avery stayed back for a moment, leaning into his chair and fixing me with that addictive smile.

“I love you,” I said softly.

The weight of what lay ahead was heavy between us, and he felt it.

His face became serious when he leaned towards me.

His fingertips gently cupped my chin, pulling me closer.

Avery’s eyes, as intense as ever, captured my gaze before he gave me a tender kiss.

“Don’t worry about it,” he whispered, and for a moment I believed him.

We were already in our combat fatigues. The final briefings were still being made.

But my thoughts weren’t here. Not in this conversation.

I thought about the danger my friends were putting themselves in. I was grateful for this new family we were becoming, and I feared for them.

I would never want to lose any of them. Through all the time spent, we grew together, we learned from each other, we supported each other… We loved each other.

The cohesion and support I had here during this time was indescribable. Strangers… who became friends, and ended up treating me like family.

And love. The great, indescribable love I found in Avery. I loved my life here… I loved my friends… I loved Avery… and I learned to love myself.

I was scared… for them. The thought of them getting hurt or even dying ate me up inside.

I admired them all. Their courage and the strength they had.

Aidan and Inna stood side by side and discussed the plan with Devas and Bael. Noah and Jade stood with Alvar and Elian and listened to the instructions, while Keijou and Mana prepared with the rest of the warriors.

Their faces were fully concentrated, totally focused, as if there was nothing more important than this mission. There was no trace of doubt, no fear.

They didn’t do this because they had to. They had decided to do it of their own free will. For me.

I saw it in their eyes… it wasn’t a duty, it was pure determination. They knew exactly what they were getting into, and yet they went down this path.

Without hesitating. Without complaining. Simply because that’s what they wanted.

And that made things even harder. Because I knew… They risked their lives.

Not for an order, not for fame or glory. They were doing it for me.

And all their amicuses were here, giving them comfort and strength in preparation for what was to come, because they couldn’t come along. We had to make as little noise as possible; we were even forbidden to talk.

I hugged Avery, preparing myself for what was to come. All the stories about the beings on the island that Bael and Devas told us at the time of our preparations ran through my mind.

But there was no turning back now. We had a mission. A rescue mission.

“It’s time to go,” I heard Aidan say.

He hugged me, and I knew he was ready, like all my friends who were looking at me proudly.

Jade came up to me and took me in her arms.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make it,” she whispered into my ear.

I nodded and smiled at her. We could do this… I hoped so.

Jade concentrated and spoke in a language I didn’t understand. Her yellow aura grew brighter around her, and as she raised her arms, a vortex of glittering yellow lights formed in front of us and a portal appeared.

As discussed, Bael went through first to smuggle us in unnoticed. It was our luck that we had him by our side.

With his gift, he was able to hide us. Not only was he gifted at seeing people’s memories, but he could also distort the present.

He couldn’t influence memories, but he could make us invisible in the present. A trick for the brain of the one who saw us, a power that deceived your eyes. Even though you saw something, it didn’t exist because of his power.

We lined up and went through the portal one by one. Once we went through the portal, it got darker and spookier.

The vortex through which we walked became increasingly dark. In the end, we passed through a black mist. As we came out the other end, Bael and Devas caught us and motioned with their fingers to be quiet.

As long as we didn’t make a sound, his power would be enough to protect us from any eyes. But just a single word would burst the invisible wall between visible and invisible, like a soap bubble.

I was standing right next to Devas and looked around. The air here tasted strange, electric, as if vibrating with energy.

I stumbled forward, my legs still wobbly, my senses overflowing with impressions. Behind me, the portal roared—one last surge of energy—then it collapsed with a dull bang.

There was no going back. Just this new, unknown thing ahead.

My fingers trembled as I turned around slowly, looking at the others. Their eyes reflected the same wild mix of fear and fascination.

We’d made it. We were through.

And then… a noise. A distant, rumbling scream that came closer.

Something was moving in this foreign world. Moving towards us.

My pulse started racing. What had we triggered?