Chapter 34: Chapter 34

IRIS

As we charged straight at the Lords of Darkness, Alatus spread his wings again.

Belial took up his fighting position, his black mist enveloping him.

“It’s not time yet!” Abbadon yelled at his brother.

With a wave of his hand, black mist rose around the brothers…and they disappeared.

Just in time, before Alatus unleashed his fire.

The rage inside me was blazing.

“Come back!” I roared, my fist clenched.

My blood boiled, but Abbadon’s gaze haunted me. No fear. No panic.

That tiny smirk before he dissolved said it all. He’d seen my power…my amicus. And he liked it.

Alatus landed with a thud, his wings whirling up the ashes of the destroyed creatures.

“Iris!” Aidan’s and Avery’s voices pierced the chaos.

They rushed toward me, hugging me tightly as if to make sure I was really there.

Avery’s heart hammered wildly against my chest as he held me close.

I felt everything in that embrace—the stifled fear, the relief, the unspoken words.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered huskily, his lips on my forehead.

“I’m here. We’re safe,” I reassured him, my hands stroking his back.

My gaze wandered over the others, dirty, bleeding, but alive.

Aidan and Devas stood reverently in front of Alatus, who studied them with curious, glowing eyes.

“Friends,” he muttered to me.

I smiled gently.

“Yes, Alatus…these are our friends,” I replied to him.

One by one, the others came and thanked him, telling him their names.

His eyes flashed with pride, not just because of their respect, but because he had protected us.

Only Bael did not pay any attention to the dragon. He stood motionless next to Ava, his gaze fixed impassively on her as she brushed the dust from her clothes.

“Are you okay?” he asked in an unusually soft voice, his fists still clenched.

Ava avoided his gaze.

“I’m fine,” she replied softly.

She walked over to Jade, who had been watching all this with her arms crossed.

Jade cleared her throat.

“The portal’s open. We have to get home,” she said.

“On to the portal, let’s get out of here!” shouted Aidan, urging them all forward.

One after the other, they jumped through.

“What about your amicus? How will he get through?” asked Avery worriedly.

I smiled mysteriously.

With one gesture, my red mist enveloped around him, shrinking him to the size of a lizard.

He circled on my palm with amusement, his tiny dragon mouth twisted into a laugh.

“Like this,” I announced triumphantly, enjoying their astonished faces.

Aidan pulled Avery through the jumping point and I followed Alatus carefully in my hands.

When we reached the other side, I returned him to his normal size with a wink, right in front of Avery’s horrified face.

Avery let out a snort.

“The look on your face…priceless!” Aidan laughed out loud.

At last, Avery laughed too and the tension eased.

They were all here. All of them unharmed.

We’d made it. We were back in Antaris…

When we got back safely through the portal, we were all tired.

We were all still lying on the grass in the meadow on which we climbed through the portal.

Keijou and Mana took care of the injuries our friends got in the fight. Some of them really needed a lot of help.

Others, like Bael, simply refused.

“Don’t touch me,” he said to Mana, who froze her hand in front of his face.

“I just wanted to help you…you’re bleeding,” she said, confused.

Bael stroked his forehead with his fingers, blood sticking to them, but he shook his head.

“I don’t need help,” he replied.

Ava rolled her eyes, turning to him as Keijou finished with her healing.

“He doesn’t like to be touched,” Ava told Mana.

The woman looked confusedly from Ava to Bael, who just stared at her.

“I’m sorry,” Ava uttered before she walked past him.

His gaze followed her.

Although they had not completed the soul connection, she could still sense his feelings. And this seemed to take them both by surprise.

“Don’t be such an…idiot,” said Devas.

Bael’s face tensed as he looked at Mana, who smiled at him.

“I won’t touch you,” she said gently.

There was only a hesitant nod from him before Mana started to heal him.

Alatus had his powers back. After being reunited with me, he was able to adjust his size himself.

His height was breathtaking, but also frightening.

When he moved, shortly after our return, trees buckled under his massive form.

He couldn’t even spread his wings without knocking someone down. Every movement had to be made carefully. And that seemed to bother him.

He didn’t want to be the cause of any injuries. Above all, he didn’t want to scare our friends.

I watched as he cautiously tested his powers.

The princes of darkness had kept him under their spell for so long that he had almost forgotten what it was like to be free.

He shrank back down to the size of a lizard, only to grow slightly larger shortly afterward.

His laughter echoed in my head, amused, almost happy.

“I’ll stay like this,” he said. He kept his lizard shape and crawled onto my shoulder.

“Sure?” I asked.

He gave me a cheeky grin.

“I look acceptable this way, don’t I?” he asked.

“You don’t have to do this, Alatus,” I replied gently.

He settled down on my shoulder, his head nestling against my skin.

“I know… but I want to,” he said softly.

But I sensed his fear. Fear of not being accepted.

For too long he had been isolated. Too long on his own. My heart shattered at the thought.

So much loneliness… so much unspoken pain inside of him.

Alatus looked up at me.

He could feel it—the affection I felt for him at that moment. His shimmering red eyes returned my gaze with warmth.

~My firechild.~

The words Alatus said only echoed in my head. Only I could hear him, but I knew for sure Avery understood everything.

His eyes were on me and Alatus, the warmth in his eyes so loving. Then he set his down on my shoulder to rest.

Just as everyone was healed, we saw the king rushing in our direction.

He rolled in on his amicus, accompanied by his guard and all the amicuses of my friends who wanted to greet their soul brothers and sisters.

“Children!” he called excitedly, hugging Ava and Avery.

He was so happy to see them unharmed—not only them, but all of us.

He made sure that everyone was safe and warmly welcomed us home.

“You made it? You freed your amicus?” asked King Elior.

“We did it! He’s safe now,” I answered.

As we stood before the King and Avery looked at me proudly, I presented my amicus to the king.

Brushing my hair away from my shoulder to show Alatus, I raised his little head from the sleep he was in. He sat on my shoulder and was no bigger than a lizard. A winged little lizard.

“Well… that was a lot of work by the princes of darkness to lock such a… delicate dragon on this terrible island. Luckily you freed it,” said the king, gently stroking Alatus with a finger.

“Did he call me a little dragon?” asked Alatus, a bit offended.

I almost had to laugh at the look Alatus gave me, questioningly. Just when I was about to explain that Alatus was actually not that small, my amicus decided to show it.

In the next second, he flapped his wings and transformed back to his original size. The ground shook beneath us as he spread his wings before the king.

“Little dragon?” asked Alatus again.

I giggled, glancing at Avery, who was watching all this with amusement.

The king took a step back and marveled at Alatus’s mighty form. His wings kicked up dust from the ground, and his breath swept through Elior’s long hair like a gust.

As Alatus tilted his head and approached me, I realized just how enormous he really was. Beside him, I looked like a small child—tiny, almost lost.

All around, the other amicuses stood in awe, their heads bowed before him. Was that fear? Were they afraid of my Alatus?