IRIS
We watched as Bael awoke from his dream. The worry was visible on his face, and his eyes were sad and hurt.
He sat up, his hands buried in his hair, as if he wanted to tear it from his head. Baelâs face grew more panicked the more he woke up.
His eyes slid to Avery and me, tears glistening in his gaze.
âSheâs in pain,â he whispered, his voice frail.
Avery squeezed my hand softly. His heart ached as he heard Baelâs words.
âI canât...feel her thoughts anymore...sheâs shut me out,â he said suddenly.
My eyes found Jade, who was sitting in a chair next to Bael. She was pale; whatever Bael saw, she saw too.
Avaâs amicus had told Jade that she couldnât reach Ava in her dreams. She was there...but the amicus couldnât get through to her.
Bael begged the amicus to take him to the next dream, and Jade made it possible with a spell.
However, Ava seemed to be in a very bad state, and that was eating at Bael. He blamed himself.
âIf I had accepted the soul connection immediately, this would never have happened,â he had said earlier.
His fear for Avaâs safety was so great that he numbed his own desire for her, more and more. He was afraid of Abbadon, who was looking for him, and if he found him, Ava would be in danger, too.
He had a bad feeling thinking about the possibility of the two of them meeting. He couldnât explain why.
âI just know that I had to prevent it,â he explained.
Heâd been hiding from him for so many years. He had made so many sacrifices to avoid being discovered.
When Ava first appeared to him in a dream, he was terrified. He took away her sight, creating an illusion in which she only heard his voice.
He was prepared to spend his whole life in hiding, to protect her. And yet, fate had other plans.
âI never should have told her to stay away from me. I shouldâve protected her,â he whispered, broken.
Avery glanced at him before he went into the dream. I could feel his pity.
Bael loved Ava so much he was willing to stay alone for a lifetime, just for her to live. But now that she was in the hands of our enemies, he seemed broken.
Not only about what he saw, but what could have been prevented.
âBael, do you know where sheâs being held?â Avery asked.
He merely nodded in response before looking at Averyâs outstretched hand.
âCome on then, letâs get her out,â Avery told him.
I could hear Averyâs thoughts, his emotions...so strong. He didnât blame Bael; none of us could have known there was a traitor among us.
All he felt was compassion for Ava...and for Bael.
Everything was ready for our attack. The plan was made, everything was prepared, the only thing missing was Avaâs location.
And now we had it. We were ready to go.
Our plan had to succeed; we only had one chance.
Therefore, we decided to follow the plan of Devas and the king. King Elior would create a diversion with his army, distracting the princes of darkness from our presence.
They were to be lured far enough away from Ava, with as few enemies as possible left behind for us. A small group of us would go rescue Ava.
Avery and I, along with Devas, werenât enough. So we took Noah with us to protect Jade, who would open a portal of her own.
The army was huge, and the portal to the entrance of Portus Mali had to be big enough. It took three witches and two wizards to open such a large portal.
The warriors sat on their amicus, and I looked at the mighty animals that accompanied them into battle. From cerberus wolves to griffins, winged tigers, unicorns, and giant birds, all the amicus were with their soul brothers.
Alatus stood by my side. I hugged him as tight as I could. After I explained the plan to him, he was not happy to leave me alone.
âAs soon as I even sense youâre in danger, Iâll come to you. I donât care about your plan, my Iris. You are more important to me than any plan,â Alatus said, without breaking eye contact.
I knew I could not change his mind, and he knew exactly how dangerous Portus Mali was. I hugged him tightly once more and said goodbye as Bael motioned Alatus to follow him.
Alatus would accompany Bael to keep up the illusion of the fake Iris. Through his proximity, Bael would not be seen as an imposter, but would appear as the real Iris through the power of my amicus.
The king looked over his shoulder at us one last time and smiled. There was so much love in his gaze, and so much courage.
He nodded before he shouted his battle cry and led the huge legion through the portal.
I knew he was only doing this to encourage us, because what awaited us on the other side of the portal was far more dangerous than the creatures that were on Infernus Insula, the island where my Alatus was captured.
We watched as the king disappeared into the portal, and the warriors rushed after him.
âLetâs go...Ava needs us now,â I said while Jade opened our portal and we walked through.
Portus Mali was huge... Very dark and cold, with huge black castle-like buildings.
Everything was dark and spoiled, the plants seemed to be rotting, and the trees were burning. The earth was black and stony, with fire-like rivers running all over the land.
The sulfur mingled up to the sky, which was covered by dark clouds. No light...just darkness.
I was scared...and I didnât even need to hide it. Because everyoneâs features resembled mine...completely terrified.
As soon as we stepped through the portal, Jade blew a powder over us that was supposed to tame our aura. Our auras glowed too much, and in this darkness everyone would see us.
âBe quiet and follow me. Bael told me that Ava is trapped in the Tower of Pain,â Devas said as he led the way.
Tower of Pain...oh Ava. My heart bled for her, for what she had to go through.
Avery held my hand as if looking for strength, and I wanted to give it to him. Strength that I didnât have at that moment...but had to summon up for him.
Devas led us in the direction of a castle that we saw in the distance, always careful that no one would see us. We carefully crept along the edge to avoid being noticed.
My friends couldnât take their amicuses with them. It would be too much attention, and we didnât need it.
We only killed the few creatures we couldnât avoid, as our aim was not to attract the attention of the inhabitants or even the Lords of Darkness.
We couldnât use our powers, as that would have given us away too. So all we had left to defend ourselves against the creatures were our weapons.
This seemed hopeless at first, but together we managed it. Devas was the only one who could use his power; without him, we would have been overpowered long ago.
He was a demon; his power wouldnât stand out here. Unlike our own.
We could no longer communicate with the king; any contact would have betrayed us. All we could do was to stick to the plan.
The last time we spoke to the king, he hugged Avery and me and told us how proud he was of us.
âFather, this isnât goodbye⦠weâre going to get Ava and return home. Everything will be fine,â Avery said to his father at the time.
King Elior just smiled at him and said, âOf course we will. I just wanted to tell you this. Iâm proud of you and your mother too⦠and your parents would be proud too of you, Iris, and your brother, Aidan.â
His voice was soft, his gaze even softer. He knew what was at stake. He looked strong and ready⦠but his eyes, they glanced at us like a farewell.
We were sticking to the plan. We were going to get Ava and return home.
Weâd been walking for a while when we finally got close enough to the castle to spy on it. How many guards were there? What kind of creatures would we have to deal with?
Our path took us over the mountains surrounding the castle, so we had a good view. We crept up, quietly and cautiously.
Every step was a danger⦠every crack beneath us could give us away. When we were close enough to the entrance gate, we crouched down behind a fallen tree.
Goosebumps spread across my entire body. This place was horrifyingâI just hoped we werenât too late to save Ava.