Chapter 76: Chapter 76

IRIS

~Iris.~… A child’s whisper, but it pierced the noise of battle as if it came directly from my head. The childlike voice from the Tree of Power called out to me.

My gaze shifted away from Abaddon’s army rushing toward us. A flood of anger and hungry eyes wanted to destroy us.

~Iris~… the tree whispered again as I looked up at it. Its trunk glowed, surrounded by golden threads that flowed around it like a shimmering veil.

Countless tiny lights made it appear alive.

~Give me the sword~, its voice echoed in my mind.

I should have been panicking, like everyone else around me. Devas and Aidan braced themselves against the already splintering door, their muscles trembling under the strain.

Avery cursed as he tried to use his strength to block the entrance. The first creatures had already fought their way through, their sharp limbs digging into the wood as if it were paper.

Evageline stood next to me, breathing rapidly, her fingers clenched so tightly around her sword that her knuckles were white. I reached for her blade with a quick, almost dreamlike motion.

She flinched, a brief pain in her eyes, as if I’d torn her heart out of her chest. But I couldn’t hesitate.

Before she could say anything, I fell to my knees in front of the tree.

“Please help us,” I whispered as I placed the sword in front of the tree’s roots.

Then it burst out of the tree.

A shockwave. A beam that spread not like light, but like liquid, golden and heavy, as if the air itself were turning to honey.

It rolled away from the tree in a perfect wave of light, and wherever it went, the world stood still.

The attackers at the door—their bodies were frozen in the middle of movement. One beast with its mouth open, its teeth inches from Aidan’s neck.

Another with its axe raised, the blade already in the process of falling. Even the dust in the air stood still, as if someone had stopped time.

Only we were still unchained.

Aidan and Devas slowly turned toward me, their faces a mixture of shock and incredulous hope. Evageline’s eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something—but there were no words for what had just happened.

Avery’s questions swirled in my head as he rushed toward me.

And then…a hand touched me.

My gaze was fixed on the small white hand that gently caressed my own. Instead of the tree, a young girl was now kneeling in front of me.

Pale white skin, shimmering as if sprinkled with stardust. White hair, so long and silky, with each strand resembling a flowing river of diamonds.

Each one pierced by the vibrant colors that had once filled the auras of Antaris’ beings. A beautiful, delicate face and a pair of large doe eyes.

Her eyes had no pupils, just a bright, cloudy white—and yet she looked at me with so much love. Her mouth twisted into a soft smile and she tilted her head as if she was sharing a secret with me.

Behind me, I felt Avery’s breath catch. His heartbeat thudded like a caged bird against a cage, his sweat mingling with the airborne iron of fear.

“You saved me,” whispered the girl. Her voice was gentle, warm, and yet so foreign.

A tear burned its way down my cheek. I reached for her hand, freezing and still full of pulsating life.

“Help us…” It burst out of me, my voice shattering. “If not us…then the helpless…The children. The women. Please.”

She looked toward the others… To Aidan, whose sword was already covered in blood, to Devas, who gritted his teeth, and to Evie, whose eyes sparkled with fierce determination.

Then over my shoulder, where her gaze was briefly on Avery. Her eyes fell back on mine, and she slowly shook her head.

“~I ~can’t help you,” she said.

The words stabbed me like a knife. Abaddon was going to destroy everything.

Suddenly I saw them in front of me—the children who had fled. Their small, distorted faces burned into my memory forever.

The tears streamed down their cheeks as they said goodbye to their fathers. If Abaddon were to attack them… They stood no chance.

The hand of the glowing white girl broke through the golden veil that surrounded her and placed it on my chest.

“But ~you ~can save us all,” she whispered.

Her smile widened. Her features softened even more as a bright light streamed from her.

A warmth so immense I thought my heart would burst. It flooded through my veins, burned into my bones, filling me with a power that wanted to tear me apart.

I gasped, writhed—but there was no escape.

And then I felt it, the shockwave. Not pushing outwards, but flowing back to us. Like an ocean retreating back into its source.

The girl smiled at me for the last time. Then she stretched her arms in the air above her.

And shattered into glittering dust.

Golden light, blinding and painful, and with a thunderclap, the tree stood again as if nothing had happened.

The shockwave hurled me forward.

The noise of battle returned…the screeching of creatures, the clash of blades, Avery’s scream as he yanked aside a creature that snatched at my throat.

“It’s inside you!” Evie screamed, throwing me aside as a claw swiped at me.

Inside me? My eyes snapped to the tree.

The sword was gone. Only two tiny footprints remained in the dust, in front of the tree.

And the power that was now bubbling inside me… It was the sword. The light that the girl had pressed into me… It was the power of the sword.

And she had chosen me.

With a dull thud, my brother was torn down by one of the beasts. His face, contorted with pain, hit me like a punch.

Devas whirled around, throwing black lightning bolts from his hands, but the skeletal creature scurried past with impossible speed.

Everything happened in slow motion.

Aidan pushed himself up, bleeding, his teeth clenched as the creature reared back to pounce.

Then something burst inside me. An urge… an instinct.

Before I could think, I was already with him. My body moved on its own, stepping in front of him, protecting him.

Abaddon had taken my parents away from me. He wasn’t going to take my brother from me too.

Suddenly, light shot out of me. A dazzling beam so bright that even I was blinded.

Heat surged around me, melting into my red aura, becoming a flaming wave.

Voices echoed in my head, pressing memories that pushed their way into my consciousness.

~The creatures of The Island of Hell only obey the royal family of darkness.~ Devas’ words resonated with me.

~Liora was a Stormbringer. The last of her line... an elf who carried the blood of the ancient lords of heaven in her veins.~ King Elior’s voice flashed through my thoughts.

Suddenly everything fell into place, as if a riddle had been solved in my mind—the Prophecy. ... Good against Evil ... But I carried both in my blood.

It wasn’t just my father’s demon blood or my mother’s elven blood that flowed through my veins—the blood of her ancestors also lived in me... the blood of the Angels.

~You’re a princess, Iris... the daughter of an angelic bloodline... and a prince of darkness. You belong to the royal family... A being that can rule over both....~ The tree’s voice whispered, deep inside me.

That was why I could use all the powers... that was why Father called me The Prodigy... A miracle between good and evil.

I realized now why he had wanted to restrain my powers as a child... to protect me from evil.

If I had ever fallen into Abaddon’s clutches... I could have wiped everything out.

“Stop!” I yelled.

My voice sounded different—deep and rough, like Alatus’. There was a coldness to my words that made even me shiver.

The creatures from Hell Island froze.

They were the strongest, which was why Abaddon had sent them first.

They were hungry... too long locked away on this island... wild and unpredictable.

In the middle of their attack, they backed away, their heads lowered as if they couldn’t look me in the eyes.

With each breath I took, they backed away.

My gaze snapped to Abaddon, who stared at me, his eyes wild.

“Kill the creatures of Portus Mali!” I ordered.

Not a move. They just glared at me.

“Obey ~your~ master!” I shouted, my voice a thunderous echo that shook the walls.

The creatures snarled, snapped their fangs into the air, then turned away and charged at the oncoming beasts from Portus Mali.

I could feel my friends’ shock all around me. But Avery knew exactly what I’d done.

He had seen everything. He felt it.

And now he knew what I really was, just as I did.

My gaze met Abaddon’s as he looked over his fighting beasts. That was why he had wanted me at his side so badly.

He knew what I was. He knew that I could take him to Antaris—to wipe out all that was good.

While Abaddon’s army fought amongst themselves, I took the opportunity.

A deep breath… before I gave my power free will.

My ears rang. The vision blurred.

I could feel my legs shaking. Still, I forced myself to take a step forward.

“But you can save us all.” The voice of the Tree of Power echoed inside me again.

And I knew what to do…

“For Antaris,” I whispered, while my body was completely consumed by the new power.