16: This is it

Author's Summary: Let's catch you up to speed: the last time we saw Iridea's POV (chapter 13) was just before Stellina's little run-in with Hawthorne. This was when Iridea realised her potential as Stellina's ally. But after saying as much, she was met with negative responses. Stellina seemed terrified by the power Iridea reveals in this chapter; one that looks nearly identical to the power that wiped out Stellina's city with its shadowy appearance. Iridea's aunt did not appreciate her pitch and, after a destructive argument, forbade Iridea from joining the Star Elf in her quest. Despite this, Iridea's determination is strengthened at the end of the chapter. She begins to scheme...

In the last chapter (chapter 15), Iridea greets Hawthorne and Stellina with a cold welcome, wondering where Stellina went off to and why she picked up a stray. The chapter ends with the three of them all in one place; Iridea's home.

Enjoy!

16

Iridea

Someone is here. Outside of the house, wanting to get in. A red light on my bedtable tells me as much as it flashes in warning. My limbs still feel lethargic with sleep but I force them to work for me.  I toss it quickly under the covers of my bed to conceal its glow. Silently, it pulses vermillion through the sheets like a heart filled with glowing, beating blood. My own fills my ears, the only sound I can hear.  

Deserting my room, I pull myself from the ground and into the air, hovering in the hallway to avoid creaking floorboards.  Two similar orbs of light flash from the kitchen and at the beginning of the hallway. Everything is silent, encased in night’s slumber.

My heart feels like it drops to my stomach briefly when the light reveals Hawthorne, crouching at the top of the stairs, in its pulsing glow. He looks at me briefly before fixing his attention back on the level below. It looks like he slept in his ugly coat, if he managed to sleep at all. Our poker stick is clutched in his hand. I release a puff of breath and lower myself to a kneel beside him. His head doesn’t move an inch. I can hardly hear his breath. At least he’s smart enough in that regard. He gets a morsel of my respect.

“Did you see what’s out there?” I whisper, shifting my weight on my heels to see if I can get a view of the window in the kitchen. His eyes narrow,

“They can hear you,” He hisses. There is nothing but darkness outside. His messy brown hair is still ruffled from sleep; stray wisps tangle in the space around his head. I roll my eyes despite the chill that trembles my wings,

“Who is ‘they’?” I ask, blatantly ignoring him.

“Xeoserps.” They can hear things? It's only now that I notice the poker shaking in his white hands and the shiver in his voice. You’ve got to be kidding me-

“You idiot, did you lead them here?” He shoots me an accusatory glance,

“They don’t give a flying fish about me, Iridea.” His voice is a low hum. It's the first time he’s sounded mildly annoyed toward me, “And, respectfully, I doubt they give one about you, too.” 

My eyes flare wide. It clicks immediately. Stellina, obviously. I bring myself from the ground and dart to the spare room, my wings create a soft breeze. The door swings open at my light touch, revealing Stellina, still deep in peaceful sleep under the covers. She looks so peaceful, still caught in her reveries, I hate to break her moments of rest. Alas, someone’s got to. 

She doesn’t wake immediately when I shake her and I don’t have time to react when she does. In less than a second, less than an inhalation of breath, she tears off the covers, jumps out of bed, and grabs my wrist, twisting it in her grip. A cry slips through my lips without my command. I try to tug my arm from her unrelenting grasp to no avail. Stellina’s face is lit up by a chaotic, sparking ball of white electricity held in her palm. Her eyes are unfocused, glazed over as they flit across my face over and over. A spiraling language pours from her mouth, frantic. Panicked. Her other arm twists mine further, I bite back another shout, and do the only thing I can; kick her in the shin.

“Snap out of it, Stellina,” I whisper as loudly as I dare. She blinks, her eyes focusing on me at last. In an instant, she releases me and claps her hand over her mouth.

“Oh caelesti, I am so sorry. I do not know what happen,” She says through her hands, her eyes wide. I shake out my sore arm, wincing,

“Whatever, we have to go,” I respond, ushering her out of the room. Note to self: never shake her awake again. Fuck my arm hurts.

“What is happening?” Stellina asks as we reunite with Hawthorne. He greets her with a wobbly smile, brushing his hair back with a sweaty palm.

“There’s Xeoserps outside. I think they’re try’na find the house,'' He fills her in, bringing himself to his feet, “What happened back there?” So he heard, which means the Xeoserps probably have too.

“Nothing,” I wave him off before quickly switching subjects, “They’re going to attack any second, so we’ve got to get going. Do you know how to use a sword?” Stellina shakes her head but looks straight at Hawthorne. I angle an eyebrow at him.

“I’ve practised with branches,” He shrugs, spinning the poker in his grip.

“That’ll have to do, I suppose,” I begin, “So, here’s what we’re going to do; Xeoserps can pass through materials so we need to get moving as soon as I’m done. There’s a tunnel dug into one of the roots that leads to my garden. We’re going to go through my cellar and take that. While we’re down there, I’ll get Evelena’s sword for Hawthorne. We run and we keep running. Let’s go.”

I dash down the stairs, Stellina’s steps right behind me, but Hawthorne’s giant boots stay rooted on the level above. I glare up at him with a look that hopefully communicates my annoyance. Great, I’m going to be stuck with this moron.

“I just don’t-” He stammers before I cut him off,

“I said, let’s go.” He doesn’t question me after that.

They follow me into the kitchen where I wrench the trapdoor to the cellar open, expelling its musty scent into the air. We clamber down one after the other with Hawthorne pulling the door shut behind us, plunging us into darkness. I grasp for a light in the dark, my hands meeting a smooth orb, filling the room with warm orange light from my hands. I ignore their curious looks and keep moving, through the rows of preserved food and stashed items, until I get to the chest containing Evelena’s sword. I’m basically stealing from the person I trust most with my life. I admit, it turns my stomach the wrong way but this isn’t the time for feelings.

Pushing past the surge of complaints in my head, I kick open the lock and bring the sword into the light. Its hilt shines and curls, elegantly and abruptly becoming the long blade my adopted Aunt used to flay countless Deprecors with. She can live without it. Hopefully, the Xeoserps won’t turn their cold fiery on Evelena and Amara but, if they do, I know they can deal with it. Well, maybe not without the sword. Nevermind. They’ll be fine, they have to be.

Hawthorne ogles at the steel, the weight momentarily surprising him as I drop it into his palm. But he picks it up easily, a dimple etching into his face as he smiles. It falters as quickly as it appears,

“I can’t be doing this. I have to go back to my family,” He whispers, his gaze fixed on the sword as if he’s talking to it and not the two people in front of him. 

“By all means,” I drawl, crossing my arms, “Let them follow you back to your mom and dad and get them all slaughtered. Yourself included.” His smile drops completely, “Looks like you’re stuck with us, buddy.”

“Righ’. Yeah. Ok.” He responds without emotion, the sword falling to his side. Stellina fiddles with her hair behind him, her eyes moving between the two of us,

“I could defeat them. I did it before, with fire,” She suggests, looking at Hawthorne pitifully. My heart momentarily surges as I realise how deep we already are. It would be so easy to turn back now. Just give up here and now.

I’ve never been one to take the easy route. It feels like cheating.

“And burn my house down? No thanks,” Shadows start to crowd above our heads, the room grows eerily cold. Ice crackles across our preserves. Goosebumps scatter across my skin. Hawthorne and Stellina see it too. “We’ve got to go.”

“No need to tell me twice,” Hawthorne murmurs, his voice firm. I press my hand into the wall beside the sword, whispering the words Evelena, Amara and I agreed on when settling here. Although, I’m not entirely sure I fully won the vote with a code like ‘bunnies like sugarplums’.

A hidden wall drags open, slotting into the earth beneath it. The long legs of my companions carry them speedily into the passageway as I hold the mechanism in place. I follow them quickly as the first sign of a bundle of cloth announces the arrival of the Xeoserps from the level above. The wall rushes back to place behind me. They won’t have a problem getting in if they can find it. Hopefully, I left quickly enough without giving them a notion as to our location. 

Carrying the light in the cup of my hands, I rush to the front of our little line, lighting the way. We bolt; me in front, Stellina in the middle, and Hawthorne following from behind. My head feels close to peeling open and releasing my brain from my skull at the sheer gravity of what’s happening. 

This is it. This is my life now. I’m running away with the Star Elf and some human boy to eternal glory or death. Maybe even both. I got what I wanted. But the more I push myself onwards, the more I feel like I’m leaving myself behind. Likely, I’ll never see Evelena or Amara again. The thought makes me sick to my stomach. Even when I was devising this idea I never truly allowed myself to acknowledge this reality. I wish I could lower myself back into that ignorance. 

But maybe, just maybe, this path will lead me to discovering what lies inside me, to avenging my wounds, to admiration from people far and wide. Just imagine the things I could learn besides the Star Elf, the things I could do. This is my life, maybe I’ll finally be able to live it instead of wishing it to end.

Who am I kidding? I'll be lucky if I live to tomorrow morning.