The First Secret

by Maya Daniels

  She opened her mouth and spoke the same beautiful musical words that he used to tell her his name, but she didn’t understand it. She might not have understood, but the creature in front of her did. He cowered, pure terror on his face before he dropped on his knees and pressed his forehead on the ground. His long silver hair flopped around, and like a rope, it curled next to his head.

  “I didn’t know. Forgive me.” His deep voice was muffled as his face pressed to the floor.

  “His life was not yours to take! Bring him back!” Iris didn’t recognize her own voice. It sounded mesmerizing and like ten of her were talking at the same time.

  “I cannot. I am of the shadow, only one of the light can reverse what I have done.”

  “Well, go find one of the light. If not, you will join my mate.”

  “I am the last.”

  Pain sliced at Iris’s heart. She was aware that she would not leave this place alive. After losing Fern, she had no desire to live. But first, she would do her best to make this vile creature pay for what he had done.

  The ground under her boots disappeared, and she floated upwards, her hair dancing around her face in an invisible breeze. For the first time, Iris heard the magic around her. The shimmering purple that surrounded her entwined with a coppery glow coming from the medallion. Her thumb moved like always, but she finally understood the urge to do that. Her power had a sound, and her fingers moved with the beat of the tune, keeping the tempo of the melody. It was as beautiful as it was terrifying. And in the middle of it all, Iris stood like a conduit. Filtering the life and power from everything around her. She finally understood what she was, but she couldn’t find the words to describe it. She was everything, and yet, nothing at all. Just a tiny fragment of something larger than life itself.

  That’s when Iris saw the blessing. She could save Fern without the creature before her. The question was, should Iris allow him to live after what he’d done? Everything she was in her core screamed to kill him. Because she could kill him if she wanted. Iris knew now that he was merely a lowly guard of another portal. A portal to her real home. But her humanity, the one she had nurtured all her life, balked at the idea and stilled her hand. If she killed the being, she would be no better than him. Two wrongs never made a thing right.

  Flicking her hand in his direction, Iris sent tendrils of her own magic at him. It sliced his back, opening a deep gash and cutting off half of his hair in the process. “Begone!”

  He scrambled to his feet, grabbing the cut off piece of his hair and disappearing before she could blink. Slowly, Iris felt her feet touch the ground again, and she turned towards the body of the man she loved.

  “Iris!” Fern’s voice echoed in her ears, and she clenched her teeth not to cry out. Even now she heard him clearly, like he was alive and here with her. “Iris!”

  When arms wrapped around her, Iris lashed out, sending whoever it was flying into the rocks behind them. Jars and glass bottles fell to the ground, the breaking of glass ripping through the silence. Iris froze when Fern lifted himself off the ground, groaning. Her head turned from the body at her feet to the man picking himself off the floor. When his blue, glowing attention focused on her, Iris ran to him with a heart-wrenching sob.

  “Oh my God, Fern. You are alive!”

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, Iris clung to him for dear life. Fern squeezed her so tight like he was afraid she would disappear again. He was kissing her anywhere his lips could reach while she sobbed and talked incoherently about killing him herself if he scared her like that again. After a long moment, Iris pulled back to look at his face.

  “It’s Darion, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Sadness clouded his features “He said I’d protect you better if he took the first blast. I never expected him to die. I wouldn’t have agreed to his crazy plan otherwise.”

  Iris had a feeling deep to her bones that Darion knew very well what would happen. Unwrapping her arms from Fern, she walked back to Darion’s body. Fern didn’t need any instructions. He turned his friend to lay him on his back and hung his head in sorrow.

  Iris placed her palms on top of the hole that the shadow tendrils left in Darion’s chest, and she pulled from the life she felt all around her. Eager to do her bidding, it floated through her and into Darion. Within a few moments, Iris felt his heart thump under her palms. Moving away, she sat on her haunches and waited until Darion opened his citrine eyes. Fern gave her a heart-melting smile.

  “Iris…thank you.” There was more relief evident on Darion’s face than gratitude.

  “You are welcome. And I’m going to kill Ivy when I get my hands on her.”

  “I must say I’m surprised that you’re not freaking out,” Iris told Fern as she walked in front of him through the tunnel.

  “Why would I freak out exactly?” Glancing over her shoulder, she saw his lips twitch, and it irked her.

  “I don’t know. Maybe because I played necromancer and brought Darion back from the dead?”

  Darion grunted something from ahead of her, but Iris couldn’t hear the words.

  “I knew what I was getting myself into, little flower. You can’t do anything that will scare me away. Not anymore, at any rate.”

  “What does that mean?” Unwilling to let him see the uncertainty choking her, Iris continued staring at Darion’s back.

  “It’s too bad that you couldn’t see yourself back there.” There was awe in Fern’s voice, and Iris finally turned towards him. His entire demeanor softened when she faced him. “You floated in the air, Iris. Your power surrounded you, but you looked like you were not present in this realm. Like a glimpse from a different dimension, a glow mixed with your magic. It was as terrifying as it was beautiful.”

  “I felt it all, Fern.” Swallowing thickly, Iris looked at her feet. “I still feel it.”

  “Felt what?” He hooked two fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

  “Life? Death?” Shaking her head, frustration ate at her. “I have no idea. It was so consuming. I know I can take life as easily as I can give it. No one should have that kind of power. No one in their right mind should want to be around someone with that kind of power.”

  “Why?” The question came from Darion, who had stopped as well. “Why wouldn’t anyone want to be around you, Iris?”

  “Aren’t you afraid?” She looked from Darion to Fern. “That I’ll lose my shit one day and kill you or something?”

  “You won’t.” Fern smiled gently at her.

  “You can’t know that.” Huffing, she hugged herself.

  “I would bet my life on that,” he assured her.

  “As would I,” Darion added leaning his back on the wall of the tunnel.

  “That’s because you’re both insane!”

  “Iris, look at me.” Fern waited until she focused on him and stopped fidgeting. “You could’ve killed whoever the person was who kneeled in front of you. I saw his power as clearly as I was able to see yours. It was half the brightness that you have. I don’t understand your magic, but even I could tell that you were more powerful. And what did you do?”

  Hope that maybe Fern would accept the freak show that she was starting warmed her chest, but Iris squished it down. Maybe Fern was still happy about her bringing Darion back, and he didn’t know what he was talking about.

  “That doesn’t prove anything, Fern, and you know it. Lazarus didn’t lose his marbles overnight either.”

  “No, his marbles were never there.” Darion laughed, making Iris frown at him. His citrine eyes sparkled with so much life that she couldn’t stay angry at him.

  “You let that man go, Iris. Lazarus would never have done that. Not on day one, not on his last day.” Tugging on her arm, Fern pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “You are just stressed from everything, and you need rest. Let us get back. After you get some sleep and food, we will talk.”

  Iris allowed him to carry most of her weight and they continued through
the tunnel. Darion led the way, navigating expertly from one tunnel to the next. Before she knew it, Iris smelled the breeze of fresh air drifting from ahead of them. Her feet started moving faster, and Fern almost carried her out in his haste to get out of the damn cave.

  Iris lifted her face towards the beautiful bright sun when she finally made it outside. It felt like she had been cold for a year while in the tunnels. Spreading her arms wide, she smiled when Fern pressed his chest to her back and nuzzled her neck.

  “I have forgotten how beautiful you are in the sunlight, little flower.” His words were laced with need and Iris shivered in his arms. “It seems as if we spent a lifetime in the darkness down there.”

  “Tell me about it.” Iris laughed, her mood improving with the warmth seeping through her skin.

  “I think he just did—” Darion started, but she cut him off.

  “Figure of speech!” She squinted at Darion, the brightness painful to her. Darion grinned at her and shrugged, unfazed. “How long do we need to stand here before we head back?”

  “We are leaving now. Before you argue, I know you can walk, but it’ll be faster if I carry you. We will be back safe before you know it that way.” Fern looked like he was gearing up for an argument and Iris smiled at him cheekily.

  “I have no problem riding you, Fern.” Hunger radiated from him at her words; she could almost feel it thickening the air around them.

  “Let’s go. You can hump like rabbits when I don’t have to be around the two of you.” Darion groaned, making Fern and Iris laugh.

  Fern yanked her closer and sealed his lips on hers. His tongue pushed past her lips and glided over hers slowly, deliberately. Her knees gave out, and she clung to his shoulders, unwilling to break the kiss. Iris moaned softly, and an answering groan vibrated from Fern’s chest. Darion cleared his throat very loudly, making Fern pull back chuckling. Iris chased his lips boldly, and that made him laugh outright.

  “Let’s get back so I can ravish you as much as I want.” Planting a kiss on the tip of her nose, Fern bent his knees and helped her climb on his back.

  “Let’s move fast please.” Iris kissed his neck, and he growled something unintelligible. “Hopefully there will be no shadow thingies on our way back.”

  “Even if there are, we will be fine,” Fern assured her. “You are more powerful than ever, little flower. I can feel your magic from afar. I’m sure they can, too. It’d be stupid to attack you now.”

  Iris hoped that Fern was right. Both men broke into a distance-eating run, and she held tight to Fern’s shoulders, enjoying the feel of his skin on hers. The scenery blurred around her, pulling her into a dreamlike state. Closing her eyes, Iris buried her face in Fern’s neck and breathed him in. His smell of the rainforest and freshly cut grass comforted her, and soon she drifted off into a light sleep. Iris was aware they were still moving, but her mind was on standby. There, but not really there.

  When the running slowed down, she lazily looked around and was shocked to see the outline of the palace in the distance. It felt only like an hour or so had passed since they’d left the cave behind.

  “Lucky you didn’t drop me. I must’ve fallen asleep,” she told Fern making him chuckle.

  “I will never drop you. Awake or asleep.”

  They moved at a slower speed until both Fae slowed down to a walk, way too far from the palace. Iris felt the uneasiness coming through her connection with Fern and stiffened on his back.

  “Is it a shadow?” She twisted, looking around them.

  “No. There is something wrong in the castle.” Fern pointed at something she couldn’t see.

  “How do you know?” Iris tagged on his arms so he would release her. Hopping off his back, she stopped next to him.

  “The guards on the top towers are missing. That only happens if we are under siege.”

  “What the hell? What is this, the middle ages?”

  “Maybe our sleeping friends sent a messenger to their group. But that’s just guessing at this point. We need to get closer.” Fern looked at Darion, and some unspoken conversation passed between them. Darion nodded, then bolted left, circling around to check the back of the castle, she assumed.

  Iris felt strangely calm as they neared the gate of the place she now called home. She hoped whoever had decided to attack was in Artemis’s hands right now and that she was teaching them a lesson. Excitement bubbled in her that she could help her friend now. The longer the medallion sat between her breasts, the more control Iris had over her magic.

  They glided through the slightly opened front doors, and the familiar smell of the palace filled her lungs. Fern’s arm stretched behind him, always keeping contact with her body as they silently moved through the hallways. When they reached the enormous stairway, Darion popped his head out from up ahead and shook his head. Apparently, he hadn’t seen anyone either. It was a split second between Iris noticing that someone was close by and a hand wrapping around her mouth, muffling her scream. Her magic burst out of her, sending the person flying, and the thump was loud when the body hit one of the decorated walls.

  “Iris, stop!” Artemis hissed from one of the doors to their left.

  Looking back, Iris saw Raphael lifting himself off the ground, giving her a stink eye. Fern chuckled next to her, and she thumped her hand on his chest to stop him. They all hurried to where Artemis held the door open for them. As soon as they were all inside a small, nicely decorated room that looked like someone’s bedroom, Fern stood at the partly open door.

  “What’s going on?” Iris asked Artemis while they embraced each other.

  “I’m just happy that you are alive. I was ready to skin Ivy if you didn’t make it.” With a stern expression, Artemis looked from Fern to Iris and back. “I see something is new.”

  “I see you’re stalling.” Iris pointed out, making Artemis grimace as if she smelled something bad. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know how, but the portals opened…” Artemis started, but Iris tuned her out. A voice she’d never forget reached her ears.

  “Witch, witch, witch!” Claude’s voice filled the silence in the empty castle. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” he sing-songed, making her blood boil.

  “He has Ivy,” Raphael spoke for the first time.

  Iris’s stomach jumped first to her throat, then dropped to her feet. Before anyone could react, she ripped the door open, pushing past Fern. Rage burned her insides, and she expected to burst into flames at any moment. Iris was done playing a victim. It was time that Claude learned a lesson. Never piss off a witch.

  “I’m right here, motherfucker. Come have a bite!” Her voice boomed through the castle just like in the caves while purple tendrils twisted with silver and gray floated around her.

  “That’s my mate!” Fern said proudly, and he and Darion joined her at the bottom of the stairway.

  “Let’s go kill the bloodsucker.”

  When they started up the stairway, they heard Ivy’s voice clearly. “This will be so much fun to watch.” Her giggle didn’t sound like something a hostage would do, but this was Ivy. Anything was possible with her.

  On the other side of the hidden portal

  “Did you kill the girl?” the voice from the dark figure sounded like rocks grinding together, and the man cowered at his feet.

  “No, sir.” Clutching his cut off hair, he let the anger build inside him.

  “I should have your head!”

  “She had help,” the man lied. “I was worried they’d find the portal. I did everything to protect us.”

  “A help that you couldn’t deal with? You think me a fool?” His words promised pain and violence.

  “The girl is weak. The key will kill her sooner than I can find her. Our plans will come to pass.” Lying through his teeth, he pressed his head to the slime on the ground to hide his face.

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, sir! I felt her power; she is but a child. I give it a day…three maxim
um. She will die.”

  “Good, that is very good.” Metal groaned as the person shifted. “You are dismissed. Go keep an eye on things. If you mess up my plans, I will personally skin you alive.” After a long pause, the metal groaned again. “If I don’t walk out of that portal soon, you’ll be wishing for a death that will never come. Being shamed by cut hair will be the lightest punishment.”

  Not waiting to hear more, the man lifted off the floor, and keeping his head down, hurried out of the large room. When the massive doors closed behind him with a thud, he leaned his back on it and released a deep sigh. Clenching his fists, he ground his teeth. The stupid bitch almost killed him, but he’d had luck on his side all his life. The first part of his plan had worked. He tricked that idiot Lazarus to attach part of his shadow to Artemis’s arrows. Whoever held one of those arrows and was powerful enough, the shadow was attached to them now. It’s feeding their darkest thoughts turning them into a weapon he is using against everyone standing on his way. They are under his control and can’t do anything about it. He had a few days to find that bitch and make her submit to him now. She was more powerful than anyone he’d ever seen. Including their king, who had just threatened him. But he was a smart man. He would bind her to himself, and then force her to destroy them all. After they were all dead, he would be the king and rule over all the realms. He’s been dreaming about the Obsidian throne since he can remember.

  A smile spread over his face and he pushed off the door. With determined steps, he headed for the portal. Iris would yield when he killed her mate again. She was upset the first time, but if he proved to be stronger, she would see reason. By the time he reached the portal, he already had a plan. He would hunt her. And when he found her?

  Watching her beg would be so much fun.

  To be continued.

  About the Author

  Well done rebel,

  You survived this one as well, spiders, shadows and all. I hope you enjoyed the story of Iris and Fern, and I must sooth your worry, it’ll still continue in book 3. The Obsidian Throne will be Claude and Ivy’s story, but you’ll be seeing a lot of the other couples, too. Who knows, if Darion keeps being adorable, he might get his own HEA. What do you think?