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Chapter 184
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Iridian Chapter 185
He knew. This entire time, he knew.The moment I saw the picture and the sickening heat of embarrassment and betrayal gripped my throat; all reason had been tossed out the window.It didn’t matter that he’d been nothing more than the Game Master at the time, or that I’d been clueless about my true role in all of this.All that mattered was that he lied—he pretended not to know when the truth of what I’d done was crushing me alive, tainting every moment we had together.I’d resisted him and the pull of the mate-bond because of what I’d done, but not only did he not care that I’d murdered his brother—his last remaining family member, but he knew this whole time.For the duration of my short life, I’d always been quick to anger, but this was different.Instead of a raging inferno that boiled the blood in my veins and made my skin flush with heat, I was swallowed whole by the very presence I’d been fighting for two weeks, consumed by the hatred it injected into my thoughts.The White Bull
Iridian Chapter 186
Lingering in the empty space in-between each erratic heartbeat that wracked my chest, floating within the moments that marked each slow blink my eyes made, that was where the Black Bull lived.Time gave no warning as it slowed, prolonging the last thuds of Dain’s dying heart until each beat roared like an earthquake in my ears, chasing the sound of his voice and those last haunting words he whispered to me.“Forgive me, darling…forgive me for failing you.”More than anything, I wanted to tell him he hadn’t failed me. I wanted to beg him to act while he could, to use the darkness he commanded to end my life, but I knew he wouldn’t. Dain saw murder, while I saw my freedom.The darkness he had unleashed into the training room was no longer vicious but condensed itself around its master and exuded a sort of melancholy that made the deepest parts of my soul ache. It wanted to protect him but wouldn’t harm me to do so.Instead, it kept him company in his final moments.Within the furthest r
Iridian Chapter 187
Free falling into the very abyss I spent weeks running from wasn’t wrought with fear or anguish like I’d expected.It was peaceful. A slow decline into oblivion—into pure nothingness, with only Rayna’s steadying gaze to ground me.It wasn’t instinct that led me to reach towards her, but the same unearthly voice which had sung to me the only resolution in my fight with the White Bull. Rayna met me halfway, stretching until the muscles in her neck grew taut and her snout grazed my fingertips. That small touch was all it took.As Rayna vanished, the last thing I saw was the love in her eyes, even brighter than the sun itself.In that moment, the darkness imploded.Waves and waves of billowing colors surrounded me, thrashing, and melting into one another to form a writhing cocoon around my body. Within each color was a memory, a fragment of the love that fueled my light and strengthened my soul.A wriggling sliver of the brightest violet I’d ever seen held Adley’s smiling face, her ocean-
Iridian Chapter 188
The glow pulsating beneath my skin carried a gentle warmth that smoothed over the harsh edges of my panic, bringing clarity and strength.No longer was I locked within a vortex of my memories, staring at a rippling image of myself, Apollo, and Dain.I could feel everything.For a fraction of a second, time remained frozen. It was Dain’s startled inhale that set things in motion again, followed by a flash of joyous surprise that crested across his eyes like the last woes of a shooting star.“Rachel, your eyes…” He sputtered, his voice raspy and overflowing with awe. His knuckles drifted across my jaw, igniting my skin despite the feather-soft nature of his touch. Blood dribbled down his chin, tracing the veins along his neck. “…h—how did you…”I gnashed my teeth together hard enough to crack a few, but that was the only way I could think to brace myself as I slid my hand from Dain’s chest cavity. Moving swiftly, yet with enough caution not to damage his body further, I retracted my cla
Iridian Chapter 189
It was Dain’s voice paired with the comforting sparks crawling across my skin that pulled me out of my head and brought me spiraling back to reality.His scent of male musk tinged with black cherries filled my senses, wiping away the memory of his blood and the sharp metallic notes that still filled the air. Every soft word he whispered in my ear was accompanied by the heavy thud ofhis heart. The sound was growing louder, stronger as it beat in his chest and pumped blood to the rest of his body.The sound was one I always wanted to hear; one I knew would relax me until the end of time. It was relief so pure I knew I’d be on the floor if it weren’t for his steadying hold on my body. Already, I could feel the ragged pain of a sob as it climbed up my throat and seized in my chest.“You did that, darling.” He murmured, flexing his arms around my torso. There was the smallest fraction of pain as he held me closer, but it was a reminder that we were alive—both of us. His husky laughter tic
Iridian Chapter 190
The promise he wove in between each syllable was steeped in darkness, wrapped in a strength I wasn’t sure I wanted to fight. When my shoulders slumped in defeat, he trailed his fingertips over the skin of my lower back.His eyes twinkled and voice grew dangerously low when he said, “…good girl.”I wasn’t prepared for the rush of euphoria that tickled my stomach and made my head feel light and airy. On any other occasion, I would’ve narrowed my eyes and replied with a snarky comment I knew would garner a reaction, but it was different now that I could feel his emotions.Each one was a star dangling in the night sky. Some were larger and burned much brighter than others, but all were important.As the blush staining my face deepened, adoration swelled in his chest.Countless times I wondered why he stared so intensely, spearing me with his eyes as he refrained from blinking. It had been unsettling at first, and then infuriating. Now, I understood. From the very beginning, he was memoriz
Iridian Chapter 191
The meaning of his words rang in my head like a symphony of bells, familiar yet the voice that spoke them felt unreachable. I couldn’t remember where I’d heard those words before, but vividly I relived the final moments I spent with the White Bull, along with the words I spoke before casting it out.“It was my choice to throw the White Bull out, that’s how I did it.” I murmured to myself, glancing up in time to see Dain’s lack of reaction to my realization. It didn’t surprise me that he already knew, not in the slightest. “If I’m so strong, then why did it take me this long to get rid of it? Why couldn’t I just choose to throw it out at any time?”“That’s a question only you can answer, as it’s different for us all. I couldn’t let go of my need for vengeance, just as Apollo couldn’t face the atrocities he’d committed and the lives he’d claimed. In the end, he helped me let go of enough rage to free myself. I like to think my forgiveness for his hand in my family’s deaths is what freed
Iridian Chapter 192
He wanted to mark me now. Like, right now?I gaped at him, my eyes unblinking and heart fluttering in my chest like the rapid patter of a hummingbird’s wings. Even as I processed his words a second time, I couldn’t uncover the reason behind my stunned and slightly panicked reaction.It made no sense why I stood here, red in the face and on the verge of hyperventilating. We’d been planning to mark one another tomorrow during the mating ceremony. Not only was it tradition, but it would let Nadia know that the bond between us was very much real.The thought of Dain marking me, sinking his canines into my neck while hundreds of people watched, was nerve-wracking to say the least, but up until now I saw it as a task in need of completion—a necessity to help us win this war. We’d be connected on a soul-deep level, able to feel and communicate with each other whenever we needed. It was an advantage that could change the tides should Nadia decide to show.Standing in his suite, with only the
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