She nods grimly. “You initiated it. Not fully, but enough that it stalled him. Enough that he knew.”
A shiver rolls through me.
Iris sighs, rolling her shoulders. “My mate isn’t like the rest of us. He’s… something other, even for the Hendroy. He’s built for destruction, for war. And he was made that way.” Her expression darkens, guilt flickering across her features before she quickly shoves it down. “But you—” She exhales, shaking her head. “He was going to kill Kael. I don’t think anything would have stopped him. Not even me.”
A cold weight settles in my chest.
“Then why did he?”
Her gaze flicks to Kael’s hand still resting against my chest, his other still in my hair, and something like understanding sharpens in her eyes. “Because of the bond.” Her voice is soft now, edged with something like awe. “Because you claimed Kael, and you meant it.”
A muscle feathers in Kael’s jaw. His clawed fingers curl slightly in my hair, a quiet anchor, but he doesn’t say anything.
Iris scoffs, shaking her head. “I don’t know if this was wanted or not, but I swear to the gods, if you ever pull that reckless shit again, I will personally murder you.”
I huff out a weak laugh. “Noted.” Though, to be fair, how else was I meant to get a message to her?
Kael still hasn’t stopped touching me. His fingers slide gently along my scalp, down to my temple, grounding.
It should feel weird. Too much.
But it doesn’t.
It just feels… right.
“Let’s get you up, and you can tell me what brought you here.”
Just like that, my mind sharpens. Dawson. His life is hanging in the balance, and every second we waste is a second too long.
Kael must sense my urgency because he moves first, easily shifting me upright, his arm bracing my back as I push myself up. My body protests—hell, my soul protests—but I shove it all down.
Iris watches me carefully, and before she turns to lead us forwards, I ask, “Where’s your mate?”
Her lips press together before she exhales. “Lurking.”
I raise an eyebrow.
She rolls her eyes. “After you passed out, I ripped him a new one. Then I told him to make himself scarce before you woke up.”
I glance around, gaze skimming over the green pastures and rolling hills. Scarce probably means he’s standing just beyond sight—or in his woo-woo black smoke—watching us like a possessive demon-lurking arsehole. Because, well… that’s exactly what he is.
As we follow her towards the house, I take in everything, and my mind short-circuits. Again.
This is not what I expected.
The vibrant green grass underfoot, the crisp blue sky above, the scattering of wildflowers that look like they belong in an English countryside and not on a goddamn alien planet. It’s too… real. Too perfectly Earth-like.
I glance at Kael, but he’s busy keeping a hand on my lower back, steadying me as I try to take it all in. “How?” I breathe, eyes widening. “How the hell does this exist here?”
Iris’s lips quirk. “What, never seen grass before?”
“Not like this,” I say, still turning in a slow circle. “Well, not in years. Hell, Iris—this is literally something I’ve only ever seen on TV.” It is simply perfect. And then I freeze, my eyes snapping towards the stone cottage ahead of us, and my brain breaks. My lips part. “Hold on. Is that Jude Law’s cottage from that Christmas movie?”
She stops. Then, to my utter shock, her cheeks flush. She crosses her arms and mutters, “Maybe.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper, turning wide eyes on her. “This is the cottage fromThe Holiday.”
Iris exhales through her nose, looking vaguely embarrassed. “Yeah. So?”
