Her true identity is a mystery even to those who believe they know her secret, but in a world like Avelor, where survival is the very purpose of the human race, that secret can become both the greatest enemy and the key to salvation.
Trying to...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
IRIS
A murmur of voices woke me:
"If you hadn't gone on that stupid mission, none of this would have happened!"
"People were dying because of those beasts, Mave!"
"You said you killed them all! You knew how dangerous it was to go, and yet you did! Cai died, and you... you..."
A sigh escaped her chest.
"Iris can't die. We can't afford any risk. We never did! And if she hadn't killed it... if that beast had escaped..."
"Astaroth would have found out and hunted her..."
"Exactly."
"I'm sorry, Mave..."
"Apologies won't change anything, not in our situation, Elai."
She took a deep breath to calm herself:
"Do you think the Ziber destroyed Vega?" Mother added with a sad voice.
"It's possible, though I doubt it. They aren't allowed to act without Astaroth's approval. Killing a few people for fun is one thing, but destroying an entire village is something else."
"Unless those beasts were sent for a purpose. Do you think Astaroth suspects something?"
"I don't know what to believe anymore... The execution in the square three weeks ago certainly raised suspicions. No human can kill demons so easily, not even when they're in a host body. Now all we can do is wait for things to settle down."
For a few minutes, silence fell.
"Look on the bright side; we'll arrive in Nyxel on time," father added, trying to lighten the mood, pointing to the clock. "It's eleven."
"Yes, but not because of us."
"No, not because of us."
"Do you think she'll survive?"
"Mave, Iris just killed a Ziber, and you're still worried?" my father said with a tone that betrayed deep pride.
My mother smiled:
"I suppose you're right..."
I felt the atmosphere had lightened and I relaxed a bit. My parents were right; I had just killed a Ziber. How much harder could the trials be? Little did I know back then, but I would come to regret that thought later.
I groggily opened my eyes and noticed both of them looking at me, relieved and smiling.
