The Vampire's Bride

Chapter 29

Jason's eyes flew open. His lungs screamed out for air as he pulled himself from the rubble, hacking as he breathed in dust. He looked up in a daze. How far was that drop? How far up was the crumbled overhang that he had been thrown from? 50 feet? 100? He shouldn't have been breathing.

"Do you want to explain this?"

Jason looked to Stella, finding her sitting in a fashion that reminded him much like a cat.

The memories came flooding back so fast that it hit him like a brick. His heartbeat screamed at him for letting that boy take Iris after she had dropped. Jason pushed himself up and started pacing anxiously.

"Iris was fighting someone, she dropped and he took her," he recounted. Stella tilted her head to the side, her piercing turquoise eyes tracking his movements. "Her mother is cruel and merciless, if he dragged her back to Adelaide, Iris might already be dead..."

"Then you have to go. We cannot help you," Stella told him. "Leave this place."

Jason breathed out and nodded, pulling his cloak from the earth. He knew what he had to do.

He was going to go to Hell.

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Axel could hear her. She had finally woken up. However, he remained with his eyes closed, listening.

Her boots crunched the snow beneath her as she approached. She was scared. She had been shuffling around for the past few minutes, finding his hunting knife. The smallest of smiles twitched onto his face. Iris wanted to kill him. She'd learned well, if she was going to try and kill him while he was "sleeping".

He let his eyes open just as she brought the knife down, catching her wrist casually. Her turquoise eyes widened in fear as Axel sat up on his bedroll. He smiled at her, tilting his head to one side.

"I hope you weren't hoping to actually harm me, sister," he told her. She glared at him and let go of the knife. Axel caught it easily, setting it off to the side and releasing her wrist. He turned to find his pack, catching the punch she tried to throw to his face with ease.

Iris tackled him, struggling to wrap her hands around his throat. Axel easily brushed her off again, moving her to the bedroll. She fixed him with another glare and crossed her arms.

"How's your head?" He asked her calmly, moving about the small camp he had made. She continued to silently glower at him. Axel looked away from her, packing up the few essentials that he had laid out. He glanced back at her. Iris remained silent, fuming at him. "Are you refusing to talk to me now?"

Her turquoise eyes pierced into his, alight with fury. Her lips pressed tightly together. Axel sighed and sat back, staring helplessly at his sister. It had been easier watching her from a distance, when she'd seemed so calm and lovely. Women were forgien to him. He had expected her to be happy to see him. Evidently, he was very wrong.

"It's going to be a few weeks," he said, hating the awkwardness beginning to fill his stomach. Axel shifted uncomfortably under her silent glare. Couldn't she at least say something to express her anger? He ducked his head, finishing packing as heat burned his cheeks. What was wrong with her?

Iris stood and turned away from him, crossing her arms as he packed. Axel glanced back at her apon finishing. She was shaking. He reached out cautiously, trying to reassure his sister in any way that he could. She jerked herself away from his hand and glared at him. Tears now shone in her eyes, furious and filled with pain.

"I'm not taking you to our mother, I promise," Axel tried to reassure her. She shook her head, gritting her teeth.

"Liar," Iris spat.