“I want to tell you a secret,” the creature exclaims as she shrinks to be Iris’s height. “I secretly love watching you scream. That’s why I came back tonight—not because Wolf sent me here, but because I like hurting you. You’re so…expressive.” She plops onto Cyrus’s lap, leaning down to kiss his neck.
“Stop it,” Cyrus begs as his eyes flutter closed. It’s not really her, he reminds himself as another kiss lands on his cheek, and a sigh escapes his lips.
“Aww, how sweet! You truly love this girl, don’t you?” the creature coos as she toys with Cyrus’s hair. “But I think your feelings cause you pain too, don’t they? You don’t want to love her.”
“I’m not good enough for her,” Cyrus answers despite himself. Even though he knows that it’s not really Iris, he cannot stop his hands from straining against the binds, now in an effort to get closer to her touch, longing to hold her near his heart. Despite himself, Cyrus leans forward, desperate to feel the warmth radiating from her breath. This is far crueler than the pain, Cyrus cries, his eyes filling with tears as he stares into the smiling grimace of the false Iris. I know she’s not real…but I’ll take a few moments with a dream, if it means I get to see her one last time.
“Who knew you were so romantic!” The false Iris chortles, brushing her fingers across Cyrus’s jaw. “Underneath it all, you want to be a good man. I’m impressed that you even believe it is possible,” she whispers as she brushes her lips softly against his.
A bright, blinding light erupts from their contact, and a searing pain bursts through Cyrus’s face. The impact of their touch is so strong that the few windows still unbroken rattle in their panes and crack.
“What’s happening?” Wolf cries from his makeshift bed in the kitchen, racing over to Cyrus’s side.
“You didn’t tell me that he is to be coupled with her!” the monster roars, turning on Wolf in feral rage. Its eyes burn with elemental flames that swirl with a myriad of colors, each new hue from a glamour it has used as a disguise. With every halting step, a new persona appears from its chameleon skin.
“What are you talking about?” Wolf shouts as a howl rages on a whirling wind in the living room. “I didn’t know!”
The being steps closer, but as it moves, its flesh melts down its body like dripping wax. The sound of a thousand insects returns to its voice as it wails. “I cannot compete against a coupled Cadogan’s chosen, even if the bonding isn’t complete. I can feel the connection already formed in his heart! Your little mistake has killed me!” The monster’s lips droop down its chin, its body shrinking until it is nothing more than a rotten, poisonous ooze on the floor. The howling wind dies down as soon as the creature fully disappears.
You did it! Suryc cries in triumph, vibrating the ground as he stamps his feet. In all my years, I have never seen a Cadogan beat the likes of that monster, but you did it!
Cyrus’s excitement over the creature’s demise is short lived. Wolf snarls as he launches himself at his brother, pummeling his body until his knuckles bleed. “What was she talking about, brother? What did she mean?” He punches Cyrus until a rib audibly cracks, and his jaw can barely move for the swelling. “You and Iris? Coupling? What do you know about this?”
Cyrus’s shoulders shake as laughter gurgles from his bleeding mouth. “Your precious weapon wasn’t so foolproof. You’ll never get your information from me now.”
***
“WHERE IS HE?” Lady Vatusia screams as she bursts into the king’s private chambers. “WHERE IS YOUR KING?”
“My lady! The king is indisposed at the moment! You cannot just come flying in here and expect him to drop everything to attend to you!” Emeric explains, failing to hide the tremor in his voice as he watches Lady Vatusia’s mouth grow unnaturally wide in a feral smile.
“He will see me! Right now!” she wails, sniffing the air as though she can smell his hiding place like a wild dog searching for its prey.
“Let her come in,” Alaric shouts from the next room over, smiling to himself as he imagines her shocked face to find the king in his bath.
“Sire, this is highly improper! With all due respect….” Emeric’s words fade out as Lady Vatusia pushes him aside as easily as if he was a ragdoll.
“My lady, what can I do for you?” Alaric questions, flashing his brightest smile at the object of his latest obsession.
“You sent one of my people over to Cassè, and now he’s dead!” Lady Vatusia snarls even as tears well in her strange eyes.
“How unfortunate!” Alaric replies, and though his words should offer some appearance of shock or pain, his tone is as lifeless and emotionless as a stone. “What a pity that the Ddraig heart he was spelled to is wasted now!” Alaric makes a show of reaching for his soap, just to prove how little he cares for the loss. “How long will it take the future king of Cassè to come running to us? Will he try to justify the loss? Or will he hide away like a coward, do you think?”
“Is that all you have to say?” Lady Vatusia growls, her claw-like fingernails gripping the rim of the king’s bathtub. “I want to see retribution!”
“It was an experiment, and it failed. Your kinsman is a casualty in a much larger war,” Alaric snarls as he considers his next move. “We will honor the loss just as we would a good soldier who dies in the line of duty. But any more than that, I’m afraid, is out of the question.” Sloshing water over the side of his tub, Alaric raises his hands
