Page 119 of Iridian

“Can you just tell me that you’ll be there to stop me whenever I want to fuck it up?”

Taland laughed. I probably said it a thousand times, and I’m going to say it a thousand more—I absolutely adored his laugh. It was perfect, genuine, and it made me smile and feel like I was on top of the world no matter the circumstances. Apparently, it even worked if I tied my soul to dead men and swore to work for the rest of my life to set them free. It worked even when my eyes turned completely white, too.

“Every second of every day. I’ll be right there with you forever,” he said and pushed the tray back on the bed so he could drag himself closer to me, pick me up and sit me on his lap.

“Through summer breezes,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck, touching my lips to his.

“Through fucking hurricanes,” he promised.

And then we kissed.

Chapter 30

Rosabel La Rouge

Breathe, Rora. Breathe.

The soldier sitting across from me drew in air, and I was pretty sure the other three in the SUV behind us did the same.

I noticed that when I was talking to myself, when I was reminding myself things this past day—like to breathe or take a minute to relax—they did it, too. I never toldthemto do anything, but they did. They actually breathed, expanded their lungs, even though they didn’t really need oxygen. And sometimes they closed their eyes and lowered their heads when I did, as if they needed to be mirroring me every chance they got.

It was…strange, to say the least. To have these men, eleven here, physically, and another fifty in my head, with me at all times. It had been over forty-eight hours since they’d becomemine,since I’d made the deal with them, and a full day of me beingawaketo actually acknowledge it, and it still felt like I would never get used to it.

Taland, who was sitting beside me in the back of Madeline’s fancy SUV, squeezed my hand as if to remind me that he was there, and I appreciated it. It helped more than anything else.

We’d spent the night at the mansion because he’d been too weak still to even move properly, and I had been much more exhausted than I’d first thought. We decided to take a nap before leaving, but when we woke up it was already five a.m. Fiona brought us breakfast in the room, and the soldiers stayed right where they were, and I even got to hug Poppy when we walked out. She was definitely freaked out by my eyes, by the soldiers following me around, and she was relieved when I said I couldn’t stay right now, but that I’d call her and make plans to meet with her soon. I didn’t blame her, though. She just needed a bit of time to come to terms with this, get used to the idea of this new me—and so did I.

Then we could just relax and talk, I hoped. Maybe go out to dinner—notin the mansion. Watch a movie. Just…be in each other’s company.

I’d like that very much, I thought.

And now we were on our way to Headquarters to meet with Taland’s brothers and the Mergenbachs, and I really wasn’t looking forward to it. Especially since that talk with Madeline had left its imprints all over my mind, and I hadn’t stopped thinking about it at all.

All in due time, though. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. It’s why I was telling myself to breathe, and why the soldier sitting across from me had. His name was Fergus. He was Irish and he had bright red hair you couldn’t really see under that helmet. But I remembered how it used to look in the surface of the lake near his house where he went for a swim every morning to wake up properly. That, paired with his deep blue eyes, could turn heads any day.

Any of theolddays, that is.

“Is it strange?” I asked him, though I didn’t really mean to. But I had to know—was it as strange for him to be here, in an SUV—something that he couldn’t even dream about in the time he was alive?

It is, Mistress,Fergus answered in my mind, though it still sounded like all of them were talking at the same time.

And? Do you want to, like…explore more?I asked without speaking this time.

We have explored,he said, and just now I started to notice the accent that they all seem to have—the same accent.

What about those? Can you take them off?I asked next, looking down at the bracelet around his wrist.

We can’t remove our armor,said Fergus.

Are they…anchors?I wondered, squinting my eyes at the bracelet. Nothing much to see on it, though. Same color, same metal, just the band thinner than mine, and closed together.

No. Our anchor is you, Mistress. And we are yours.

Before I could ask him to explain, Taland said, “I hate to interrupt whatever conversation you’re having, baby, but we’re here.”

“Oh!” I said, surprised to find the Headquarters building in front of us and the SUV slowed down. “I’m sorry. It’s not a secret—it just comes naturally to speak to theminternallywhen they do.”

Taland chuckled. “I know. It really does. Don’t feel bad about it. I don’t mind.”

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