Page 19 of Iridian

It’s over,the ugly voice said.

“We’ll find that bracelet,” Helen continued, putting her empty glass on the table slowly. “And you will use it, Nicholas. With the magic of the Rainbow in you, you will.”

I swallowed hard, raised my chin. “So, you’re just going to kill me.” Goddess, I hated that my voice shook.

“Not necessarily. We’ll take the magic of the Rainbow back. You…mightsurvive,” said Ferid.

“We can’t harness a new Rainbow in such a short amount of time,” Nicholas said, shaking his head as the wheels turned in his head—he was the only one trying to find an alternative.

“No, we can’t,” Helen said and stood up, slowly undid the buttons of her silver jacket and took it off. “We’ll take back the Rainbow, Rosabel.Now.With it, we’ll defeat Hill.”

My stomach twisted. My magic raged, went wild inside me, nearly split me wide open when I stopped it from bursting out of me.Never again.I would never open myself up like that again.

“Then what?” I choked the words out. “Then what happens? Will you really make the changes you know you ought to make, or will things simply…go back to the way they were?”

Not a single word. They all looked away from me, too, except for Helen and Madeline.

My grandmother who was going to not only stand by and watch them kill me but would help them if needed.

Not a single fucking word.

“Very well then.” Two big tears released themselves from my eyes and I saw their faces clearly again. “Get on with it.”

I was ready, as ready as one could really be to die, I guessed.

I was ready when all of them slowly stood up and left their glasses on the table.

My eyes closed. I didn’t pray. I didn’t think—I just imagined Taland’s face. After all, that was the only thing that had ever brought me any peace, and right now peace was all I could hope for.

Magic in the air, thick and heavy, buzzing in my ears. I felt them coming closer, heard it when they pushed the table farther back to give themselves more space.

Then one of them began to chant—could have been Helen or Flora. Not that it mattered, anyway.

My magic began to react, too, instantly, but this time not in rage. This time not with the intent to burst out of me to protect me.

No, this time, it was beingpulled,like the words of that spell they were chanting so furiously was a magnet for it.

My magic was being torn off me. My own energy, my life force was being cut off with every new word that woman chanted. There was no way I’d survive this, and they knew it. They would take the Rainbow out of me, they said, but the Rainbow no longer existed inside me; it had become me. It had merged with my own magic and energy. That’s what they were going to take out—me.

“Nicholas, are you ready?” someone asked, and I imagined the Mud councilman nodded.

Then someone knocked on the door.

Chapter 6

Rosabel La Rouge

It was so sudden, that sound. So…ordinaryin a sea of strange magic buzzing and harsh Iridian words being thrown at me like fucking daggers.

Everything came to a halt. My eyes opened, and I saw how all of them had gathered around me, except for Ferid, Natasha, and Madeline, who’d remained a few feet behind.

Now everyone was looking at the door, especially when it opened.

It actually opened without Madeline telling whoever it was on the other side to enter, and every person in the room held their breath until we saw the face of the guard. That same guard who’d taken me to the Iris Roe, who’d smuggled me in. That same guard who was now pale as a sheet when his eyes found Madeleine.

“It’s an emergency,” he said, and he strode over to her like he couldn’t even see the members of the Council—and me sitting there on the couch, waiting to die.

Goddess, is this real?

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