Page 23 of The Other Side

It had been a few days since Cypress paid us her unfateful visit, ripping Iris from this world and dragging her into her darkness while she tortured her, simply for not doing what she asked. Now, poor Iris was suffering, reliving the trauma in her room, alone. The saddest part was, Iris had been performing and summoning souls, hoping to lure Ozias back all this time, forher. And yet, it wasn’t enough, for Ozias or Cypress. I fully blamed myself. My hand slid down the wooden door as my head slumped against it in a sullen cloud.

It’s my fault. I should have known better than to think it would be so easy. Ozias is no fool. He’s a god. A god would have seen this coming. I should have seen this!I slammed my fists into my skull, hitting myself again and again for being so stupid.You worthless idiot. Get your shit together. Iris needs you.

“Iris,” I breathed her name into the door, feeling absolutely and utterly defeated. “I promise you, we will get through this.” Ididn’t know how, but I knew I would do everything in my power to ensure we find a way to lure the god here. I couldn’t fail her again. I couldn’t fail Iris or my demi-god.

As I closed my eyes, I began to picture him the way I remembered him: his golden flaked skin, his sunshine hair woven with threads of gold, and those sunlit eyes that burned into your core and melted your existence. My heart fluttered at the very thought of him, feeling his warmth and touch surround me in nothing but tender love. His fingers traced the feathers of my wings with the most sensual, delicate touch. I huffed at the painful memories, my eyes stinging from the heartache. I needed to save us both. I needed to do whatever it took to return to my love.

I will figure this out, I swear it.

Chapter

Eleven

IRIS-MARIE

His gentle knocks on my door returned, followed by his sweet voice like every night this past week. Tuft had been managing the shop in my absence, checking on me the last few days, patiently waiting for me to leave my room. I couldn’t. I had suffered the aftermath of Cypress’ torture alone, reliving the trauma with endless nightmares ripping my sanity apart for what felt like forever. Today was the first day I had felt somewhat better, each day gifting me a little more ease. As much as I wanted to stay hidden away, suffering in silence, I knew it was only a matter of time before Cypress returned. I couldn’t leave Tuft to deal with her alone, not after everything he’d already experienced, the kindness and patience he had shown me recently. No one deserved the torture she was capable of. No one, especially not Tuft.

“Iris?” He knocked a second time, his voice low and gentle. “Please.” His soft plea stung my heart. I couldn’t hide away any longer. Tuft needed me, and I needed to be strong, to face my demons, no matter who they were. It was time to stop hiding. To stop shutting the world out while I fade away.

With a deep inhale, I forced myself to my feet and slowly stepped towards the door, the boards beneath my weight creaking as I took my time. Anxiety rushed me as I closed the distance, my heartbeat drumming in my ears. My brief confidence began to dwindle away as my hand reached for the door, shaking uncontrollably.

I’m not ready. I can’t do this. I can’t do this!I froze.Cypress is a god…and I’m just a human. A weak, pathetic human with no real power.

“I know you’re hurting,” Tuft whispered, silencing my inner demons. “That you may think you are weak. But you are strong, Iris. So strong. You will survive this. And when you decide you’re ready to face her, I will be by your side. Just—” I could hear his hands sliding along the door. “Please, don’t shut me out. I know her darkness. I too have felt it scrape my skull and slither through my blood.” I shivered at the traumatic memory. “Don’t let it break you. Don’t let the fear of what she can do drive you into hiding. You will survive this. You will survive her. Please, Iris, don’t give up.”

Tuft.

My fingers curled around the door knob and opened the door, Tuft’s head raising with a look of both shock and disbelief. His eyes watched, reddened by his pained pleas. His face—that scarred flesh—was the last I saw when she ripped me away and the first to greet me upon my return. I looked up at him, crumbling into tears as I lunged into his arms, releasing my own pain.

“I’m sorry,” I exhaled into him. “I shouldn’t have shut you out. You’re the only one who knows what I experienced. I–I should’ve come to you.” His arms wrapped around me. The two of us bonded by the trauma of Cypress.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Iris. What she did to you—” He choked on his words. “You are so brave, so very brave.You survived something no other human has, and I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am for not doing better.” His pale arms broke from me as he held my face, wiping my tears with his thumbs. “I will help you in any way I can. I may not possess a soul, but I do have a heart, and when I watched her tear you from my fingers, it fucking broke. I will never let her hurt you again, Iris-Marie. We may be doomed to fail, but we will do it together. You are not alone.”

Tears poured from my eyes as he too cried and hugged me again.

“We’re fucked, aren’t we, Tuft? Succeed or fail, we’re fucked.”

He released a laugh. “Yeah, we are.”

Bastien crept into the hall outside my room, grumbling as he stared up at us. He hissed to me as I understood his temperamental sounds.

“I missed you too,” I sobbed with a smile. Tuft released me as we both tried to dry our tears, rubbing our poor soaked faces.

“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” Tuft asked, trying to compose himself. I stopped, remembering her words.

“We do as Cypress said.” We both shuddered at her name. “When she was torturing me, she said we needed to do more—somethingbigger. So big, it would force Ozias to approach us.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” Tuft asked.

I stopped, pondering a sudden idea.Bigger. If summoning souls one by one isn’t enough, then what if—

“Instead of just a single soul here and there, I must summon many. All at once.” Tuft made a face. “Tens—no, hundreds!”

“That sounds exhausting, Iris. And even if you were able to do such a thing, how would we know if it worked? What if, even then, it’s still not enough? We have one chance to bring Ozias to us.One. We can’t fail again. Cypress won’t give us that chance.” He was right.

What would be so unimaginably impossible for a human to do?An even more dangerous idea suddenly struck like a match.

“I know what I must do.” Tuft eyed me as I glanced from him to Bastien and back. “Instead of pulling dozens of human souls through the veil, I only need to summon one thing.” He blinked at my words. “The very demon who would challenge Ozias to appear. The one he would have no choice but to face.” I swallowed hard. “I must summon Cypress herself.”

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