Diana Crescent official

Twenty-two:

            The Peace Brokers that were with him raised the enchanted staffs that they had. They were weapons made by witches so that they could protect themselves with magic when they were going up against immortals. A bright, blue light came from the staffs and shot in my direction. Desmond tried to block it but even he wasn’t quick enough for it. The magic hit me, making my knees buckle.

            I collapsed on the hard, marble floor. Pain shot through my head, making the room spin. Bile rose in my throat. “It…it…it hurts.” I was shaking, trembling on the ground. I was unable to get up.

            “Iris!” Desmond dropped down on the ground to where I was. “Iris, are you okay?”

            I tried to answer, but whatever had been shot at me had made my throat incredibly dry, making it difficult to talk. The Peace Brokers walked over to where I was on the ground. Desmond growled at them, making the younger of the two jump.

            “Easy, brother,” said Damien, “we’re not here for you. We’re just here for the traitor. I have evidence that proves she’s been working with that asshole father of hers this whole time. She’s always been hateful when it comes to Nina.”

            “Hateful?” I stared at him. “Damien, I never hated Nina. I never understood her obsession with being a luna but I always cared about my sister.”

            “I found a video on her phone. She left it at my place. She told me that if something ever happened to her, I should look at you as the person that most wanted her dead. She claimed that you had been trying to find your father for years and that you wanted to destroy the secret cities exactly like him.”

            I looked at Desmond. “It’s not true! I’ve never had any contact with my father. I don’t even remember his face.”

            Desmond nodded. “I believe you. Damien, I’m still the Alpha. Let her go.”

            Damien chuckled. “No. Because you’re under arrest for conspiring with her.” The other Peace Broker used their staff to shoot magic at Desmond, making him buckle to his knees too. He cried out.

            The Peace Brokers raised their staffs again, pointing them at us. The room spun before me and pain seared through my head so much that I started to scream. My vision blurred in and out. I was screaming. Desmond screamed too. That was all I could focus on.

            The pain and the screaming.

            The room went black.

            I didn’t know how long there was nothing. But when I woke up, I was still in the temple. There was no one around me. I was weak after the Peace Brokers had attacked me. I kept on thinking about them using their staffs on me. I knew that was something they did. Working with magical beings, you had to have magic to keep yourself safe. That was why the witches had created staffs for them.

            I wanted to be a Peace Broker. I wanted to help protect people. But now, they had attacked me.

            I forced myself up.

            A tall, beautiful brunette woman stepped towards me. She had long hair that was in curls, and wore a silver robe like that of the priestesses in the temple. She smiled when she saw me. “Hello, Iris.”

            I stared at her. “Are you…the Wolf Goddess?”

            She nodded. “I’ve been so eager to meet you. It’s been interesting, watching your journey. One of the few humans raised in the secret cities. I’ve been hoping that my children would learn to care for humans.”

            I glared at her. “One of your…children…. attacked me then accused me of trying to destroy the secret cities and working with my father. I didn’t do that. I’ve been too busy trying to figure out who killed my mother and took my sister.”

            “It’s not your father,” the goddess told her, “But there is a traitor in your midst.”

            “You aren’t going to tell me who the traitor is? That would make things easier.”

            The Wolf Goddess shook her head. “No. I’m not going to tell you. It’s up to you to find the truth. But I’ll tell you where to find your father.”

            I frowned. “Why do you want me to find my father? He’s a traitor. He’s not someone that should be trusted.”

            “That’s what you were told. You don’t know anything about him. Find your father. You need to go back to the fae city. Hada. You’ll find him there.”

            “What? Why there?” I said.

            “Your father was a changeling. He was swapped when he was a child. You’re not a human, Iris. You’ve never been human. You’ve always been part fae. He wasn’t trying to destroy the secret cities either. He was trying to find out what was happening to the other changelings like him. They were the ones that were disappearing. That’s what Desmond and your sister found out when they were looking for him the first time around.”

            I stared at her. “Desmond…he…” I frowned. “I thought he was looking into the disappearances of creatures that were being used by my father to make some horrible thing.”

            The Wolf Goddess shook her head. “No. That wasn’t what he was doing at all. He was trying to find out more about where he came from, because you were exhibiting signs of being like them.”

            “I…” I furrowed my brows together. “What kind of signs?”

            “You can turn vampires human. Changeling blood can.”

            My stomach dropped. “I’m…what…. no. That’s….”

            “It’s true. Find your father. Find Kent Westmore. Only you can—”

            Someone was calling my name. “Iris.” It echoed off the walls of the temple. “Iris, please wake up. Don’t you dare fucking die on me. Iris.”

            It was Calix. The temple faded, and I bolted awake with a gasp in a vampire’s arms.