Chapter 3 THE PULL OF TWO WORLDS

CHAPTER 3: THE PULL OF TWO WORLDS

IRIS'S POV

Confusion hangs in the air, thick and heavy like smoke.

The man with the golden eyes is staring at me. He stands just a few feet away, his chest heaving, looking at me as if I am a puzzle he cannot solve. He looks at me as if he has never seen anything like me before in his entire life.

I feel even worse. My brain is in total shambles. My hands are shaking so bad I have to ball them into fists to stop the tremors. I glance down at the body of the cloaked figure lying twisted on the ground.

I did that.

The thought crashes into my mind like a physical blow. I stare at my own hands, terrified. I didn't touch him. I didn't even move toward him. I just... wanted him to stop, and then snap. A fraction of me feels like it’s gone, like I lost control of my own body for a split second.

"What is happening to me?" I whisper, the words barely making it past my dry throat. "What is going on?"

But there is no time to think. The chaos around us is still intense. The war cry I heard earlier hasn't stopped.

BOOM.

A massive rock, thrown by some unseen force, crashes into a tree just a few yards away. Splinters of wood fly through the air like shrapnel. I duck, covering my head with my arms. More cloaked figures are darting through the trees, their violet magic flashing like lightning.

Suddenly, a warm, rough hand grabs my arm.

"Move!"

The golden-eyed man yanks me toward him, dragging me behind a thick cluster of boulders. He pushes me down into a crouch and leans over me, his body acting like a shield.

He is close. Too close.

I can smell him—a mix of rain, pine, and something spicy like cinnamon. My brain is trying to process the fact that I just killed someone and that I am in the middle of what looks like a magical war, but another part of my brain—the stupid, teenage part—is short-circuiting.

He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

His jaw is sharp enough to cut glass. His skin looks warm and smooth. And those eyes... up close, they are mesmerizing. It’s like looking into the sun.

Goodness me, Iris. Are you seriously checking him out right now? People are dying, and you’re thinking about how cute he is? Get a grip!

He grips my shoulders, his fingers digging in slightly. He isn't looking at my lips or my hair; he is scanning my face with pure worry.

"Who are you?" he demands, his voice deep and rough. "How did you do that? That was... that wasn't normal magic."

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. I am completely paralyzed. My lips tremble.

Did he say magic?

What magic?

Did I perform magic?

"You don't belong here," he says, shaking his head. "I can see it in your eyes. You’re terrified. You’re not a soldier. You’re not..." He trails off, sniffing the air near me. "You don't smell like a witch. You don't smell like anything."

"I... I..." I stammer. "I just wanted my necklace."

It sounds so stupid. I’m in a war zone talking about jewelry.

He opens his mouth to say something else, but a shout cuts through the noise.

"Found you, Alpha!"

We both snap our heads toward the sound. Standing on top of a fallen log is another cloaked figure. But this one is different. He is taller, broader. And his eyes...

His eyes are glowing blood-red. They look like open wounds filled with molten magma. He raises a hand, and a ball of black and red energy starts to form in his palm. It crackles with a sound like frying meat.

I scream. "Who the hell is that?"

"Get down!" the Alpha shouts.

He doesn't run. He doesn't fight back yet. Instead, he wraps his massive arms around me and spins us around, putting his back to the attacker. He curls his body over mine, completely shielding me from the blast.

I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the pain. Waiting for the end.

But instead of pain, I feel it again.

The hum.

It starts in my chest, right where the locket is clutched in my hand. It spreads outward like a shockwave.

The air around me begins to contort. The sounds of the battle—the screams, the explosions, the growls—start to warp, sounding like a record player slowing down. Womp... womp... womp...

"No," I gasp. "Not again."

A tingling sensation overwhelms my body. It’s stronger this time. It feels like a giant, invisible hand has grabbed onto the back of my shirt and is yanking me backward.

My eyes feel like they are being pulled out of their sockets. My skin feels tight, like it's being stretched over too much bone. It feels like I am being unzipped.

"Let go of me!" I scream, but I don't know who I'm screaming at. The Alpha? The red-eyed man? The universe?

The Alpha’s arms dissolve into smoke. The forest blurs into streaks of green and brown. The sensation this time isn't just ticklish; it hurts. It feels like my mind is being fractured into a million little pieces.

CRACK.

Silence.

The noise cuts off instantly. No more explosions. No more growls. No more deep, velvety voice.

I hit the ground hard.

"Oof!"

The air is knocked out of me. I’m lying on my back, staring up at a canopy of normal, quiet trees. The light is dimmer here. The air is colder.

I sit up, gasping for breath, my hands clutching the dirt. It’s just dirt. Normal, damp, smelly dirt.

I look around wildly. The monsters are gone. The golden-eyed man is gone.

I am back in the dead zone.

"Iris!"

The scream tears through the quiet woods. It sounds terrified.

I turn my head and see a figure crashing through the bushes. It’s Lyra.

She looks like a wreck. Her hair is messy, her face is pale, and she is panting hard. She spots me sitting on the ground and lets out a sound that is half-sob, half-shout.

"Iris!"

She runs to me and drops to her knees, grabbing my shoulders. Her hands are shaking.

"Oh my god," she cries. "I thought... I thought you were gone. I thought you died!"

I blink at her, my brain still trying to catch up. Did she come into the Dead Zone for me? People never come in here.

"Lyra?" My voice sounds croaky.

"You idiot!" She hits my arm, not hard, but frantic. Tears are streaming down her face. "Why would you do that? Why would you run so deep into the woods? I lost sight of you! You just... vanished!"

She wraps her arms around me, hugging me so tight I can barely breathe. I feel her heart hammering against my chest. It’s beating a million miles an hour.

"I’m so scared, Iris," she sobs into my shoulder. "You can't do that. You can't just run off like that. You’re so stupid!"

I sit there, frozen. I can still feel the phantom warmth of the Alpha’s arms around me. I can still see the red eyes of the attacker.

"Come on," Lyra says, pulling back and wiping her face. She grabs my hand and starts to drag me up. "We need to leave. Right now. This place is creepy. It’s not safe."

My legs feel like lead weights. I stumble, barely able to stand. Lyra is pulling me, but I feel heavy. My brain is stuck on replay.

I killed someone. I saw a wolf turn into a man. Or rather, a man turn into a massive wolf. What happened to me? Where did I go?

"Iris, move your feet!" Lyra shouts, her voice rising in panic. "What is wrong with you? Let's go!"

She looks at me like I’m broken. Like I’m acting crazy.

I stop. I dig my heels into the soft earth and just stop moving.

"Lyra, wait," I whisper.

She stops and turns to look at me, her chest heaving. She cups my face in her trembling hands, her eyes searching mine.

"What? What is it? Are you hurt?" she asks, checking my face for scratches.

I swallow hard. I need to say it. I need to make it real.

"I saw him," I whisper.

Lyra frowns, confusion clouding her teary eyes. "What? Saw who? Did someone hurt you?"

I shake my head slowly. I lift my hand and clutch the broken locket that I risked my life for.

"The man," I say, my voice trembling but sure. "The man from my drawings. The man with the golden eyes. I saw him, Lyra. He’s real."

Lyra stares at me. The worry in her eyes shifts to something else. She steps back slightly

, looking at me with a raised eyebrow, like I have finally, officially lost my mind.

"Iris," she says slowly. "There’s no one here. It’s just us."