Chapter 6 THREE HOURS GONE
CHAPTER 6: THREE HOURS GONE
IRIS’S POV
“Nothing,” Lyra replies quickly, shrugging as if she doesn’t want to dwell on the subject any longer. “I just can’t help this sick feeling that something is wrong with you ever since you stepped in there.”
She gestures vaguely toward the dark line of trees behind us—the Dead Zone.
“But it’s fine,” she adds quickly, forcing a small smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Let’s just head home.”
I pause instantly.
“Home?” I repeat, lifting an eyebrow in confusion. “Aren’t we supposed to head back to class?”
Lyra slowly turns her head to look at me.
Her expression is one of complete disbelief, as if I have just asked the most ridiculous question imaginable.
“Well,” she says dryly, folding her arms across her chest, “it appears you’re not aware of the situation on the ground.”
Before I can ask what she means, she pulls her phone out of her pocket.
The screen lights up as she taps it, and she turns it toward me.
“What time do you see there?” she asks calmly.
I glance down.
Then my eyes widen so much it almost hurts.
I instinctively step backward.
“My goodness,” I whisper. “That… that says six p.m.”
The number on the screen stares back at me.
6:00 PM.
I slowly turn around.
Across the road, far in the distance, the tall iron gate of our school stands closed.
Locked.
The wide courtyard that had been full of students just hours ago is now empty. Silent. The windows of the building reflect the fading orange light of the evening sun.
There isn’t a single student in sight.
My chest tightens.
I slowly turn back to Lyra.
She slips her phone back into her pocket with a knowing smile.
“Yes, dear Iris,” she says sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips. “In case you don’t know, I spent literally three hours of my life running through those woods looking for you.”
Her voice rises slightly.
“Three hours.”
She points toward the forest again.
“Searching every stupid corner of that place while you somehow managed to disappear into only God knows where.”
I stare at her.
Three hours?
“That’s why,” she continues, shaking her head in exhaustion, “we missed the last few classes we were supposed to have today.”
She sighs deeply.
“And now we are literally supposed to be at home already.”
Her expression becomes serious.
“So yes,” she says firmly. “Guess what? Your parents are probably worried about you right now.”
She gestures toward herself.
“And so are mine.”
Her tone becomes urgent.
“So we need to leave. Right now.”
But I’m barely listening anymore.
I’m still frozen where I stand as Lyra walks past me.
“Come after me,” she says over her shoulder. “I left our bags near the school gate earlier so they wouldn’t get locked inside.”
She pauses briefly before continuing.
“We can grab them on the way.”
But I’m still not moving.
My eyes are fixed on the ground.
My thoughts are racing in every direction.
Three hours.
The words echo through my head again and again.
Three hours.
I swallow slowly.
If three hours had really passed… I would have noticed, right?
I mean, it’s impossible not to notice three hours passing.
My mind replays the memory of what happened in the forest.
The battle.
The cloaked figures.
The wolf.
Him.
It felt short.
So incredibly short.
Maybe fifteen minutes.
Twenty at most.
Even if I had fainted or dreamed the whole thing, it shouldn’t have lasted that long.
At worst, maybe thirty minutes.
But three hours?
Three whole freaking hours?
My heart beats a little faster.
What the hell is going on?
“Iris! Are you coming or not?”
Lyra’s voice calls from ahead, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I jolt slightly and look up.
She’s standing several feet away now, watching me with impatience.
My mind is still spinning from what she told me.
I don’t even know what to believe anymore.
I shake my head slightly and finally begin walking toward her.
Lyra is holding both of our backpacks when I reach her.
She silently hands mine to me.
“Thanks,” I mumble.
We begin walking down the familiar path that leads away from the school and toward home.
The evening air is cooler now, the sky slowly fading from orange into soft shades of purple and blue.
Lyra is talking beside me.
Or at least I think she is.
Her voice sounds distant.
Muffled.
Like I’m hearing her through water.
Because my mind is somewhere else entirely.
Back in that forest.
Back in that impossible battlefield.
Back with him.
The image of that man flashes across my thoughts again.
Extremely gorgeous.
That’s the first word that comes to mind.
But even that feels like an understatement.
The way he looked at me.
The way he held my arm.
The way his golden eyes locked onto mine as if I mattered somehow.
As if he knew me.
As if he cared.
It sends a strange warmth through my chest.
That same face that has haunted my dreams for months.
The same face I have drawn over and over in my sketchbook without even knowing why.
The same mysterious figure that has been tormenting my thoughts and making me feel like I’m losing my mind.
And now I’ve seen him.
In real life.
Or at least… I think I have.
Then there’s the other problem.
Three hours.
The entire experience felt like fifteen minutes at most.
Maybe twenty.
Certainly not three hours.
So what exactly happened in there?
“Did you hear what I just said?”
Lyra’s voice suddenly cuts through my thoughts.
I flinch slightly and turn to look at her.
“Sorry… what?” I ask.
The moment the words leave my mouth, she stops walking.
Her head slowly tilts backward in disbelief.
Her eyes narrow.
“Seriously?” she says flatly.
“So I’ve just been talking to myself this entire time?”
I blink rapidly.
“No, it’s not like that,” I say quickly, raising my hands defensively.
“I was just… you know… thinking.”
Lyra raises both eyebrows slowly.
“Thinking,” she repeats.
Her expression becomes unimpressed.
“Thinking about your mystery fantasy boyfriend who doesn’t exist?”
The words hit me harder than I expect.
I flinch.
My mouth opens.
But no words come out.
Lyra crosses her arms and glares at me.
“When the hell are you ever going to get out of your head?” she demands.
I bite down on my bottom lip, unsure how to respond.
She shakes her head in frustration and starts walking again.
“Unbelievable,” she mutters.
I remain standing there for a moment, watching her walk away.
My thoughts swirl again.
You know you’re mentally messed up or something.
I exhale quietly.
“I wouldn't stand there like a statue if I were you!” Lyra calls over her shoulder.
Her voice echoes slightly down the path.
“Time is running out!”
She glances back at me briefly.
“And your parents might call any second!”
Her expression sharpens.
“You do not want to get on their bad side for missing curfew.”
That snaps me back into motion.
“Oh—right,” I mutter.
I quickly start walking again, trying to catch up with her.
But even as my feet move forward, my mind drifts back again.
Back to him.
That mysterious man with the molten golden eyes.
A strange warmth spreads slowly in my chest.
Soft.
Gentle.
Like a flower just beginning to bloom.
My brow furrows slightly.
Goodness me…
Am I suddenly crushing on him now?
