The Crimson King

Chapter 42 | Eros

Gonna go curl up in a hole and die.
AN at the bottom.
Don't shoot me.

Trigger Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence. Emotional trauma. Gore. I will tag it in the chapter so you can skip if you wish. It does get a bit ... intense. Let me know if I need to change my ratings.

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Chapter 42 | Eros

*

"All my grief says the same thing.
This isn't how it's supposed to be.
This isn't how it's supposed to be.
And the world laughs,
holds my hope by the throat,
says:
but this is how it is."

-Fortesa Latifi

*

IRIS

"Finally, the brave little Princess has come out of hiding."

Iris hissed in surprise, the sharp breath catching between her teeth. Her skin prickled as she felt the hidden gaze intensify.

"Who are you?" She spat. "Show yourself." 

"Rude," the voice drawled, "didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

The figure surged forwards, detaching from the darkness completely.

A boy stood, halfway down the stairs. With ebony hair that curled lovingly around his ears, and eyes of black satin, the boys fair skin was luminescent in contrast. He seemed of similar age to Iris, yet there was something ethereal about his cold, calculated beauty, that made her think he was not.

His upper lip curled lightly as he appraised her. "Oh, silly of me," he sneered, "you didn't have a mother, did you?"

Iris swallowed, feeling a chill run down her spine. "How do you know that?" Did this person know her? Had she met them before? She desperately searched through her memories but came up ... blank.

The boy did not see fit to reply however, instead tutting in disappointment. "There isn't much of you, is there?" He observed with distain. "Oh well. We can't all be perfect. That wouldn't be any fun."

Remaining composed, Iris forced herself to ignore his taunting. Her initial shock at actually discovering someone in her house was fading, and her response training was kicking in.

Who was this person? What was this person?

She scented the air around him subtly, but the familiar smell of lycan eluded her. Not lycan ... but he didn't seem to be a shifter either. And yet there was a distinct earthy scent to him, that Iris had come to associate with her kind.

The boy realised what she was doing, and threw back his head, laughing loudly- much to her chagrin.

"Are you scenting me?" He asked incredulously. "Vesryn," he called over his shoulder, his voice tinged with mirth, "Vesryn, can you believe it? She actually scented me! Isn't that hilarious? How perfectly bestial." His gaze swung back to Iris, and he grinned widely in anticipation. Two small tiger teeth peeked out from below his lips. "And?" He urged, "go on, tell me! What did you find?"

Iris scowled at him, instead looking towards the door- where he had spoken to. She thought she saw a shift in the shadows. Was there two of them?

"It would be a miscalculation to look away from me."