Bound together

Iris halted her steps when she saw the sword vanish in front of her eyes, making her turn to look where it went. She saw Ian make his way toward her, and soon, the sword appeared again at his feet, making Iris frown at the scene unfolding in front of her.

There was no doubt in her mind now that the bond between Ian and the sword was strong enough, and her hopes to separate the two crumbled into tiny pieces of dust.

Ian frowned " That can't be good!" she commented while looking at the sword at his feet.

" No, not good at all! We have to give it back to the Hollow! We have no means of destroying it, and the only thing I can think of right now is to return it to where it came from!" she reasoned, puffing her cheek in frustration.

' What do we do until then!" Athan butted it and approached them with the case that previously contained the sword.

Iris fell deep in thought for a few moments " We could contain it, but it won't be for too long!" she gave the solution to their problem as she looked at the blade, knowing it was temporary.

" How do we do that?" Athan asked while bending down and picking up the sword and placing it in its case.

" I can use the same spell I used on you, and if that doesn't work, we can create a shield around the case to contain it!" Iris voiced her thoughts without overthinking it, everyone was suffering directly or indirectly because of her, and now she had had enough of it.

Ian nodded " Sounds like a good plan! We won't until we try!" he stated while Athan glared at him since he used those exact words before he tried to kill Azra.

Iris opened the case, pulled out the dagger from her dress pocket, and sliced her hand, letting the blood drip on the blade and the box. She closed her eyes and whispered the spell to bind the sword to the case, hoping it would work on objects as well since she had only tried it on people and the magic was ancient.

They were far more advanced. When it came to using magic, spells were redundant to them. All they had to do was to focus on what the element they summoned was to do.

When Iris was done, she closed the case and walked in the direction of the armoury, but she was quickly stopped by Ian " It's back!" he casually commented while looking at the sword that glowed at his feet.

Iris was now feeling a little exasperated with the object since it was giving her headaches at this point " Ughh! Damn thing!" she cursed the sword while stopping next to Ian and repeating the process, only this time she went on and placed a shield around it, hoping that it would be strong enough.

Iris picked up the case again and walked in the same direction with unhurried steps, waiting for Ian to stop her at any moment, just like before.

She was almost at the doors when silence reigned in the air, making her smile victoriously. She pushed the double doors open and dropped the case on the table.

" It won't last for very long! We should make preparations for the journey ahead!" she said while wrapping a piece of cloth that Athan gave her around her hand to stop the bleeding.

" If you want to do this, we have to be smart about this and make a few contingency plans just in case we find ourselves in a sticky situation!" Ian shared his thoughts on the matter while Iris nodded and smiled. She wasn't in the mood to argue with Ian about it, and he was right; they should make a few contingency plans.

" When are you leaving?" Athan worriedly asked while looking between the two. Iris and Ian looked at each other and smiled.

" We are all going; no one stays behind! I'm sorry, Athan, but we have no choice, the castle isn't safe anymore, and the witch knows how to get it the forest!" she reminded him of the reality and what risks awaited them if any of them decided to stay behind.

" I'm aware of that!" he murmured in a pensive tone; he didn't want to leave and fight a crazy witch and possibly die. He internally rolled his eyes. He had spent most of his life bound to a cave, and now that he was free, he was about to serve himself on a silver platter willingly.

Iris smiled and nodded " Let everyone know! I'm aware that Maya hasn't recovered, but she will be soon, and it will give us time to get everything ready!" she laid out the plan with confidence and determination, just like everyone else, she wanted to put an end to all of the madness.

Ian took her hand in his and walked back into their chamber, but he quickly wished that he shouldn't done that, looking at the mess in the room.

He calmly started collecting all the things on the floor and putting them back in their place, and Iris did the same as Ian until the room was back to its original state.

The only thing left to do was the broken glass on the floor " What about the glass?" Ian asked while pointing at it; Iris puffed her cheeks again " Magic is useful sometimes, but it brings more trouble than an infested rat!" she complained while trying to think of a way to fix the glass.

A knock on the door interrupted their little session " Come in!" Iris beckoned absently, still staring at the glass on the floor. It was her greatest enemy.

" Your Highness!" Maya greeted Iris while Ian rolled his eyes internally. He thought that he was done with that nonsense.

" No need for that, Maya! How are you feeling?" Iris asked while making her way to where she stood with Dak supporting her.

Maya gathered enough strength to smile " Uhm, I will be alright. Wounds heal over time!" she replied in a faint voice while glancing at Dak.

" Is there anything you need? Have you eaten?" she shot the questions, worried like a mother hen; she had observed Maya, and she was such an innocent and genuine soul; what the witch did to her felt even more atrocious in her eyes.

" I was wondering if I could speak with you about Rom!" she cautiously said while she took a seat in the chair offered by Dak.

Iris smiled; she felt that Maya had been caught in the middle, and now she couldn't say no. Rom wasn't a saint, and she wasn't either, but the way he did things made her wonder how could she trust the man at this point.