The Crimson King

Chapter 41 | (In)capable

Iris's fingers gripped the window frame so hard that the wood beneath her fingers splintered.

Slowly, her feral rage calmed into a simmer. She straightened with a jerk, lips pressed in a tight, thin line. But beneath the composed façade, her silver eyes burned.

Turning decisively, she strode back into the living room.

Without hesitation, she reached out and tore down the velvet curtains. They billowed outwards,  whispering to the ground and pooling around her feet in a yellow heap. She leapt over them, up onto the window seat and opened the window.

The castle grounds loomed far below.

Iris narrowed her eyes. Glancing back into the room, she considered the splintered chair remains that she had thrown- still protruding from the wall.

Bounding across, she yanked one out, and buried it again in the wood of the window seat. She drove it in deep, before tying the end of the curtain around it quickly.

The rest of the curtain was thrown unceremoniously out the window and Iris followed soon after, clutching the fabric with white knuckled fingers.

She did not feel fear as she carefully descended downwards towards the gardens. Only a tight drumming of adrenaline in her chest, that seemed to squeeze viciously with every pulse of her heart.

The curtain did not carry her all the way to the ground and Iris had to manoeuvre sideways to find footing on a piece of tiled rooftop. Her feet skittered across the slight decline as she landed, the tiles a little slippery from the damp night air, but she righted herself quickly and- setting her sights on the city below- began her descent in earnest. 

With a stealth that was telling of her many months of training, Iris managed to pass unseen and unheard, as she swiftly balanced, jumped, and climbed her way down to solid ground. She was cautious of the windows and those who might be watching beyond them, and every now and then she would check the location of the guards Darius had left to watch her. They were all guarding the exits to the different secret passageways that left from the East Wing, although Iris supposed she could hardly call them a 'secret' anymore.

She had concealed herself since she had left her room in the hope that it would provide sufficient cover as she made her escape, but she knew that in order to leave Aether, she would need to employ something much stronger.

Cloaking. She remember the horrible emptiness she had experienced last time and shuddered at the thought. Silver eyes narrowing, she crouched on the edge of the roof and eyed the sloping ground, some six meters or so below. Readying herself, she jumped.

There was barely any sound as she landed, but Iris waited in place just to be sure. Her hands splayed across the ground as she stilled, her whole body on alert for the first sign of approach. There was none. Slowly, she unfolded into standing.

Immediately, she set out at a quick jog towards the boundary fence. In order to pass the guards stationed there, she would have to cloak herself fully- they would be on high alert after the arrival of that solider.

It was ironic that the person she was the most furious at, was the one she recalled now, as she tried to calm her jittery mind enough to go through the motions.

'What makes you a presence in a room, Princess?'

Darius's deep, powerful voice resonated through her memories, asking a question that she still did not know the answer to.

'If you do not know the answer, imagine yourself as me.'

Imagine yourself as me. Perhaps that was why his command for her to remain in the East Wing had been so easy for her to break. But then, now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since Darius's commands had held any true power over her. It wasn't that he was issuing them lightly- Iris could tell that his commands held enough power to bend any other lycan to his will completely.