Chapter 28: Something Sinister This Way Comes
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The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the temple ruins. The sky was coloured gold and rose, the kind of light that made even broken things look beautiful. Xander walked slowly, boots crunching over loose stone. His body still ached, but it was the kind of ache that reminded him he was miraculously still alive.
’I sure hope I’ve got plot armor in this world.’ He thought to himself.
Then he saw her.
Iris sat on the temple steps, a book open in her lap, her legs tucked beneath her. Her brown skin glowed in the sunlight—warm, radiant, like polished bronze kissed by fire itself. The wind played with the edges of her hair, and when she looked up, her green eyes caught the light like glass catching flame.
They stared at each other for a long moment and Xander’s heart did something weird in his chest.
’Do I hug her? Say I missed her? Gods, what do I even—’
"Hey," he said, voice a little rough. "How’re you feeling?"
Iris blinked, then smiled a little. "Like I got hit by a lightning bolt and then run over by a bus."
Xander huffed a laugh. "Yeah. That makes two of us."
She closed her book and set it aside, staring at her hand. "I’m okay, though. Just... surprised. I didn’t know I could do that. Magic," she said. "Aura. Whatever that was. It just... happened."
Xander nodded slowly, stepping closer. "We’ve been out for two days."