Page 102 of The Slayer Seduction

Ember gives me a soft smile. “Iris said you’re tied to this vessel until the true death, and that means for good. If you just die for a little bit, we’ll bring you both back.”

“What the fuck does a little bit mean?” Adam says.

“We will do whatever is necessary,” I agree.

“Ember will help you memorize the spell while I prepare for tonight. As soon as the moon is high, we’ll move forward with the ritual.”

“How exactly do you plan on killing me?” I ask. It isn’t as if I haven’t died many times over, but Adam really wants to know, apparently.

“We’ll put your heart in a stasis, hoping that it’s enough time for you to slip into the void and find Iris,” Violet explains and I realize this is faulty.

“I’ve never once encountered anyone in the void. It was always lonely.”

Violet gives me a sad smile. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but it’s all we got. As badly as we want to storm the mayor’s office and take care of that evil witch, we can’t do that until we know Iris is safe.”

“I will be prepared.”

I sit with Ember, struggling to focus even though she reeks of a dead, stinky vampire, but through the suffering I memorize the spell.

When night falls, I follow the witches into the woods and lie on the buggy ground. They form a circle around me, linking hands as torches blaze around us.

“Well, if we don’t make it out of this. You were an alright vessel,” I tell Adam.

“If I don’t make it, make sure you tell Iris that she was the brightest spot in my life.”

A hushed whisper parts over us with those final words, and I just hope that this works. I said I would do whatever it takes to get Iris back, and I mean it.

Even if it means willingly going into the void, the place I loathe more than anything.

Chapter 45

Iris

It’s hard to tell how much time passes in the void.

But I think I’m losing my mind.

Especially when I hear the Slayer shouting my name. I’m absolutely losing it, my mind conjuring his deep timbre to keep me company in this lonely space. I can’t physically cry, but the pain in my soul is vast.

Why did I spend so much time pushing him away? I should have never let go of his hand in that office and if I had a second chance, I’d never let go of him again.

Either of them.

“Iris, can you hear me?” His words sound like they are underwater and it’s a cruel trick of my mind.

“Stop it,” I hiss to myself.

“Iris!”

I swear the sound is getting closer, but it’s still so far away.

“I have little time. I need you to listen to me.”

So I listen, he just repeats the same phrase repeatedly and I try to remember the words verbatim. Has my coven sent him here? Is he now lost to the void forever?

“Are you stuck in here with me?” I ask after he says the last word for the third time, but he doesn’t reply.

I’m lost in the void again, all alone. I want to hear his voice again so desperately, but there’s nothing. All I can do is go over the words the Slayer said, unsure if he was real or not.