Everything was dark around her. It was cold, and Iris could see nothing but herself. Staring at her hands, she couldn't understand what was happening or where she was. Iris remembered dying inside the cauldron as the High Queen attempted to change her.
Did this mean that she was now in the afterlife? What was she to do then?
She no longer felt any pain, fear or guilt. What was left was the steady beat of her heart in her chest, growing louder with each passing second. But wait, if she was already dead, why could she still hear her heartbeat? It didn't make sense to Iris.
Everything hit her at once, like a rock being pounded on her head. And it hurt so much. Iris cradled her head as she recalled the memory of seeing the dead bodies of her mother, sister, and Luca hanging at the town's square for everyone to see and her brother's limp and beaten body as she rescued him from the local church's prison.
