Iris. Not safe. Wake up. Iris.

"Go away," she mumbled in her sleep, rolling over as if that was enough to make the whispers stop.

Shh. Don't listen to them. You're safe here, Iris.

The voice emerged from among the whispers, just another one of them, saying different words. A gentle hand caressed her cheek, and she nuzzled into its comforting warmth.

"Char..."

He's safe. You're not. Wake up, Iris.

"I'm trying to sleep..."

Then sleep, Iris. Sweet little Iris.

Fingers combed through her hair, their motion rhythmic and soothing.

"Mm..."

Iris, take the amulet. You're not safe. Hold the amulet!

"I don't want it..."

This?

The chain tensed slightly around her neck as the amulet was picked up.

Iris! Iris, wake up!

"Leave me alone," she moaned, burying her face in the pillow.

You are alone, Iris.

Warm breath tickled her ear, followed by a deep chuckle.

Alone and isolated. Just the way I want you.

"Mm..." She furrowed her brow, the low threat working its way through her subconscious, where the whispers were screaming at her.

Iris! Wake up! Iris!

Sleep, Iris.

That voice was softer, and somehow stronger. It overwhelmed the whispers and drove them out of her mind.

Sleep.

A hand pressed the amulet to her chest, leaving it there to caress her cheek again.

Sweet little Iris.

There were no more whispers, no more voices, just a deep darkness.

Morning came. Bright light flooded the room as the fairies tied the bed curtains back, opened the window drapes, and lit the wall sconces. Iris groaned and sat up, holding her head. It was pounding so hard she could barely see. The fairies were tugging at her sleeve, pulling her over to the dressing screen, and the motion made her stomach flip. She made it just in time to vomit into the chamberpot. The smell made her retch again, dry heaving until her stomach hurt and her throat burned. She sat back on her heels, holding her stomach and rocking back and forth. Cool, damp cloth brushed her lips clean and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"What's going on?" she whimpered.

The knock at the door felt like a stab to her brain. She crumpled to the floor, holding her hands over her ears. The latch clicked.

"Iris? Iris!"

Jonah's frantic voice echoed in her head. His hands were on her arms, pulling her to her feet. She leaned against him as he led her back to the bed.

"Iris, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"I don't know," she whispered.

He was stroking her hair, holding her against his shoulder, and the feeling triggered something. Foggy memories from the night before began to float to the surface, and she stiffened.

"He was here," she gasped.

"Who was here, Iris?"

"The mage. The king's mage."

"That's impossible, Iris."

"No!" she said, looking up at Jonah in a panic. His pale blue eyes were worried, his brow furrowed. "He was here. Last night. He was sitting right here, and talking to me, and...and touching me," she finished, her voice trailing off and her gaze dropping to her lap. The thought made her skin crawl. The way he mimicked Char's gentle caresses, the way he stroked her hair - he could have done anything to her. Anything. And she was powerless to stop him.

"But the barrier is still intact," Jonah said reassuringly. "It was a nightmare, Iris."

"No," she said, shaking her head. The motion made the world spin, and she squeezed her eyes shut and clutched at her head.

"Iris," Jonah said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "It's okay. It's over. I'll double-check and triple-check everything. If he was here, I'll find out, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered.

"Maybe you should go back to bed. Get some more rest."

"No!" she said, looking up at him anxiously. "Don't leave me here. Don't leave me alone!"

He sighed. "Okay. Come with me." He stood up, pulling her gently to her feet. She wobbled and leaned heavily against him. "Iris, you can barely stand."

"I'll manage," she whispered.

He sighed again and scooped her up. "It's okay, Iris. I'll just carry you."

She closed her eyes, too weak to even wrap her arms around his neck for stability. He didn't say anything as he carried her out onto the landing and up the spiral staircase. Another latch clicked, and he was setting her down. She clutched at the cold surface beneath her, afraid to move for fear her churning stomach would leap into her throat again.

"Here," Jonah said. "Drink this. It will help."

Cool glass touched her lips. She tilted her head back with Jonah's gentle coaxing, a cool, refreshing liquid flowing down her throat and immediately soothing her stomach. The glass pulled away, and Jonah's fingers combed through her hair.

"Sweet little Iris."

Her heart froze in her chest. That wasn't Jonah's voice. She looked up in terror as Jonah stretched and changed before her eyes, gaining a few inches in height, shrinking a few inches across the shoulders, facial shape restructuring to match the frigid blue eyes that haunted her nightmares. The last to change was his hair, platinum blonde darkening to a dirty blonde.

"You made it so easy, Iris," he said, his hand moving to caress her cheek. She couldn't speak, couldn't move. "This goes better with the subject's permission and trust." He leaned in closer to her face. "And you gave me both."

He shoved her back, and she realized she was on a stone table, unable to defend herself as he moved her into place and strapped her neck, waist, wrists, and ankles down. She struggled to hear the whispers from the amulet, but they were slurred and distant. She was alone. Alone and isolated. A tear slid down her cheek. The mage saw it and wiped it away with deceptive tenderness, leaning in to speak into her ear.

"I killed Jonah right here," he whispered, his breath hot against her cold skin. "His power was paltry, but I want it all, Iris. And when he told me about you - about your amulet-" He picked up the stone, purposely dragging his fingers across her chest to do so. "Even a weakling like him had his value, didn't he?"

He chuckled and dropped the amulet again. "You will survive this, Iris," he said, walking out of her view. "There is far too much power within that amulet to be extracted in one session. It will be painful, but I assure you, it is much more painful if you resist. Keep that in mind for the future."

He came back into her view again, holding a glass bottle with a fairy trapped inside, frantically darting around the glass to find an exit. "And, of course, don't forget about your new little friends. They're my prisoners, too. As long as you behave, they are free to dote on you to their little hearts' content, helping you recover from these...moments we'll share." He ran his fingers lightly across her arm, his eyes dead and cold, his smirk bone-chilling. "But, if you try anything foolish..." A spark of blue shot from his finger into the glass jar, chasing the panicked fairy around and around.

"No," Iris managed to choke out. "Please-"

The blue struck the fairy, and it dropped to the bottom of the jar, a blackened crisp. A sob tore free from Iris' constricted throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face, and his hand came to caress her cheek again.

"I think we understand each other," he murmured into her ear. He dragged his fingers down her neck to her chest, lifting the weight of the amulet from her. "Shall we begin?"

Her heart was suddenly on fire. Intense darkness gripped her mind, blacker than black, yanking her down into the abyss and closer to the flames. They tore through her veins, burning her from the inside out, and she was screaming, writhing in pain. It wouldn't stop. Out from her heart, back to her heart, across her skin, it was consuming her. The whispers came back, distant and faint, and she struggled to reach them, struggled to hear them, but the flames pulled her back into their tortuous embrace. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. There was nothing in the world anymore, nothing except pain.

Iris! Iris! Iris!

She heard her name through the roaring flames, urging her to keep fighting, to keep reaching, and she finally found them. They wrapped her in their cool embrace, pulling her up and away. She stared down at herself, writhing and screaming on the stone table as the mage stood motionless above her, the amulet glowing red between his fingers. Red. His magic was blue; hers was white. Why red?

Come, Iris.

The whispers beckoned her away, and she followed them up out of the tower, looking down at the strange wintry landscape in the middle of summer. This, too, was wrong. The sky should be blue, not gray. There should be flowers in bloom, not blankets of white.

It's time, Iris. Time for the crystal to go home.

How? she asked. How do I do that?

The whispers fell strangely silent, although she still felt the comfort of their embrace. They held her up there in the sky, away from the gruesome scene down in the tower. She looked out to the west, where Char disappeared yesterday. He didn't know. He thought he was helping her, but he handed her to the king's mage. And he said he would come back to visit...

It's over, Iris.

The whispers led her back into the tower, back to her body. She was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, and every inch of her was in pain. The mage dropped the amulet on her chest and patted her cheek.

"One hour. You are a strong little thing. Jonah didn't last thirty minutes."

He loosed the straps and lifted her into his arms. She was fading in and out of consciousness, her cheek falling sideways to his chest. He chuckled and carried her out of the room.

"Stay with me, Iris, just a little longer," he said in a casual, conversational tone. "I'm afraid I have to leave you to return to the war. The fairies will take good care of you, of course, and I'm sure you'll be careful to keep your pretty little mouth shut if your friend Char comes to visit, won't you?"

She was struggling to hold on, struggling to follow his words. He wasn't going to stop Char from visiting. This was why he warned her about the fairies. She was supposed to pretend everything was alright. If she didn't, he would kill them. He would probably kill Char, too.

"It's almost a shame," the mage mused, laying her in her bed. "Your appeal extends beyond your magical ability." The bed shifted as he sat next to her, caressing her cheek. "If you survive this, I may have to investigate that aspect of you." He leaned in and kissed her lips with that same deceptive gentility that he used when he touched her. "Hm. Interesting." He patted her cheek again and stood up, snapping his fingers. "I want her in good condition when I return," he ordered, his voice hard and cold. His booted footsteps crossed the floor, the latch closed behind him, and Iris finally let go as trembling bits of warmth surrounded her.