In between learning more about Narcissa and creating invitations for all of Avalon, Jesse thought he was doing a good job at sticking to his word. Since the kiss he shared with Iris, Jesse has been relatively focused on ensuring the majority of his attention went to Iris.

Because well if she was going to be his plus-one, then Jesse truly had no choice but to hype up the obvious fact. Jesse was going with Iris, and that was it. Finishing up the last of the invitations, Jesse gathered all of the guests in one separate pail, before seeing the sole invitation with hearts bedazzled throughout the entire envelope.

At first, he thought it was for Iris and made sure to double-check. Yet, after picking the envelope up, he realized he had addressed this invitation to Aliya, not his presumed plus-one. At first, Jesse was genuinely confused as to why he made this mistake. After all, Jesse hasn't invited Aliya to any of his birthday bashes in six years. Then, Jesse remembered almost a moment later, and found himself sighting.

Jesse made Aliya's invitation a top priority on his list the moment his feelings for her came back. He even thought about enhancing her card with a special butterfly effect that would have her name written inside a heart. A fond smile surfaced as Jesse shook his head.

"No, no, no," Jesse began, mumbling to himself. "I am not falling in love with my old best friend," he strictly told himself. "She's not the one, she's not the one," he recited, closing his eyes as if getting Aliya out of his head would magically make his feelings towards her go away.

In spite of his efforts though, her name grew louder in his head, drowning out his so-called claims that he had loved Iris. As he made the effort to tear up the invitation, Jesse froze just before he could fully commit. Groaning miserably once more, Jesse retreated to his bed with Aliya's invitation in his possession.

"Aliya is no one important to me. I don't even love her. I'll prove it by getting rid of this invitation tomorrow before anyone even notices," Jesse whispered to himself, but as he clutched onto the envelope warmly, the boy knew he was lying to himself, because deep down....

He knew Aliya meant the world to him.

———————

"Aww, Jessibear! I can't believe it's been six years and this is the first time I'm entering your home!" Iris loudly exclaimed, exaggerating her gasps. "Your home is so modest, though your home is in dire need of decorations and maybe, some serious remodeling," she mumbled in disgust, wrinkling at the sight of a image of young Jesse and his family alongside the Fae-maid and her equally weird, freaky family.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Jesse managed to maintain a smile. "Heh, I wonder why," he quietly mumbled, his smile noticeably larger and more forced. He had wanted to try to show Iris his true self in hopes that maybe, Jesse would be able to connect to Iris in a way he could connect to.... Her.

Soon afterwards, Jesse began giving Iris a tour of his house and made himself refrain from pushing her advances away. It was clear that Iris did love him, so why couldn't he just return her affections? Why couldn't he just bring himself to love Iris?

"What's in that room?" Iris curiously asked as Jesse glanced at the locked door in the distance. "That is... That's um..." he strangely fumbled, internally debating if he truly wanted Iris to know his true self. So far he tried being honest with Castor and that had terribly backfire on his part.

Would the same thing happen to him with Iris? Would she scoff and attack him just like Castor did? Or, would Iris reveal a side that he never knew? Maybe... Maybe, Iris would be supportive just like Aliya, and that thought made him smile.

"It's better just to show you," he insisted, grinning softly as he unlocked the door by typing a series of ancient letters that he and Aliya came up with as kids, deeming it as their "special code." As the door opened, Jesse found himself wondering why he never changed the code, or really why he even remembered the code in the first place.

"Ta-da!"

Swinging the door open, Iris had expected to see a room solely dedicated to her but instead, she found the area littered with human artifacts!

If he was some mere commoner, Iris would have slapped the boy and leave him right then and there. Unfortunately, Jesse wasn't some commoner. He was a rags-to-riches type of Avalonian, blessed with love powers and handsome looks. Iris found him extremely attractive, so when her father mentioned wanting Jesse as part of his plans for phase one, Iris didn't hesitate.

In fact, she had basically dreamed of the day she could rub it in Aliya's smug face that Jesse was hers and on their side. However, if she would have known Jesse was some kind of human-loving freak— Iris paused, trying to think rationally.

She was close to abandoning her father's plans, but Iris needed to ensure her father that she could get Jesse on-board and brag in Aliya's face that she was his girlfriend, but nothing was going to come true if she ran away from him now. Thinking about to the time she stumbled upon Jesse and Aliya coming from the human realm as changelings, Iris decided to play dumb and take that route.

"Oh, babe, did she put you up to this?" Iris sweetly questioned, a soft laugh escaping from her lips. "Is that Fae-maid truly poor to the point where she had no choice, but to use your space for her own freak-show?" she followed up as Jesse shook his head at once.

"What? No. Me and Aliya worked on this collection when we were changelings," Jesse explained. "My parents weren't usually around, so I suggested that we use the unused room as a museum of sorts for our stuff. It would be our personal escape," he softly added, as Iris blinked before laughing.

"No way! Are you serious?" Iris asked, now laughing harder. "What escape could you possibly want, love? Your life is so perfect, why would you want to throw everything you got away?" she followed up, now substituting her laughter for criticizing him on his decision.

At once, the sound of glass internally shattered as Jesse could silently hear his heart breaking. First, it was Castor and now it was Iris. He couldn't rely on Castor, but he was foolish enough to believe Iris would care about his true self. How could he possibly set himself up for failure twice?

Upon seeing Jesse glance away, Iris frowned as she approached him before tenderly placing her hand on his right cheek. "Babe, you don't need these pathetic things or that freak. I can make you complete," she assured him, passionately wrapping her arms around Jesse.

"Then, you wouldn't need to worry about escaping. We can be happy, you and me," she continued, lowering her voice with each other. "Happy?" Jesse asked, suddenly feeling weightless.

"Yes, Jesse. Just you and me. Forever and ever. No one would hurt you. No one would stand in our way. Together, we would be free," Iris continued, keeping her tone low and sweet. Most of all though, Iris made sure him to assure Jesse that his worries would wash away with her around.

"Free?"

"Yes."

At this point, Iris could see the boy slightly swaying as Iris gently steadied him. "All you have to do is say yes to my every command," she whispered, her eyes and her Avalonian necklace, now illuminating a darker shade of red.

"Okay?"

"Okay," Jesse numbly answered, his eyes slowly turning red as Iris grinned, knowing she was placing herself at risk for using her other set of powers, but she didn't care. Iris had played by her father's rules long enough. Now, it was time to play the game her way.

"How can I serve you, my love?"

"First, claim me as your girlfriend and forget all about that freak, Aliya. She is the enemy and will always remain to be our enemy," she continued, ensuring her words were slow and steady, but Iris made the mistake of allowing her anger to take center stage.

She could see Jesse slowly disconnecting himself from her spell and not long after, he broke free and stared at her. In a panic, Jesse ran as Iris glanced up at the ceiling and face-palmed herself. "Sirens never use their emotions, it's their victim's emotions that are played on," she mumbled, groaning afterwards. "Great. Now, Dad is going to kill me," Iris groaned once more before her eyes lit up.

"Not if I get to him first."

————————

Jesse knew he would have a higher chance at taking to the skies, but he was so shaken that he didn't care about the stares. Once again, he wasn't focused on his surroundings, only realizing too late when he nearly collided into Aliya's path. Luckily, she was aware of her surroundings and caught him from falling onto his face.

"Okay, we really need to quit meeting like this," Aliya teasingly joked, before her face fell from Jesse's shaken state. "Hey, what happened?" she concernedly asked, her eyes widened the moment she saw Jesse swaying.

"Jesse?"

The boy tried to speak, but as the ground spun around him, Jesse could only manage a step before Aliya caught him in time.

"Jesse!"

Holding the boy in her arms, Aliya slapped him several times. "Come on, man, this isn't funny!" she exclaimed, slapping him harder. "Wake up!" she exclaimed in a panicky state. As she tried waking him up, her thoughts ran to the time something like this had happened, and her heart only sped faster as her fears settled in.

"No, no, no," she mumbled, now shaking Jesse. "Come on, come on," she pleaded, fearing what would follow until her eyes lingered on his Avalonian necklace. Instead of the rose gold gemstone she was so commonly used to seeing, his gem now had a tint of light red, slowly consuming his original color. 

"Red?" she mumbled, holding the gem closer. "Who would—" she continued, only to stop as she heard footsteps running. She didn't need to look up to know how was approaching her at this point. But as she stood up and held Jesse close, Aliya glanced up anyways.

"Oh, Aliya! You found him! Is he okay?"

"Iris, what happened? He just came and—" Aliya sharply cut herself off, sensing a dark aura to Iris. "You never call me by my name," she said, now protectively holding onto Jesse. At once, Iris nervously chucked, a sure sign she was hiding something.

"Aliya—"

"What happened, Iris? What did you do to him?" Aliya asked at once, her tone cold as the wind blowing in the air. She couldn't shake the feeling that Iris was connected to Jesse's current state. But how?

"Me?" Iris asked, her hair suddenly glowing towards a darker shade of red. "What did you do to him? I was just trying to find my boyfriend and the next I know, he's lying unconscious next to you!" Iris angrily snapped at her. "If you hadn't been around, he would have came to me much more willingly!" she continued, as Aliya blinked.

"Willingly? What are you—" Aliya followed up as Iris growled. "What I do is none of your business, you Fae-maid freak!" she exclaimed, losing her temper before sighing.

"Look, just hand Jesse over to me and I'll ensure no one messes with you again," Iris calmly requested, though Aliya noticed her tone was now dangerously sweeter than usual.

Not liking where this was going, Aliya began walking away slowly, but Iris reappeared from behind her, much to Aliya's genuine shock. Up till now, Iris didn't possess that kind of power to make herself reappear.

"You could have power, respect and it just comes down to this one simple command," Iris whispered, keeping her voice slow and steady. "Wait, how do you..." Aliya asked, directly making eye contact with Iris when she paused, noticing that the girl's eyes were now turning into a darker shade of red.

Then upon, glancing at the girl's necklace, she noticed that the gem which was originally sliver, now held a darker shade of red. Just before Jesse fainted, his eyes were just a tad bit red too. The girl's sudden switch to whispers.... Dark whispers of one's desires.....

Faeries shouldn't be able to know someone's inner desires and whisper in their ears about commands.... But somehow, Aliya knew this gift... this ability came naturally to Iris. Suddenly, this was no longer a coincidence.

"You're a siren," Aliya knowingly spoke, her eyes now locked on Iris, whose eyes grew wide. "I had enough of this. Give him up now!" she exclaimed, but in a bold moment, Aliya punched Iris in her brief moment of clarity. Wincing at the pain, but noticing the red, liquid blood on her knuckles and glancing back at Iris, she actually wanted to savor this moment.

However as she stared at Jesse's unconscious state, Aliya didn't know how long he had or even if he would wake up. So, she ignored Iris and took off, carrying Jesse with her.

"Oh, you fool," Iris angrily mumbled, wiping the blood from her nose. "If that's the way, you want to play, then two can strike," she darkly stated, touching her necklace as her eyes glowed a hauntingly shade of red.

If Aliya wanted a fight, she would give one to her.

————————

"Come on, Aliya, think. Who do you know that is really good at breaking a siren's trance on someone?" she asked herself, trying to keep at a steady pace while trying not to let Jesse fall.

Knowing she couldn't rely on her running skills alone, Aliya tried to use her wings to fly, but nothing happened. "Ugh! It would be my luck that my wings are just for show," Aliya annoyingly mumbled to herself.

She couldn't fly, she had no gifts, she had no talent, what was Aliya even useful for? In this moment, she couldn't do anything for her best friend. She refused to self-wallow in her pity though, returning her focus back on Jesse.

With no names coming to mind, Aliya could only keep going and hope for the best that she would find help along the way. After making her way inside the inner forest, Aliya tried to keep going, but her knees collapsed and Jesse along with her. Everything inside her ached, but Aliya forced herself to get up. However when she went to pick up Jesse once more, the boy began stirring.

"Aliya...."

Turning her head for a brief moment, Aliya only heard the trees blowing, but she could have sworn the voice belonged to Iris. She had failed to see Jesse standing up at the moment.

"If it's a fight you seek, a fight you'll get."

"Iris, what are you planning?" Aliya quietly asked, before glancing at the shadow behind her. Turning around in a slight second, she blocked off the attack, before realizing that it was Jesse who was attacking her! As she made eye contact with him, his dark red eyes only solidified the fact that this wasn't the work of Cain. For once, she was relieved, but now she had bigger issues.

She could block all day with no problem, but consistently striking back was the harder part. With each move Aliya had, Jesse could stand his ground surprisingly well, which she would have complimented if he wasn't trying to kill her at the moment!

Dodging his latest attack, Aliya thought about pinning Jesse to the ground, just to give her some time to think, but a backlash caught her off-guard, forcing Aliya onto the ground. As she tried standing up, Jesse pushed her back directly to one of the trees, before taking one of her knives.

Biting her lips to avoid making a sound, Aliya tried to stand once more, but Jesse was faster and this time, he stabbed the girl near her rib cage, before taking the knife out of her body and knocking her directly back down. As Aliya coughed, Iris reappeared, a cruel smile now forming.

"You enjoying the fight?"

"You can't keep him like this, you know," Aliya stated, before staring at the light sliver blood now pouring out of her. What were the odds that the one knife Jesse grabbed from her bag just had to be iron?

"Actually, I can do whatever I want with him," Iris persisted, laughing as she witnessed Aliya holding onto the tree for support. "You're so pathetic! You can't even last long enough in a fight," Iris boldly mocked as Aliya growled, preparing to lunge towards the girl, before Jesse held Aliya at her throat.

"You see, Aliya? Jesse obeys me and me only," Iris proudly stated, smugly grinning as she witnessed Aliya struggling to breathe. She would end Aliya right here and have Jesse to herself. "You never stood a chance," Iris continued, feeling cocky as she was truly winning.

In that moment, Iris felt a sharp cut on her leg and gasped as she found herself bleeding a dark blue-ish color. Glancing towards Aliya, the girl smugly smirked before using her strength to loosen Jesse's grip on her throat. Falling to the ground, Aliya sorely rubbed her throat before seeing Jesse come in her direction.

But this time, she was ready.

Anticipating his move, Aliya stood up and swiftly dodged his attack before blocking once more and pulling him directly to her. As Jesse attempted to choke the girl once more, his grip on her loosened as Aliya leaned towards him, closed her eyes and locked her lips with him.

"No!"

Lightly pushing Jesse away from her, Aliya opened her eyes and found Iris was nowhere in sight. At least, for now....

————————

"Ugh..."

Opening his eyes, Jesse held his head, trying to stand when he felt someone hugging him. Glancing over, Jesse saw Aliya's smile grow brighter as she hugged him. "You're okay!" she happily cried, much to his confusion. Not wanting to let her go though, Jesse accepted her embrace.

But when he saw a bruise on her neck, Jesse stopped the moment. "What happened to your neck?" Jesse concernedly asked her, as Aliya touched her neck before waving the issue off. "Oh, this? It's nothing. I was roughhousing a bear," she answered, as Jesse saw through the lie almost instantly.

"Aliya...."

"How's your head?" Aliya asked, interrupting him. "Fine, I guess. It still hurts though," he answered. "You should go check that out," she suggested as Jesse frowned. "Aliya, what happened? How did I even get here?" he asked her as Jesse was surprised to heard a weak chuckle out of her.

"That's a long story."

Jesse was about to ask "why" when he saw Aliya holding her head and swaying. "Aliya!" he exclaimed, momentarily rushing to her side, noting the way she kept distance behind them. "I'm fine," she assured him. "I just lost my balance," she feigned, covering her stab wound before he could notice.

"You were under a trance by Iris," Aliya explained as Jesse shook his head. "She doesn't have those kind of powers though!" Jesse protested as she chuckled. "She's a siren, Jesse, or at least half-siren. Whatever one she is, Iris hid her powers from all of us and must have only used them on you now," she reasoned as Jesse blinked.

"How do you know this?"

"Iris whispered in my ear, telling me she could give me power and respect if I followed her command," Aliya explained, though Jesse was unaware that she was biting onto her tongue as the pain of her stab wound intensified. She needed Jesse to leave soon, before Aliya fainted.

"Iris starts whispering into her victim's ear and tries to get them to obey her by using their desires against them. Iris tried to get me the same way she got me, only...." she trailed off, feeling the wave of unconsciousness overcome her as she fought through the pain.

"Only...?"

"Only, she didn't get me," Aliya finished, trying to stand on her own to no avail. "I don't know how, but nothing happen. She was using her powers on me, but I didn't feel a thing," she reasoned, before he asked. "Now, you really should go and keep your eyes out for her," she warned him as Jesse shook his head.

"I'm not leaving until I know you're fine."

"I am fine, now go," Aliya urged him, releasing her grip on Jesse before nearly falling face-forward. Luckily, Jesse was there to catch her, holding her as the girl glared at him. "You were saying?" Jesse lightly teased, knowing he was breaking his own rules, but he didn't care.

At least, not in the moment.

After noticing her moment of silence, Jesse glanced down. "Aliya?" he softly asked, nudging her. "I'm fine," she managed to say, her voice barely a whisper. Jesse frowned at this, vowing to uncover the truth once he returned her home. For now though, she needed help and knew at least one of her parents was a healer.

As Aliya faded in and out of consciousness, Jesse increased his flight speed, knowing he ran a higher risk of burning his wings for going too fast, but that was the least of his worries. Arriving at her house, Jesse gently nudged the girl, who could barely keep her eyes open at this point.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to help me," she weakly teased, trying to laugh but a wince came out instead. "You should know by now, I'm always going to help you," Jesse firmly insisted as he saw Aliya give a tiny smile.

"I'm glad we're friends again," Aliya softly said as Jesse's heart ached at the word, but he pretended not to notice. "Me too," he answered, his heart beating loudly in his chest as he began walking Aliya to the door.

"Hey, listen. When you're better, we need to talk," he softly told her. "There's something I need to tell you," he added as she weakly nodded. "I should let you know before Saturday where to meet, but if not, then meet me at our bump-in spot on Friday at noon," he continued, his heart pounding with each word.

Jesse shouldn't be doing this. He vowed to stick to his word, but Jesse was done lying to himself. He didn't want to be with Iris, he didn't even want to be around her now, not after what Aliya told him. He couldn't stand living a lie and a half-empty heart anymore.

Jesse was going to break whatever kind of relationship he had with Iris at this point, invite Aliya as his plus-one and within time, maybe he would even get the courage to confess his feelings to her.

"Jesse, isn't that risky?" she asked, nearly falling when he caught her. "You're worth the risk, Ali," he softly said, affectionately using her nickname. "Besides, what's life without a little bit of danger, right?" he followed up as she tried to smile, only to falter at his words afterwards.

"Jess, I... I...." she began, trying to communicate her thoughts when he stopped her from going forward. "Hey, save your strength," he gently urged her, reaching her house in the distance. "Whatever you need to say, I can learn on Friday. Deal?" he softly added as she nodded, before wincing slightly louder.

As Jesse began seeing her knees sink, he quickly scooped her up and knocked on the door. Then, he hid behind the door where he saw Aliya quickly being taken in. "Please be okay, Ali," he softly whispered, before feeling something wet. Glancing down, he saw a light shade of sliver blood on his hand, which now shimmered in the moonlight.

———————

Eyes widening, Jesse immediately flew back to the forest where his eyes went directly to the knife on the ground. Holding the knife that held a fragment of the girl's blood, he tried to figure out how Aliya got hurt when he felt a harsh flutter of wind. Turning around, he saw Iris holding the pink envelope he meant to throw away.

"So, after everything I did for you, you're throwing me out for that pathetic girl?" Iris angrily asked, gripping onto the envelope. "Aliya has never done anything for you!" she snapped as Jesse clenched his fist. "She has done more for me in a lifetime, then what you ever did for me in six years!" Jesse snapped back in turn.

"Aliya got hurt and somehow, I know you did this to her!" Jesse exclaimed as Iris darkly laughed, a flicker of mayhem in her eyes. "You hurt her, babe," she bleakly mocked as Jesse blinked.

"W... What?"

"You stabbed her in the rib cage by using her iron knife," Iris calmly explained, her voice strangely hallow, walking around the boy. "You attacked her and you choked her to the point she nearly struggled to breathe," she continued, taking pleasure in seeing Jesse sink to his knees.

"No, no, no...."

"You're a danger to her, Jesse. She's not safe around you," Iris continued as Jesse disgustingly threw the knife away from him. "No...." he whispered, blinking back the memories. He vowed he wouldn't hurt Aliya in that sense again, not ever. So, how he could he had broken his vow so soon?

It's been years since.... That happened. He only had a few vague memories, granted, but he knew Aliya got hurt because of him when the incident took place. That much, Jesse knew.

"Do you really think she can love a monster like you?" Iris echoed, allowing her words to sink in. "No..." Jesse mumbled, numbly aware of his feelings towards Aliya. "No one will love you, but I will always be here to love you," Iris insisted, stroking his chin as Jesse glanced away.

"I meant what I said earlier. I can make you complete," Iris recited. "I can even make you happy and ensure you never feel the need to escape. You'll be free," she continued, whispering each word as Jesse stood up, shaking his head.

"No! You will not get me twice!" Jesse exclaimed, defensively pointing at her. "Your siren powers worked on me the first time, but I know better now," he bravely continued as Iris softly laughed. "Oh, is that what the freak told you? That I'm a siren?" Iris softly cooed, touching her necklace.

"Well, she's not wrong. I would have gotten control of her too, you know, had she not been immune to my voice," Iris continued, wondering why Aliya wasn't affected. From what her father told her, she could reach just about anyone. So what made the freak so special?

"But, no matter. No one will believe her, anyways," Iris continued, dismissing the topic. "I believe her," Jesse confidently countered back as Iris merely giggled. "Oh, I can't let you expose me now. You are actually more believable than that freak, meaning you'll hurt my reputation more by speaking out," she continued, pondering. "So, what should I do with you?" Iris asked, grabbing onto Jesse's wrist as he tried to escape.

"I know," Iris sharply answered, her eyes flickering with red mist. "If you won't be lover by choice, then I'll make you my lover by force," she insisted as Jesse struggled to break free from her grasp. "Aliya will know. She'll break your trance on me, and let everyone know the truth about you," Jesse shot back as Iris laughed.

"The funny thing about outcasts, Jessi-kins, is that no one takes them seriously," Iris sharply responded. "So while you're patiently waiting for your princess to rescue you, just know you'll be despising her for a little while, but don't worry," she continued with a laugh. "You're leaving a princess for a Queen," she concluded, pulling Jesse close to her.

"Now, hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

"Iris..." Jesse began, trying to plead his way out of this, but the moment her necklace and her eyes glowed, his eyes began turning red as well. "Please don't do this," he said, trying to fight her control, but Iris only shushed him, lightly stroking his chin.

"I'm not doing anything," Iris softly whispered, now grinning. "You did this to yourself," she added, watching as he tried to break out. "But, no one is here to save you now. So, my puppet you will remain," she continued as she observed Jesse's brown eyes fully turning red.

"Perfect."

——————————

"You did what!"

Upon hearing her story, the Senior Fae groaned. "Iris, love, I thought we agreed to keep your powers a secret. No one is supposed to know your siren powers, much less the fact that you're a hybrid," he stressed as Iris bowed in her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Father, I really am, but you don't understand! He was going to leave me for that wingless freak!" Iris exclaimed, trying to keep her voice leveled. "Besides, I could have finished Aliya off right then and there," she insisted as the Senior Fae shook his head.

"We don't know if the prophecy mentions her."

"But what if she is in the prophecy? What if she's the one who kills you and robs us of everything?" Iris persisted as the Senior Fae sighed. "If she was in the prophecy and I did kill her, I would have did both of us a favor," she insisted. "But, what if she's not in the prophecy? Then what, Keira?" the Senior Fae asked, observing her crestfallen face upon hearing her middle name.

"I appreciate your ambition, but we have to be smart about this, hon. If we assumed the prophecy talked about Aliya and you did kill her, what would happen if our suspicions were incorrect? You would make a fool out of me, my fate would still occur and worse, Aliya's family would come after me."

"But who cares about the music-loving healer and the mind seer? Stormy and Issac can't do anything to hurt us and Amara..." Iris insisted, before seeing his fallen face at the mention of Amara's name.

"Father, are you certain Issac stole Amara from you?" she followed up. "I'm certain of it, hon. Your mother was great, and I'm forever grateful for you, but Amara.... She was truly one of the kind. My biggest regret was letting her go," he told her as Iris nodded.

"I know what you mean," Iris whispered, thinking back to the way Jesse treated her versus Aliya. Even though Iris went through hoops to ensure her status with him, Jesse still chose the wingless freak. Aliya couldn't fly, she had no contribution to Avalon, she was essentially useless but Jesse looked at the girl as if she was truly special.

Thinking about Aliya made her blood boil. What made Aliya so special that Jesse was willing to destroy everything she worked hard to get, just to throw their years away for some girl he reconnected with a few days ago?

"Remember when we become royals, no harm comes to Amara. Issac and Stormy, on the other hand, we can dispose of," the Senior Fae continued as she nodded, resuming her focus back on her father. "What if she refuses to be your wife?" Iris asked as the Senior Fae smiled.

"Well, love. That's where you come in," the Senior Fae answered as Iris absentmindedly nodded, pretending as if she was paying attention. "For now though, let's just focus on ensuring Jesse can't fight your control. I would have loved talking it out with him, but...." he continued as Iris chuckled.

"We both know he would have declined, especially when Jesse began learning about how his precious girlfriend plays a role in this," Iris bitterly stated, her father sensing the same jealousy he felt when Amara chose Issac and Stormy over him. He frowned, realizing the same cycle now plagued his daughter.

His daughter, who so clearly deserved Jesse, was now competing (and losing) to Aliya, the irrelevant member of Avalon. He could see their rivalry perfectly align from what the Senior Fae experienced his rivalry as a kid: Iris resembled him, Aliya was Issac and Stormy rolled up into one and Jesse, he was the Amara that the Senior Fae failed to win over.

Soon, things would change. The Senior Fae would get what he deserved and he would make sure Iris never suffered the same fate as him. However, none of their dreams could come true if Jesse wasn't involved in his phase one. So now, he needed to cover up his daughter's mistake and ensure Aliya doesn't open her mouth.

"Oh, Father. When I was trying to use my powers on Aliya, she was unaffected by my voice," Iris briefly mentioned, catching her father's interest. "What do you mean?" he curiously asked.

"I mean, she didn't seem to be under my control at all. If anything, she just punched my nose and ran away with Jesse," she explained, pointing to her semi-bruised nose. While it's true that Iris could get her nose fixed, she wanted people to sympathize with her and gain more attackers against Aliya.

"But, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No, it shouldn't," the Senior Fae answered. "Now, try to get some sleep," he suggested as the two hugged before Iris departed to her room for the night. "A powerless faerie immune to magic?" the Senior Fae silently asked himself, pondering on the subject.

That shouldn't be possible, he told himself. He refused to believe that Aliya was immune to magic. There had to be something out there that could potentially kill the girl. He didn't know what he wanted, but if Iris was right, then the Senior Fae needed to start keeping his eye on Aliya.

Because if he got too sloppy and Aliya caught onto the prophecy, then the Senior Fae was truly a lost cause. But by using his element of surprise, he hoped to ensure that he could defeat his fearsome enemy, before they could kill him.

Once and for all.