The Messenge (Iva and Nick) novel Chapter 410

The Presence Within

The whisper had barely faded when Iva’s entire body went rigid.

Caleb felt it through her hand before he even understood what was happening, because one second she was standing beside him trembling beneath the weight of everything Melissandre had revealed, and the next her fingers went completely cold while her eyes fixed on something that neither he nor the witch could see.

“Iva?”

She did not answer.

Her breathing slowed.

Too slowly.

Caleb stepped closer, his instincts immediately screaming that something was wrong.

“Iva, look at me.”

Her head turned.

And Caleb froze.

Her eyes were no longer their usual colour.

A strange violet light had replaced them, bright enough to seem almost unnatural in the candlelit

chamber, and for one terrifying second he could not see the woman he loved looking back at him.

Melissandre moved before he could react.

She crossed the distance between them with startling speed and pressed one finger directly between Iva’s eyebrows.

“Don’t move.”

The moment her finger touched Iva’s forehead, Iva’s body convulsed.

Her eyes rolled backward.

Her knees gave way.

Caleb caught her before she struck the stone, lowering her carefully into his arms before turning toward Melissandre with fury blazing across his face.

“What the hell is happening to her?”

His voice thundered through the chamber.

“What did you do to her?”

Melissandre did not flinch.

“Why did you attack her?”

“I stopped her from attacking you.”

Caleb stared at her.

“She wasn’t attacking anyone.”

“She was about to.”

“You touched her and she collapsed!”

“And if I had not reacted in time,” Melissandre replied grimly, “you and I would be fighting for our

lives right now.”

Caleb’s expression hardened.

“What do you mean?”

Melissandre looked down at Iva, who lay unconscious against Caleb’s chest.

“Her eyes flashed violet.”

“So?”

The witch’s face became solemn.

“That is not a normal reaction to the seal.”

She paused.

“It means we are dealing with a genie.”

Caleb stared at her.

“A genie?”

! Melissandre nodded.

“A spirit.”

He almost laughed, but there was nothing humorous in the room.

“You expect me to believe that a genie is inside her?”

“Not the creature from children’s stories.”

Her voice became sharper.

“Forget the stories about lamps, wishes and smiling spirits who appear to grant people whatever they desire, because those tales are watered-down fragments of something far older and considerably more dangerous.”

She moved toward the ritual circle.

“Genies are powerful spirits who exist in another dimension, a realm separated from ours by boundaries that most supernatural beings cannot even perceive.”

Caleb looked down at Iva.

“She has one inside her?”

“Somehow.”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Melissandre crouched beside the circle again, studying the markings with renewed urgency.

“But I have a theory.”

Caleb’s voice dropped.

“Tell me.”

“The witch who created the seal may have wanted absolute certainty that her work would never be discovered.”

Melissandre pointed toward the dark symbol.

“Locking Avalon away would silence Iva’s wolf, but it would not necessarily silence Iva herself, because eventually she could recover her memories, seek help, or discover that something had been done to her.”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed.

“So she needed something to keep Iva quiet.”

Melissandre looked toward the unconscious woman in his arms.

“The genie may have been placed inside the seal as a guardian.”

Caleb’s face darkened.

“A guardian?”

“A weapon.”

The word landed heavily.

“If anyone attempted to break the seal, the creature would wake and defend it.”

Caleb looked at Iva’s violet eyes, now closed.

“And it was waiting.”

“Yes.”

“For what?”

“For an opportunity.”

Melissandre stood slowly.

“It remained silent while Iva believed Avalon was gone, while she wandered through her life without understanding what had been done to her, and while the seal remained untouched.”

Her gaze moved toward the ritual platform.

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