Retracing Steps
When Iris stepped through the portal, Nobos sealed it behind her, and Ian remained rooted in the same spot staring at the space.
When he had to let her go, a part of him left with her. His feelings for her were no longer just a memory anymore. They've become a reality once more. His body yearned for her, and he wanted to open a portal and follow her.
Ian raised his hand and drew the circle " Don't even think about it!!" he heard Nobos speak in his ear, and for the first time since he had become acquainted with him, Ian felt the need to punch him.
Ian sighed, his head dropped, and he looked at his rotting hands. He wouldn't be able to touch her again or be with her for the rest of his cursed existence. He could only watch over her and make sure she would have the life he once had promised her. Despair crept into his rotted heart, and for the first time since he had taken Ettricks place, he felt sorrowful over his decision to replace him.
Ian walked to his throne and slumped into it " What's the point of being all-powerful if I can't be with the woman I love and long for?" Ian melancholically questioned, looking in the distance.
Nobos clicked his tongue " You wouldn't be able to help her. Her father would have killed you and done with her whatever he pleased, and she would have been at his mercy with no one to help!" Nobos reasoned, trying to make him feel better.
It didn't! His feet itched so badly, that he could bearly sit on his throne. She was the love of his life. He couldn't let her go and didn't want to.No yet! This couldn't be the way their story ended. Surrendering wasn't an option. He had to find a way.
" The books?" Ian asked and waved his hand at the obsidian wall.
Her father appeared on the wall, donning his armour, and Ian knew he was going after Iris. It would take him some time before he would find her.
" She is in the valley, isn't she?" Ian asked without taking his eye off the wall.
Nobos hummed " As you asked! She will be safe if you stop disrupting the natural order in the Hollow! The Valley is a part of it, and whatever you do here affects the Valley. The Lords will do their best to keep her occupied for now. She will be set free only on our say so." Nobos informed, waving his hand, and the cauldron he had brought with him disappeared from the throne room.
Ian hummed and stood up " The books!" Ian pointed at the wall, at the books on Lund's table.
" What about them?" Nobos looked at the wall.
" She was looking for something before Iris was taken to Zandar! We need those books!" Ian brooked and walked to the wall.
" Bastos had one of those books. I didn't know there were two of them, though. " Ian said as he stared at the wall, with his eyes on the books.
" Ettrick had one! I never asked where he got it from. I guess another one has been made." Nobos shrugged and stood up from his seat.
" I need to get my hands on one of that books....No, both of them!" Ian said and turned to Nobos.
" You can't enter Zandar again." Nobos brooked.
" Maybe the king will take them with him. Obviously he has a plan. Wait and see!" Nobos gave his council.
" I need to see how the preparations for the trials are going. In the meantime, stay put." Nobos nagged and disappeared out of the throne room.
Ian turned his attention to the wall, his fists tightly balled up. He was hoping Lund would take the books with him. He needed to get his hands on them at all costs. What was Iris looking for in them? If the books held the answers to his little problem, then he could hold her in his arms once more.
Ian watched Lund speak to her so-called husband. He hated them, both for what they had put her through. No one was worthy of her. What her father did to her was beyond anything he was expecting when he had laid his eyes on Lund.
When Lund picked the books off the table, Ian grinned. Yes, he was taking the books with him, but his smile fell when Lund threw that books in the hearth. Shit! Now what?
Lund left the chamber while the books blazed in the fire. Nobos said that he shouldn't enter Zandar again.
"Guyhirn!" Ian called, and the soul collector stepped out of the shadows.
Ian opened the portal " I need you to get the books!" Ian brooked, and the soul collector nodded.
" Hurry!" Ian urged Guyhirn as he stepped through the portal.
The ground shook as the Hollow flames blazed, and for the first time, cracks appeared in the obsidian walls.
" I told you to stay put!" Nobos scolded as the soul collector stepped through the portal with the flaming books in his boney hand.
Ian shrugged and closed the portal with a swipe of his hand. The Hollow stilled, and the flames quietened. Nobos let out an exasperated sigh and approaching him.
" What's with you and those books?" Nobos barked, annoyed that he didn't listen to his advice
" Iris was looking for something in them, and I need to know what that was," Ian answered in the same annoyed tone.
Nobos grunted " No more breaking the rules, Ian!" he barked and stomped like a child.
Ian waved his hand, and Nobos disappeared in a puff of smoke. He needed quiet time to look through the books. He had skimmed the one Bastos gave Iris, but nothing made sense. It was all riddles and bunch of nonsense.