[Unedited! Don't buy!]
The whispers vanished entirely.
The water slowly descended back toward the fountain below, calm once more.
Silence followed.
Only then did Iris seem to realize how close we were standing.
Her hand was still gripping the front of my coat.
My arm remained around her waist.
For one suspended moment, neither of us moved.
The night air felt strangely warm despite the cold.
"You trusted me," she whispered softly.
The words caught me off guard.
"I had little choice."
"That's not true."
Her voice had grown quieter now. More vulnerable.
"You could've stopped me."
Yes.
I could have.
I could have suppressed the arcane entirely. Forced the water back through sheer power before it fully answered her call.
But I had not.
Because somewhere in that chaos—
I wanted to see what she would become.
A dangerous thought.
One I should have crushed immediately.
Instead, my gaze drifted briefly to her lips before I looked away.
