272 The Return (4)

For the first time, Tyler's smile started to fade. He looked at Iris, then his own hands, then at Iris again. "I'm not certain how much truth there is in this legend, but its something I and all my siblings have grown up on," he started finally.

"Thousands of years ago, when humans still lived in tribes that wandered the lands, magic was alive. It— Don't look so disbelieving. She can turn into a fox, so why can't magic be real? I don't mean the fireball throwing kind, though. It came from nature and helped people survive.

"Warlocks and witches held the most revered positions in the tribes and were often the leaders or advisers. It went on for many years, until one day something happened. A rogue warlock wanted more power than he needed to survive. He took and took and took, then used it to hurt others, because of which the other warlocks and witches also began to take more magic from the land to defend themselves."

Tyler sighed then, brushing his hair back. "As you may expect, the nature didn't take kindly to such matters. Furious at the abuse, it lashed out against anyone trying to take magic from it. They were cursed to be animals by day, hunted or used by their own clansmen, and human by night, to regret their choices.

"Throughout generations, the curse has been deluded and not much of it has left, but some of us still wear it. And it's our badge of honor. We're descendants of leaders and wisemen who held power unimaginable in this day and time."

'Or a mad warlock because of whom there's no more magic in the world.' Not that Iris really believed the story. It was just too fantastical for that!

Sure she could turn into a fox, but… she hadn't seen any real magic! There was no calling on thunder or rain that she had ever encountered.

"And you believe that?" Kyro asked. His voice was still neutral, devoid of any disbelief or mockery.

"Maybe?" Tyler shrugged, looking to the side at the people passing by them. "Maybe not all of it happened, but some should have. Otherwise,"—he focused back on Iris—"How would you explain our existence? We're humans, but not fully. Animals? Not really again. We're some kind of hybrid that should have been the next step in evolution, but died out before it could spread. And that's the truth. There's so few of us that I thought my family was the last one alive."

His words were full of forlorness which he didn't bother to hide at all.

Moments later though, he shook his head like a dog shaking off water from its fur. "No need to pity ourselves like that. I just found you, and that's the greatest thing that could have ever happened to either of us. Even if you don't know your ancestry, I can help you trace it and we'll—"

"You don't need to trouble yourself." Kyro cut him off before he could make anymore plans in which Iris had no wish to participate. "We're thankful for what you shared, but that's enough. You don't need to go that far."

"But I want—"

"No need," Kyro repeated, his eyes flashing with a dark light.

Finally, Tyler grasped what was being said. His expression twisted with unspoken emotion, but he held it back. His next smile was a little forced, especially when he looked at Kyro for the first time. "I see. I won't bother you then, but…" He once again shifted his gaze to Iris. "I wish we could one day meet for real, and not… through someone like him."

His dismissive and disgusted tone of voice ignited a flame in Iris' heart. She clenched her teeth to not rush out and bite him. Who was he to use that kind of tone to refer to Kyro?

After that, they left the cafe and went their separate ways, but Iris was still fuming. They had returned to her home country, and the first thing that happened was Kyro being insulted in ten different ways within fifteen minutes of speaking to someone. What kind of image would that give him of her homeland?

When they reached the hotel and Kyro checked into the room he'd booked, he gave her time to change. She quickly put on a dress he'd gotten for her. When she came out of the bathroom, he was sitting on the couch, checking his phone.

"Anything important?" she asked, leaning over to see. But before she could get a good look, she was pulled over to sit on his lap. When their eyes met, she saw that he was smiling slightly. "What is it?" she asked carefully.

"You actually growled at him when he tried to put me down," he said with a laugh, watching her with warm eyes. "Growled…"

"I did?" Her eyes went wide as her cheeks grew hot. Why didn't she remember that?

He nodded and leaned over to give her a light kiss. "Thank you."

"I-I… He was going too far," she murmured, looking away.

What kind of woman growled at people? Yes, she was a fox at the time, but… It didn't help with her mortification!

To avoid it, she quickly changed the subject. "Do you think he was telling the truth?"

Kyro was silent for a long while, and Iris leaned back, resting her head on his shoulder. Tyler had come out of nowhere and spoken a lot and nothing at the same time. All she had learned was an old fairy tale and that he could change forms, as did his whole family. It was interesting, but gave her nothing in regards to her own situation.

"Only thing certain is that he recognized you. There's no proof that anything else he said is correct," Kyro said in the end.

At his words, Iris realized that even the second half of her previous consideration had been faulty. Tyler had claimed to be able to change, but there was no proof for that, which meant that she was left with only the fairy tale.

"Aunt Maddie may know something, if it's from my mother's side."

"We should go speak to her then, rather than seek out that guy again."

"Mhm…"

It was a good plan, but Iris wasn't certain how well it would work. If her aunt hadn't said anything throughout all the years they lived together, didn't that mean that she didn't know anything? Her only chance to learn anything may really be that stranger with weird ideas about who she was and how she should act.

Her silence seemed to unnerve Kyro. He placed a hand on her cheek and turned her to face him. "Are you thinking of meeting that crackpot? By yourself this time?"

"No, I…" Iris stared into his dark eyes, which were only centimeters away from her own. "I wouldn't…"

"Promise me then, promise me that you won't seek him out by yourself no matter what." A moment later, as if catching how overbearing his own voice sounded, he softened his words and tone. "It's too dangerous. We know nothing about him, or why he really approached you."

"Yeah. I promise." She smiled and bumped his nose with hers. "I still want to return home with you. Lucy is waiting for us."