30. Ivy
Ivy
As the car sped down the highway, panic threatened me. What if all of this was yet another mind game from the Order? They could be tricking me, trying to convince me to do their bidding. Trying to force me to stay silent and act how they wanted. One thing that I learned from Wells was that they liked women who were pliant and obeyed them. I shifted in my seat. “Before we go home, I want to see my brother.”
Ross smirked at me, sending shivers across my skin. Something about him put me on edge. “Why do you think you call the shots your Ivy, or should I say, wife?”
I bristled at the use of the word wife. Instead of letting him intimidate me, I pushed my shoulders back. “It’s a simple request. How am I supposed to know that you’re being honest with me? No one from the Order has exactly been known for telling the truth. Everyone is skewed in what they say about the reality they want to create. If you want me to go through with your plan, I think you’ll be comfortable enough to let me see my brother.”
I didn’t address the fact that he called me wife. In my heart, I knew I would never belong to him, even if I wore his ring. Letting me see Rhyker was a small ask. It cost him exactly nothing. And it’s not like he could help me escape. From the pictures I’d seen, it was a miracle he was alive.
Ross chuckled at my words. “Fine, I’ll let you see him. You bring up a fair point.”
I hoped that was the end of our conversation. He claimed he wouldn’t force himself on me, but I didn’t trust that either. There was very little I trusted in the world, not after the way the past several months had gone. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the conversation. Why I had ever assumed it would be was beyond me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him tap on his knee with his fingers, as if he were debating something. “When we get to Clearhaven, I have a book for you. We’ll call it light reading. It details the history of the Order as well as what expectations there are of you. There hasn’t been a married Princeps in years, not since my father.”
Great . Not only would I be expected to be perfect and obedient, but there was also an ancient tome to read through. It almost startled me to realize how little I knew about the man sitting next to me. Initially, I had assumed he was one of Clearhaven’s police. I didn’t even really know his name. What was his r eal name? I decided to ask him.
“What should I call you?”
He raised an eyebrow at me, and his lips twisted with amusement. “Ruben.”
The name almost felt like it didn’t fit, like a puzzle piece that was almost right but not quite. Ruben seemed like such an innocuous name for a man who was sinister. It didn’t fit a villain. Was it yet another of their lies? Another thing that had a grain of truth to it but was shrouded in deception?
The rest of the ride to the manor was spent in comfortable silence. Ruben, if that was really his name, seemed content to allow me to stare out the window, lost my thoughts.
I tried to remind myself that it would be worth it, that everything would be okay now. Whatever happened to me didn’t matter as long as the people that I loved were safe. I was a sacrificial lamb, and it was fine. But deep down inside, I felt empty. Gutted.
We finally arrived at Ross’ house, but the term house wasn’t quite right either. It was a sprawling estate. Rose bushes littered the lawn, and shrubs flanked the building. The structure of the house itself was at least three stories and covered in blonde brick. Massive columns were dotted along the wraparound porch. There was a balcony above that off of one room.
Biting down on my lip, I tried to squash the aggravation I felt. I had asked to see Rhyker, but as I’d expected, my wishes were ignored.
When he wasn’t pretending to be a cop, when you could actually see his face, Ross continually looked amused. And at that moment, he seemed to try to hide it. “What’s wrong, wife?”
Part of me wanted to scream at him. To yell that none of this was fair. I didn’t, though. The last thing that I needed was to make things worse for myself. That didn’t stop my eyes from rolling. Or from a grimace to spread across my face. He glanced at me and laughed again. “Don’t worry, Ivy. I always keep my promises.” He got out of the car and opened my door, gesturing for me to come with him. “I’ll always keep my promises as long as you keep yours.”
He led me to the porch of the house and flung the door open. Inside wasn’t what I imagined it to be. Sure, it was still beautiful, but it was also ripped straight from my nightmares. Everything was pristine and perfect. Nothing was out of place. Rich wood and leather dotted the room. Oil paintings hung on the wall.
But the air felt sinister, and as I studied the paintings further, I realized why I felt the way I did. The women that had been painted in such immaculate detail, their eyes were empty. All the subjects were dead. A taxidermy raven sat in the gilded cage, and I thought about how that was going to be me. Beautiful, realistic, but empty inside and trapped for all of eternity. Skulls decorated the end table, and candles were set inside of them. But I knew without closer examination they were real. Everything in this house was.
My nails cut into my palms. For some reason, I hoped that it was all a nightmare. That I could pinch myself, my nails would dig in hard enough, and I would wake up. Cam would still be alive and safe at the apartment we shared, for however short of a time. That Rhyker was still with Angel. That we were all happy.
None of that happened, though.
After I had stalled for several moments staring at the furnishings, Ross wrapped his hand around my wrist tightly. Nausea swelled inside of me from his touch. But I didn’t turn away. I was afraid of what would happen if I did. Honestly, I was afraid of what he would do to Rhyker.
He led me down a set of stairs and then another one. It felt like eternity stretched as we descended into the darkness. I was certain my heart would explode or that I would vomit on my shoes. Walking into basements had never been my favorite. It always instilled a sense of fear in me.
But ever since my time at the Gilded Lily, it reminded me of being trapped. Being isolated away from everyone else. It reminded me of unfamiliar hands and mouths. The scrapes on my face and the scar on my thigh that had once been a brand. It reminded me of cruel words and even crueler touches.
Finally, our descent ended. He flipped on a light switch, and I found myself in a room that reminded me of a hospital waiting room. It was cold and sterile and smelled of bleach. Several doors lined the far wall, and he pulled a ring of keys from his pocket. Slowly, he strolled over to the far right door, which creaked open. “You have an hour. I’ll be back then.” The door closed behind me, and the lock clicked into place.
Who else was hidden in the basement? Who else was tucked away in the locked rooms? And then I looked up. It was a room with no windows and no way of escape. It dawned on me the Rhyker was trapped just like I’d been. Like I was.
His pale body lay on the hospital bed. The room was filled with mechanical beeps and hisses, the machines breathing for him. There was no way for me to contact Ros; I left my phone at the apartment. What was done to him? Were they so desperate to have me they had fucked up the lives of even more people?
Rhyker barely knew me. We saw each other at parties and around campus but had never been close, not even after I found out that Frankie was my grandmother and that he was my brother.
What would Ros say if she could see him now? She always kept the information about her relationships close to her chest, even when I was an open book. I sat on the edge of his bed and clasped his hand in mine. His skin was cold like everything in this house. I watched as his chest rose and fell. Now that I was here, would Ross let him go? Or would he be yet another casualty swept away in a war that no one knew about?