Chapter 40 #2
Whatever bullshit is about to spill from his mouth is silenced by the opening of the heavy wooden door.
Every governor rises to their feet as Ivy steps into the room.
From my vantage point, I see the pointed toe of her high-heeled shoe first, a shiny black that elongates the pale leg peaking through the slit of her dress.
My eyes follow it, tracing the outline of emerald silk that perfectly hugs the curves of her hips and the swell of her breasts before it disappears over her delicate shoulders.
Ivy commands the room, no sign of the fragile woman that lay unconscious only an hour ago, and instead, every bit the goddess she truly is.
She makes her way to the chair reserved for the Emerald governor, offering me a soft smile as our eyes lock across the room.
When she turns away from me, my knees nearly buckle.
There, embroidered across the back of her dress in black thread, is the sea beast. The large, serpentine form takes up the entirety of the gown, from the top hem to the end of the flared train. It’s a near perfect copy of the leviathan inked on both our skin, the symbol of our connected fates.
Ivy takes the long way to her seat, passing by each of the governors and offering only a silent nod as they bend at the waist.
Bowing. They’re fucking bowing to her.
It takes every bit of restraint in my body to stay upright, to resist the overwhelming urge to hit my knees in her presence. When she passes the chair inlaid with a large amethyst and it becomes clear that she doesn’t wish to occupy it yet, I rush to pull out the Emerald Region’s chair for her.
Ivy is many things, but a tyrant will never be one of them. If her rule is dictated, she’s no better than the men who came before her.
“Nice flower.” Her whispered words are just for my ears.
“Nice sea beast,” I reply in the same hushed tone.
“Emerald and onyx. Quite the pair, don’t you think?”
Her green eyes lock onto mine, and the air in the room thins though no one commands it. The only magic here is what is uniquely ours, and I will gladly spend eternity worshipping the goddess before me.
“I speak for all of us when I say how truly overjoyed we are to see you here, Ivy,” Kieran speaks as the governors sit. There’s no trace of the usual sarcasm or taunt in his voice, only sincere reverence for the woman who saved us all.
“Out of respect for the diplomatic process, if you are not a voting member of this council, we ask you to leave at this time.”
At Micah’s words, the servants who flitted about filling goblets and passing out canapés exit the room. I scoot Ivy’s chair up to the table and make my way towards the door when the Sapphire governor stops me.
“Are you certain about your decision, Captain? Corinth would be lucky to have you as its Lord General.”
“Corinth is already lucky,” I correct. “Lord General Henry Murphy is the most qualified soldier for the role, of that I am more than certain.”
Without another word, I stroll confidently from the room, out of the palace, and into the city of Amale. While the future of Corinth is being decided, I have urgent matters to attend to that will decide my own future. And Ivy’s, if she chooses it.
I follow the pull of her magic down the alabaster halls, past the empty bedchambers and the empty council room to the golden doors of the throne room.
The one place in the palace I can’t fucking bear to go.
But I told her that there was no path I wouldn’t follow—so I open the doors and face my worst nightmare.
What happened in this room has replayed in my head a thousand times: Ivy’s final words, her lifeless body on the ground, the seemingly bottomless pool of her blood that covered the floor. They’re all stars of the nightmares that have haunted both my sleeping and waking hours.
I take a steadying breath, swallow my fear, and push open the gilded door. Ivy stands in front of the Amethyst Throne, the train of her gown cascading down the steps of the dais. From this angle, the maw of the beast looks poised to attack any who approach her.
She’s a fucking vision.
Regal. Royal. Mine.
I focus on her alone, ignoring the pink stains and charred veins that streak through the otherwise flawless stone floor. Blood and godfire, evidence of the battle for those that come after and each its own lesson.
Ivy’s magic rises up to meet mine in a familiar, playful dance. It warms my blood and soothes my rapidly beating heart.
“Admiring your new seat, my queen?”
“It’s not my seat,” she replies, her attention solely focused on the Amethyst Throne before her.
“Tell me who voted against you and I’ll cut out their tongues.”
I unsheathe the ivory-handled dagger at my side for dramatic effect. She doesn’t need me to fight her battles and I’m positive that whatever happened in that room is exactly what she wanted.
“You’ll have to cut out mine then.”
“Never mind,” I say, tucking away the blade. “I’m fond of it right where it is.”
She turns to face me with the sweetest, sad little half-smile on her perfect lips.
“We both know I never wanted the throne. I just wanted to stop Marks from ascending, but then he attacked Emerald, and my anger felt endless. I let it consume me. I became the kind of ruler Corinth wouldn’t survive.
Fury is a blinding mistress and a cruel queen has no loyal subjects. ”
I take her trembling hands into mine, unable to resist the urge to touch her any longer. “They bowed to you in there,” I whisper. “That looked pretty fucking loyal to me.”
“Now we all bow to another,” she says in a steady voice. “Our Sapphire King.”
Leave it to Ivy to accomplish exactly what she set out to do despite all of the odds being against her. The very nature of the game and all the players on the board changed, but her mission never waivered.
And now, every region in Corinth is governed by strong, allied leaders.
Leaders who won’t hesitate to check the monarch if they overstep.
That was the original intent of our structure, after all.
Before puppet kings and dictator Lord Generals, before politics and the egos of gods overshadowed knowledge and skill.
“Speaking of kings,” she says, squeezing my hands. “You’re a prince.”
“I should have told you, but I was so scared you’d hate me if you knew.”
“Because your dad’s a prick?” she laughs. “Turns out mine is too. But unlike me, I don’t think you’re anything like yours.”
“You can’t possibly know that.” She’s not like him, the Dark God who feasts on souls and relishes in the demise of everything around him. She is not the pitch black of night. She is the caressing shadow on the sunniest of days, the cool reprieve from the scalding summer heat.
But am I like my father? My uncle called him weak and spineless. The holy texts, scriptures filled with lies, call him an all-seeing, just, and fair god. I can’t know who he truly is or how much of him I possess until I meet him—something I’m eager not to do anytime soon.
“I’m glad you didn’t tell me who my father is, Cal,” Ivy says, her emerald eyes shining in the dimming light. “Someone very wise once told me that some things are better experienced. You could experience meeting yours too, you know. You could open the portal, if you wanted to.”
Leave it to Ivy to brazenly broach the one topic everyone has tiptoed around for weeks.
“I want to do what you want to do,” I smile. “It has to be both of us. It was always meant to be both of us.”
“Your family is on the other side of that door, Cal.”
“My family is right here.” I lay her hand across my heart, across the tattooed beast that matches the creature on her dress and her skin. “I go where you go, Ivy. Whether that’s back to Emerald or to the god realm, it is your decision.”
Tears well in her eyes. I may not have been forthcoming with my heritage, but I never lied to her. When I said I would follow her anywhere, I meant it. I know that Ivy’s path leads back to Emerald, to the place where her version of our story began, and I’ll be right beside her.
“We can’t outrun him, Cal. Nobus will come for us—for you. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Let him. Let the God King come into our realm and try to take me from you. I fucking dare him.” Magic scrapes its claws against my skin at the threat.
I may not have been able to take down Marks, but I will rip Nobus apart if he even thinks about separating us.
I don’t know if existence can survive the death of a god that powerful, but we can certainly fucking find out.
Ivy smiles again, despite the tears that streak across her pinked cheeks. Her fingers trail sparks across my face as she wills my magic into submission. It kneels at her feet like a godsdamned house cat curling around a fireplace.
Safe. Warm. Home.
“Then we go home first,” she says. “Together.”
“Home,” I smile. “Let’s go home, princess.”
Ivy winces at the use of the pet name, and I’m filled with instant regret for my carelessness.
“Call me something else, please … anything else. I’m not ready to face what I’m the princess of just yet.”
“What would you have me call you?” I ask.
“You’ll figure something out.” She smiles, the words from our first day together sounding ten times as delicious the second time around. “I’m sure of it.”