Chapter Ivy
Ivy
Ivy and her companions exploded into action as they discovered they’d been outmanoeuvred. As a group, they shifted sideways, keeping Voresta and their increased number of opponents in view.
Movement above Ivy caught her attention, and she looked up to see Phaedra and Ozias in the skies. Phaedra was diving and rolling between the skeletal structures, with Ozias pursuing her doggedly. Ivy tensed, keeping a watchful eye on the two Erath. Could they lead her to Leseldh?
Killian seemed to wonder the same thing. “Go. Find him. I’ll hold them off.”
Ivy’s chest twisted with worry, but she was reassured by the confidence she saw in Killian’s stance.
She dashed between the remnants of buildings, kicking up dust as she went.
She kept an eye on the sky, tracking Ozias as he pursued Phaedra.
Ivy wasn’t sure where they were headed, but she followed in the hope that the Erath were leading her to Leseldh.
The image of the wall of Night Market guards filled her mind, and she focused on running to stifle her worry.
She knew Killian could handle himself, but she also knew that Voresta was fuelled by his hatred for her Resonant, and she’d be foolish to underestimate him.
She glanced over her shoulder, making sure that she wasn’t being pursued, and continued to sprint after the two airborne Erath.
When she cleared the buildings, she realised they were headed back towards town.
The glow of the floating orbs could be seen in the distance, and she was coming up on the southern edge of town, far from the Portal Building and the Night Market.
A feeling of trepidation started to build in Ivy’s chest, and it caused a chill to run through her.
She began to wonder if she’d made a mistake in following Phaedra.
Ivy watched as Leseldh’s Erath pulled her wings in and descended to enter an open window on the second floor of a derelict building on the edge of town.
Ozias followed Phaedra, and Ivy slowed to walking pace with her eyes fixed on the window.
Ivy’s ragged breathing was the only sound, and her worry intensified.
Ivy approached the building and peered inside the gaping mouth of a doorway.
It was dark and quiet, and goose pimples burst to life across her arms as she stepped over the threshold.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she scanned the surroundings as she walked across the uneven surface of the building’s ground floor.
Ozias, where are you? Ivy didn’t receive a response.
She tentatively climbed a staircase, each step emitting a loud creak as she went.
She reached out to Ozias again and heard movement down the hallway ahead of her.
She followed the sound and found the two Erath playing on the floor of a room that was empty save for piles of rubble spilling from the corners.
Ivy stopped, her unease now at its peak. She’d foolishly allowed Leseldh’s Erath to draw her away from her companions, which was undoubtedly part of their plan.
Ozias, we need to go. She frowned at her Erath.
He seemed to sense her desperation, and his attention snapped to Ivy’s.
Ozias jumped, flapping his wings at Phaedra to ward her off, before taking flight and returning to Ivy’s shoulder.
Ivy headed back towards the stairs, fleeing the house on shaking legs.
She turned back in the direction of the square. Her body flooded with icy fear when she saw Leseldh standing in the distance, his golden eyes aglow.