1. Ivy
1
IVY
Present Day
Bram’s arms circle my waist as I launch through the air.
“You bitch!” I screech. “All that time? All that fucking time?” My fingertips brush her neck as my new power surges through me, dark tendrils of Death’s essence reaching out. But Life is quick, dancing back just out of reach with an infuriating smirk.
“Oh, come now, Ivy. Or should I say, Death? You can’t honestly be surprised,” she taunts. “I’ve been playing this game far longer than you.”
“You were my best friend!” I snarl, struggling against Bram’s iron grip. “All those years, pretending to care about me before you fucked me over, and you were just manipulating everything from the shadows?”
Life - Lila - whatever the fuck I should call her now, shrugs carelessly. “I had to keep an eye on you somehow. David was getting too clever for his own good. I needed to make sure his little protégé didn’t become a problem. Kai was merely a bit of fun.”
“Well, too fucking bad for you.” I spit. “I’m officially a problem now. A big one. A Deadly one and you are on my shit list, bitch!”
Her eyes narrow. “Yes, you are. I didn’t anticipate David passing on his mantle so soon. Doesn’t matter. You’re still new, untrained. This changes nothing.”
I feel the guys tensing around me, ready for a fight. But Life just smiles coldly.
“We’ll meet again soon, Death . Enjoy your little love nest while you can. Things are about to get very interesting.”
And with that, she vanishes.
“What the absolute fuck?” I growl, still struggling in Bram’s grip. I kick him in the shin by accident, on purpose, and he swears and lets me go.
“What the fuck was that?” Torin asks, one hand on his hip, the other waving vaguely at where Life-la was standing moments ago.
I open my mouth to explain, but he shakes his head at me. “Not her. You. What the fuck did she mean, ‘we’ll meet again soon, Death’?”
Narrowing my eyes at his question, I remember that they don’t know shit. I clear my throat and stand up straighter. “I am now Death. David Beech, formerly Death, has passed the baton. I have an army of souls ready and willing to do battle with Life to stop her from pausing the cycle.”
“Is that the Dummy’s version?” Tate asks with a snort.
I grin, glad he isn’t giving me the evil eye like Torin is. I can’t see Bram. He is still behind me, but I can sense a shift in his attitude. He perhaps was thinking I should’ve strangled Life to death after all.
“Sure is,” I remark. “If you have questions, now is the time. Not sure I can answer them as this was sudden, and not exactly what I expected.” I twirl a lock of longer, pinky-blonde hair around my finger and frown. There are strands of black now as well, but to be fair, I thought I would look like Death did. All skeletal and robe-y. Small mercies. I don’t think I’d rock that look as hard as this one.
I brace myself for their reactions. Torin’s eyes are narrowed, his jaw clenched. Tate gives me a supportive smile. Bram’s expression is unreadable, his blue eyes boring into me.
“So let me get this straight,” Torin says slowly. “You’re now Death. As in, collector of souls, that whole deal?”
“Pretty much,” I confirm with a shrug. “Though the job description’s a bit more complex than that.”
“And you didn’t think to, oh, I don’t know, discuss this with us first?” Torin’s voice rises in anger.
“There wasn’t exactly time for a group pow-wow,” I snap back. “It was kind of a now or never situation.”
“Bullshit,” Torin snarls. “You made a unilateral decision that affects all of us without even considering?—”
“Considering what?” I cut him off. “That it might inconvenience you? That it might complicate our relationship? Sorry if preserving the balance of life and death trumps your hurt feelings, Torin.”
He recoils like I’ve slapped him. Maybe I have, verbally, at least. “Considering that we might lose you.”
It hits me square in the heart, and I close my eyes and inhale deeply. “I did consider that. But this is world-ending kind of shit. The greater good.”
“The greater good,” he mutters. “Right.”
“Okay, the greater bad, then. Whatever. Either way, Life cannot simply stop death from happening. If everything and everyone just carried on living, reproducing, and so on and so forth, what would happen to the realms? They would be bursting at the seams with creatures and nature. How would that work? And what if people still got sick, but then never died? What then? They just keep on being in pain and suffering for eternity? This is bigger than us, Torin. I know you know that and are just being an alpha dick because I didn’t consult you about it. Even if I had, the decision isn’t yours to make. It’s mine, and I made it for all the reasons I’ve outlined and more. Can you understand that?”
Torin’s jaw clenches as he processes my words. For a moment, I think he might argue further, but then his shoulders slump slightly.
“I understand,” he says grudgingly. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“None of us like it,” Tate interjects. “But Ivy’s right. This is bigger than us.”
I shoot him a grateful look. At least someone gets it.
Bram finally speaks up. “So what now? We just sit around waiting for Life to attack?”
I turn to face him, seeing the barely contained violence in his eyes. “Not exactly. I have an army of souls at my disposal now. We need to strategise, figure out how to use them effectively.”
“An army of souls,” Tate muses. “That’s some serious firepower.”
“An army of the worst souls imaginable. But we’re going to need it,” I mutter. “Life’s had millennia to perfect her end game, and she knows me better than I thought.”
The reality of Lila’s betrayal hits me again, making my chest ache. All those years, all those memories - tainted now by the knowledge that it was all a lie.
Torin must see something in my expression because his face softens slightly. “I get it, Ivy. I just don’t want to lose you now that we’ve got you.”
“I know.” I want to sink into their arms and let them shoulder some of this crushing weight. But I can’t.
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to stay strong. “I’m still me,” I say. “I’m just more now. This power, this responsibility, is a part of me. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
Tate pulls me into a hug. “We’re with you, Ivy. No matter what.”
I melt into his embrace for a moment before pulling back. “Thanks. But you need to understand that this isn’t going to be easy. Life isn’t going to stop. She’ll keep coming for me, for all of us. I can’t guarantee I’ll always be able to protect you.”
“We can protect ourselves,” Bram growls.
I shake my head. “Not against her. You saw how easily she appeared and disappeared. She’s ancient, powerful, and she knows me. That is deeply concerning.”
“So we learn,” Torin says firmly. “We prepare.”
A lump forms in my throat at their unwavering support.
“So what’s our first move, oh mighty Death?” Tate asks with a wry grin.
I snort, grateful for his attempt at levity. “Unfortunately, the first thing we have to check out is what damage we did when we reversed time during the ritual.”
Bram catches my eye, and the depth of his darkness shows. It has grown exponentially, and that is also a concern.
“You okay?” I ask him.
He nods slowly. “Getting there. This ancient power is interesting. Archaic in its wildness. It will take some getting used to. It is nothing like the refined Fae magick.”
“I get that,” I murmur, and he smiles.
“Yeah, I guess you do.”