7. Ivy #2
“Each type of protector feeds The Academy differently, something you will learn of when the next ceremony is required, but until then, it’s essential that you take pride in what we have established here.
The surrounding kingdoms… they don’t operate the same as us, and as much as that is okay, it can cause tension.
Our loyalty to one another, combined with our pride in our blessings, is what sets us apart from the others.
Take strength from who you are, and your path in life will become clear soon enough.
” I gulp as her words take root. “That is all from me this morning. Everything else, including timetables, will be uploaded to your academy-issued devices. Carry them with you at all times. It makes contacting others on campus far easier. The only thing that remains for you today is to visit our seamstress to be fitted for your uniforms. Their location can be found on your devices. Have a beautiful day.”
Without another word, she walks off stage, leaving me to gape at the spot she filled moments ago.
I feel like she said so much, but nothing at all at the same time.
The tension with other kingdoms, learning of our abilities, and showing our loyalties to our sodalities were all touched upon, but I’m pretty sure she could have expanded a lot more than she had.
Wiping a hand down my face, I exhale before slowly rising to my feet. The disappointment that threatens to claim me quickly disappears as I take a deep breath and focus on the fact that I’m at Neverbound Academy.
The Neverbound Academy.
I don’t care about the small facts and information given. I’m just happy to be here.
Eagerness carries me all the way back outside with a smile on my face as I let the sun beat down on me once again.
I’m eager to find the seamstress and get myself fitted for my uniform so I can spend the rest of the day exploring, but my path is blocked by three girls four steps down, each wearing a uniform with a red tie.
I instinctively smile at my fellow Fire Protectors, but the joy doesn’t last long as they meet my excitement with curled lips and narrowed eyes.
“I can’t say I ever expected to see you here, Angel. Not after you were rejected so publicly,” the girl in the middle sneers as she folds her arms over her chest.
Acid licks over my skin at the sound of my much-hated nickname.
Combined with the reminder of my rejection, it burns quickly through my veins.
Anger curls my hands into fists, and the desire to leap at her is strong, but I contain it, my mother’s measured words washing over me as I force my smile to remain in place.
“I can’t say I ever expected to see myself here either, if I’m honest. But it seems a lot has changed in two years, and I’m embracing it. I’m Ivy, by the way, and you are…” My hand hangs in the air along with my words as her eyes narrow and her lips purse.
“You should be embarrassed to show your face around here,” the girl to the left sneers, matching her friend’s energy, and it takes everything in me to repeat the mantra in my mind.
Kill them with kindness.
Kill them with kindness.
Kill them… just freaking kill them.
Straightening my spine, I stretch my smile so much my cheeks ache. “Thank you so much for your concern. It means so much to me, but embarrassment would mean failure, and you’re only failing if you’re not learning. So here I am, ready to be educated.”
She pulls an exasperated face as the girl in the middle takes a step closer, crowding my space in an attempt to make me cower before her. I’ve faced worse threats than her; I’ve stood toe to toe with my father.
I won’t shrink beneath anyone.
“Do you have any idea what it takes to be a Fire Protector? What it means to have an inferno racing through your veins? How much you will sacrifice for our cause? It’s no match for the sweet and whimsical Angel of Heaven’s Ridge.
Save yourself the time, and the Fire Protectors the embarrassment, and go home. ”
I blink at her, certain she doesn’t want answers to her questions, but they flood my mind regardless. One moment of feeling belittled and my mind tightens up, my shoulders tensing as my defenses rise.
My lips part, but the girl to the right finally finds her voice and beats me to it. “Fire Protectors are ruthless and loyal without question, striving for power. Some prissy bitch like you wouldn’t know what it means to have any of that.”
“I’m confused, what is it you’re mad about exactly?” I blurt, cocking a brow as my nails press into my palms. My question only seems to irritate them further.
“You might have been something back home, Angel, but you’re nothing here,” the girl in the center hisses, and I squint at her.
“Do I know you?”
Her nostrils flare as her eyes widen, leaving me certain that she’s about to lash out, but a voice from behind me whips through the air, cutting through the tension.
“If Ivy didn’t have the ruthless loyalty and intense strength that all Fire Protectors harness, then I’m pretty sure she would have been assigned an alternate sodality, right? Or are you questioning the judgement of The Fates?”
I don’t turn to follow the sound of the voice; I don’t trust the girl before me enough to offer her my back. Especially not when she hisses with rage.
“Nobody asked you, Meadow. Fuck off and mind your own business.” Her intense stare returns to mine.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Angel,” she promises before spinning on the spot and darting outside without a backward glance, her friends flanking her every step of the way as I try to catch my breath.
With a slow exhale, I glance over my shoulder to find the brunette from earlier smiling at me. “Thanks, you didn’t have to do that,” I murmur, and she shrugs.
“For sure, but Kennedy is a bitch. I enjoy reminding her of that.” She smiles, and I can’t help but grin too. “Meadow,” she adds, offering me her hand, and I take it.
“Ivy.”
“I’m familiar with The Angel of Heaven’s Ridge,” she admits, and I cringe, pinching the bridge of my nose. When my gaze returns to hers, I find her eyebrows gathered in confusion. “Not a fan of the title?” she guesses, and I offer her a tight smile.
“It’s not that, it’s just…” My words trail off.
I can’t speak about something like that with a stranger.
Exposing myself like that won’t get me anywhere, especially not here.
Waving her off, I take a deep breath. “So, Meadow, by your green tie, I’m going to assume you’re a Land Protector?
” I ask, and she nods, seeming to accept the topic change as we wordlessly fall into step with one another and head outside.
A flutter of red at my side reminds me Ember is still here, likely enjoying the drama she was seeking at my expense.
“I am. Although my fated mate, Toby, is a Water Protector.”
My eyebrows rise. “All good so far?” I ask, and she nods, a smile spreading across her face, reaching her eyes with certainty.
“It’s like finding a missing piece of yourself.”
I nod as if I understand, but I definitely don’t. Any thought of my fated mates and my stomach drops to my feet, shattering my heart along with it. I’ll never know that feeling, and I never want to. The thought of leaving myself bare for someone like that again makes me sick.
Meadow glances down at her watch and curses. “I’m so sorry, I promised I wouldn’t be long. And well… see you around, Ivy.” She waves before racing off toward the dorm rooms, leaving me fixed to the spot.
“She was a lot nicer than the other three,” Ember breathes, appearing on my shoulder, and I hum in agreement. My thoughts threaten to wander, but something I had pushed aside comes to mind, forcing me to spin my head to the sprite beside me so fast I almost snap my neck.
“How do you know Hugo?” I blurt, my chest seizing at the mention of him, and her little eyes widen.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she answers, rising from my shoulder, and the heat disappears from the spot she occupied just as quickly as it arrived.
“You mentioned Hugo earlier. How do you know him?” I push, and she shrugs.
“I don’t like it out here. I’m going to wait for you back in the dorm,” she flusters before disappearing.
I press my fingers into my temples as I try to wrap my brain around what the hell is going on, but it’s futile when there’s no one here to offer me answers.
Refusing to let one disaster after another break me down, I decide to distract myself by exploring the academy grounds.
Birds chirp in the distance as I follow the path lined with wildflowers away from the dorm rooms and academy building, hearing the sharp bursts of waves crashing in the distance. No one pays me any mind as I take it all in.
Reaching the edge of the cliff, I slow, staring at the white foaming water below as the breeze picks up and a sense of excitement zips down my spine. This probably isn’t where the seamstress is, but the detour is worth it, offering me a moment to catch my breath.
I have no idea how much time passes, but I eventually lower myself to the grass on the edge, playing with the blades of grass between my fingertips as I lose myself and find myself all at once.
There’s no knowing what tomorrow will bring, and there’s no use worrying myself over what has passed. All I can do is accept today, and that’s what I’m going to do.
My parents will be just fine without me.
My brother better be prepared with answers when I next see him, but nothing else from my past matters, not even that damn nickname I don’t care for.
I just have to make sure I keep control over my present.
I’m certain my fated mates will be nothing but coexistent beings at Neverbound Academy, but I’ll be sure to remain alert if not.
The next time someone tries to belittle me, I’m going to show them the anger that burns inside of me. Or try to at least.
No.
I will.
No more standing around and accepting cruel words.
No more being perfect and fake to match an image I never created.
No more breaking myself to please others.
This is my time to find who I am beyond all of that, and I’m going to give it my all, even if it’s the last thing I do. I’m going to grab this opportunity with both hands and never let go. My true calling is here, I know it in my soul.
Amped up by my own mental boost, I stand, feeling my smile stretch from ear to ear. I give myself two more seconds to soak in the view before I turn around, ready to give this academy my everything, when a gut-wrenching screech rings through the air.
Only, it’s not as distant as it was earlier.
Not this time.
It’s so close the ground shakes beneath me, making me panic as I spin on the spot, eyes colliding with bright, yellow pools blinking back at me.
They’re not the eyes of a person, but a dragon.
My lips part as I gape in disbelief, watching as they land with a thud, making the earth beneath my feet rumble, and I stumble back a step. My foot slips off the edge, rubble falling beneath me as I try to maintain my composure.
Slowly, I lift my hands in surrender as the dragon huffs, its nose twitching as its forest-green scales flex and shimmer under the sunlight. “Hi, pretty dragon. It’s okay, I?—”
“Are you fucking stupid?” A snarl comes from behind them as boots hit the ground, sliding off the back of the dragon, and I watch as Baron Linton appears. He ducks beneath the dragon’s spread wing, fury burning in his eyes as he glowers at me.
“Excuse me?” I exclaim, hand landing on my chest as he comes to a stop before me.
A woodsy and ash scent filters through the air between us as he jabs a finger in my direction. “This is the Dragon’s Den. Were you not told to avoid this place?” he snaps, and I blink at him rapidly as my lips move, but it takes a second for words to come out.
“I didn’t realize I was?—”
“Of course you fucking didn’t.” He wipes a hand down his face. “Of course I end up with the one fated mate too dumb to read a sign or two regarding her own damn safety,” he grunts, and my nostrils flare as tears threaten to burn the back of my eyelids.
It’s barely midday, and I’m already done with other people.
Sidestepping him, I move toward the path, but I don’t make it a single step before he crowds my space again, leaving me consciously aware of the cliff right behind me.
He could push, and I would fall.
The question is, does he hate me that much?
“Move the hell out of my way. Now,” I bite, and he scoffs.
“It was a bad idea bringing you here,” he rasps, eyes fixed on mine, ensuring I see just how serious he is, and I hate to admit how much it cuts me. But I refuse to let him see that.
Instead, I stand on my tiptoes, the tip of my finger pressed against his chest as I snarl.
“Fuck you.” The cuss is weak on my tongue, but I like the taste of it.
“Fuck you,” I repeat, more firmly this time.
“Fuck your brother. Fuck your friends. Fuck your rejection. Fuck all of it. I don’t care what you think is a good or bad idea because you mean nothing to me.
Nothing.” I slam my hands against his chest as rage burns through my limbs, but he doesn’t move an inch.
Desperation clings to me as I slam into his chest once more, and movement finally follows.
Only, it’s not him that falls back, but me.
With a scream lodged in my chest, I desperately attempt to grab on to thin air, but come up short as I plunge to my fate.