22. Ivy
IVY
D arkness consumes me, twisted with panic and hysteria as I’m lurched into the light.
I don’t want to go.
It hurts too much.
Flashes of memories flood my vision, blotchy and distorted, but it resonates in my soul, making it impossible to escape. The bag over my head was the start of it; the rest that followed is jumbled carnage.
“Bitch.”
Punch.
“He’ll always be mine.”
Kick.
“Whore.”
Another blow.
“You can’t take what belongs to me.”
Nails biting into my neck.
“Stop… Odesa, stop!”
I suck in a sharp breath as a familiar voice engulfs me. There’s urgency, but no rage. Not like before. I dare to focus on it more.
“Ivy?”
I definitely know that voice.
“Ivy!”
But it’s not usually panicked and riddled with concern.
“Can you hear me?”
Brightness casts over my face, but it’s quickly shadowed by something, or someone.
“What the fuck?”
I blink, certain I know who it is, but prying my eyes open is harder than ever.
“Ivy?”
Pain radiates through my limbs, threatening to take me back to the darkness.
“Talk to me, Angel.”
Archer?
I almost laugh at the absurdity of it being him, but it hurts too much.
“Ivy?”
It’s him. What’s worse, the darkness or him?
“Ivy!”
My eyes snap open, and he fills my vision, brushing my wet hair back off my face as he peers down at me, his gaze deep and stormy.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Is that Sax? I squint, glancing around me, but I don’t see him anywhere.
Such small movements, and it’s exhausting. The darkness feels like a safer, painless option right now. I close my eyes, the buzzing in my ears lulling me as Archer shakes my arms.
“Fuck. She’s drenched, sopping wet from head to toe with a fucking bag over her head. Shit. Her pulse is weak too.”
I want to tell him to be quiet, but a warmth slips over me, my body finally relaxing.
“What the fuck happened?” I hear the snarl from Baron, and I’m more than happy to let the world drift away, but despite my desire to hide away from them, my lips part with the only answer I know.
“Odesa.”
I don’t hear what follows as my mind wanders into the shadows, where the pain doesn’t exist, and my body can rest. But sleep doesn’t come for me entirely; I’m bound to Archer and his soothing touch as he whispers. What he has to say, I don’t know; it’s all muffled in my ears.
Time passes as I float in my mind until Archer’s finger stroking down my cheek pulls me back toward the light.
“No, she’s going to be fine. We’re going to need someone to heal her, but right now, she doesn’t need immediate medical attention.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Her heartbeat is growing stronger, and her eyelashes are fluttering like she can hear me but doesn’t want to acknowledge my existence.”
“Okay. I’ll let Meadow know she’s safe.”
Ember?
I dare to open my eyes again, feeling much more present than before as my gaze settles on Archer.
“It’s okay, Ivy. I’m right here.”
My lips part, but no words come out. I nod my head instead. It’s only then that I recognize the feel of grass beneath me, Archer’s thigh wedged under my head, and his fingers ghosting through my hair.
He offers me a soft smile, but he quickly tilts his face to the sky, distracted.
My neck burns with pain as I tilt my head back, following his line of sight, and spot a familiar dragon approaching.
It’s not Lucky’s orange scales, though.
They’re green.
Even with my jumbled mind and aching limbs, I know what green means.
Baron.
His dragon roars as he lands, the ground trembling beneath the weight of it.
Emotions claw inside of me. I’m furious he’s here, but something calming settles in my chest.
I hate it.
Baron appears from the wing of his dragon, charging toward me a second later, but his dragon is right on his tail, nudging his rider to the side. Baron falls to his knees with a thud beside me, eyes wide and investigating, but I ignore him and focus on the vision of green at my side.
Beady dragon eyes find mine.
“Alaric,” Baron warns, but his dragon pays him no mind as he inches closer, his scales an inch from my face as I feel the beast’s breath on my skin.
Despite my arms feeling like dead weight, I lift a hand toward him.
“Ivy…”
Another warning from the dragon rider, but neither of us listen as Alaric leans closer and I press my palm against his heated scales.
“Nice to meet you, Alaric,” I rasp, my throat burning, and I squeeze my eyes shut, recalling the phantom feeling of drowning.
The dragon nuzzles against me, treating me just like Lucky does.
I smile in spite of the pain I’m in.
“You’re known as the fiercest dragon in the kingdom, Alaric. You’re making us look like fools,” Baron grumbles, drawing my attention to him as Archer snickers.
“Says the dragon rider on his knees.”
Before Baron can retort, a low growl comes from behind the Fire Protector, making my chest lurch with panic. Archer sighs as he moves out of the way, making room for a white tiger that prowls toward me.
My pupils blow wide as it gets just as close as Alaric, but panic doesn’t consume me as I anticipate. Not that I trust Archer with my life, but he doesn’t seem concerned about its presence.
As if sensing the uncertainty inside of me, it moves back two steps before shifting. I gape in disbelief as the tiger disappears, leaving a crouched Sax in its place.
A very naked Sax.
What. The. Hell?
Not that he seems to mind as he stands tall, stretching his arms above his head, all while his eyes remain fixed on mine. My cheeks heat as I acknowledge the fact that his dick is closer than his eyes right now.
“It seems I arrived just in time, and I come with gifts. You can thank me now or later. Now would be preferable, but I understand we may be a little… preoccupied.”
Everyone turns, Alaric included, and the dragon begrudgingly makes way for Teddy, but to my surprise, he’s not alone.
I frown, blinking at the girl who is somewhat familiar.
It’s the girl from fencing. The guy standing beside her was in our training session too, but why are they here?
“Who?” I rasp, my throat lodged with imaginary razor blades as I tilt my head.
I must be delirious because none of this makes much sense right now.
“Odesa.” The bite comes from Baron, who remains at my side, Alaric right beside him, huffing so harshly that smoke plumes from his nostrils.
I almost break my neck as I turn my attention back to the girl in question, but I don’t miss the torn expression on Baron’s face. She stares at me expectantly, a sneer on her lips, just as it was when we were in fencing, but it feels even worse now.
Gulping, I turn back to Baron to find rage burning in his eyes.
Teddy tosses a bag at Sax’s feet.
“Thanks, man,” he murmurs in response, unzipping it to reveal a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
I watch as he dresses, noting the lack of underwear as my gaze devours him. I allow myself a moment of insanity since my circumstances aren’t miraculously getting better, but the second his eyes find mine, I force my focus elsewhere. Not without catching the grin on his lips before I do.
Teddy claps his hands, gaining everyone’s attention, and I startle at how stern his face is.
“Who wants to enlighten us as to what happened here?” he grunts, planting his hands on his hips.
His gaze lingers on me for a second before he turns a withering look to who I can only assume is Odesa, and the guy beside her.
I heard her name earlier, but I never got to see her face.
“Princess?” he starts, glancing over his shoulder at me, but before I can even consider a response, Archer answers.
“She’s still trying to recover. I want to hear it from them.”
As if on command, everyone’s eyes dart back to the duo in question.
Odesa folds her arms over her chest, while the guy scrubs at the back of his neck. “I don’t know what we’re doing here, but you’re wasting my time, Teddy,” Odesa grumbles, and Teddy cackles, but the sound isn’t filled with humor, not even a little.
“You’re going to make me do it, aren’t you?
” He sighs, as if disappointed, but the devilish look in his eyes says something else entirely.
One glance over his shoulder at me, followed by a familiar wink, and he’s locked in again.
“Fine. If I must.” Another slap of his palms together, and he grabs each of them by the shoulder, yanking them forward a step as he stares at them intently. “Why did you attack Ivy?”
Odesa presses her lips together, her face reddening before her mouth parts and she snarls. “Because she’s a fucking whore!”
My eyebrows rise with surprise, the desire to defend myself heightening, but Archer strokes his hand down my arm, keeping me grounded as Teddy pushes on.
“And why is she a fucking whore?” He tilts his head to me, a tight smile on his lips as he mouths. “You’re not.” Just as quickly as he looked at me, his attention is gone.
“She shouldn’t be here.” Her nose flares with irritation as she glowers at me.
“Says who?” Teddy retorts, and she shrugs.
“Me. Him. Everyone,” she grunts, pointing at the guy beside her.
“Is this because of Baron?” I feel the man beside me stiffen, the air strained around us as Odesa cackles, the sound hollow.
“What else would it be because of?”
I blink at the Air Protector still kneeling beside me, but he’s too focused on the others to offer me a glimpse into his eyes. His dragon, however, runs his scales along my arm.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing she didn’t deserve,” the guy grunts, speaking for the first time, as I remain helpless, confused by the facts that are still only half offered.
“Logan, shut the fuck up. You’re so pussy whipped, you’re out here harming a girl because your mate says so, even when the actions are out of jealousy for her ex.”
Ex?
Even with my muddled mind, I can connect the dots, and my gaze whips back and forth between Baron and Odesa.
She’s not the only one burning with jealousy now.
“Odesa, what did you do to my mate? The girl blessed to me from The Fates themselves?” Teddy growls, and I hold back a scoff, too bewildered to even fathom that what he’s saying is anything other than crap.
Her spine straightens, her chest puffing out as her lips part. “We ambushed her after fencing, tossed a bag over her head, bound her, and tossed her in the lake.”
“Does that sound accurate?” Sax asks, peering down at me, and I blink.
“I don’t remember.” I hate that it’s the truth.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Archer interjects, dragging a hand down his face. “She was on the embankment when I found her, legs still in the water with a bag still loosely over her head, and the restraints had slackened.”
“That’s what we did,” Logan confirms, and my chest tightens, acknowledging the fact that they were intent on killing me.
“Can you remember anything at all?” Baron asks, his voice surprisingly soft as he looks at me.
My brows furrow.
“Bitch.”
Punch.
“He’ll always be mine.”
Kick.
“Whore.”
Another blow.
“You can’t take what belongs to me.”
Nails biting into my neck.
“Just the blows and the names, and the choking on water.”
“She’s fine now. How about we call it even?” Logan declares, slapping his hands at his sides, and Sax scoffs.
“How is that even?” he grunts, nostrils flaring with anger, and Logan’s eyes widen a fraction.
“She hurt Odesa, Odesa hurt her back. Even.”
“How the fuck did she hurt Odesa?” Archer snarls, his finger curling around my shoulder.
“With Baron, she?—”
“Is this really happening to me?” I blurt, a bubble of laughter parting my lips as I float in the delirium that is apparently my life. “Someone tried to kill me because of a mate that doesn’t even want me? This is even more insane than falling from the cliff.”
Apparently, I’m dodging fate. Since I’ve been here, I’ve had two near-death experiences, bringing my lifetime total to… two.
Baron stands, the movement slow and calculated as he looms over me, but his deadly stare is aimed at the girl who was once… his? Acknowledging it tastes like acid on my tongue.
“The only way this ends up even is if we put bags over your heads, bind your limbs, and toss you both into Inky Lake.” His voice is so low, so gravely, I think he’s set on the idea.
“Unfortunately for you, Mr. Linton, I don’t anticipate anyone being tossed into Inky Lake for the foreseeable future.” I balk at the sound of Professor Viola’s voice wrapping around me.
Finding her in the distance, I see she’s not alone. She’s flanked by Meadow, Toby, and his friends, with Ember floating sharply beside them.
“What she did was unacceptable,” Sax growls, and Viola nods.
“We will deal with this matter accordingly. For now, maybe our priority should be ensuring Miss Hayworth is okay,” she declares, and my stomach drops, as if finally acknowledging the state of myself.
I’m vulnerable, violated, and overwhelmed.
The last place I want to be is near any of them.
My gaze collides with Meadow’s. She offers me a soft, knowing smile as she brushes through the gathered crowd to hover over me. “Do you want me to get you out of here?”
“She’s good with me,” Archer grunts, and Meadow glares at him.
“Ivy can answer for herself, thank you very much,” she retorts, filling me with confidence as I exhale.
“Please get me out of here,” I whisper, setting her into motion immediately.
“Dorian,” she hollers, and Toby’s Fire Protector friend appears beside her. “Carry her home, will you?”
Archer’s hand tightens around my arm, locking me in place until Viola clears her throat.
“Mr. Bowen, I believe Miss Hayworth has spoken.”
“She’s our mate,” he snaps, and she cocks her brow.
“Maybe you should have considered that two years ago.”