30. Ivy
IVY
“Idon’t think we should do this,” Teddy murmurs, standing in front of my bedroom window with his arms folded over his chest.
“Teddy—”
“We’ve been over this a thousand times already, I know, but I’m worried about you,” he admits, spreading his arms out wide, and I step into his embrace.
His arms envelop me as he rocks me from side to side, but with the sun firmly in the sky and the day already started, he knows it’s time to move.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks, his lips brushing against my hair, and I nod.
“I won’t be alone, remember? Hugo is coming with me.” My reassurance falls a little flat as he sighs, dragging a hand down his face.
“We’re walking over there with her, at least,” Sax states, drawing my attention to where he stands by the door, offering me a gentle smile. One that I return.
“Thank you.”
“Can we at least go over the plan one more time on our way?” Teddy asks, earning a groan from Baron.
“If it means it will shut you up, absolutely.”
Teddy gives him a pointed look as he throws his arm around my shoulder, guiding me toward the exit where Archer waits, the door already wide open to encourage us.
It’s silent as we head down the stairs, but I feel oddly calm knowing that Dorian can’t gain access to my personal space while I’m gone, not when he’s in the dungeons. Silas, Odesa, and the others are in the cell beside him; for how much longer, I don’t know, but right now, it’s just protocol.
Regardless, I feel the calmest and most free since arriving here, and I say that as I dare to step toward impending doom.
I barely slept last night, my mind spiraling with endless possibilities, but after catching Hugo and the others up on what we learned, a plan was devised, and all I have to do now is follow through on it.
Gulping, I try to shake the tension from my limbs as we step outside and the warmth from the sun floods my veins. My steps slow as I relish the sensation, but Teddy has no patience.
“Plan,” he mutters, and Archer sighs.
“We’re heading to the arena now, where the relic is waiting with Hugo. Dorian insists the relic doesn’t come with a vision, and with his parting words insisting that he knows she didn’t touch the relic because she’s still here makes us all believe it’s a portal hidden within.”
“An assumption, that’s exactly what we need,” Teddy grumbles, and Baron gives him a pointed look.
“You’ve said that exact same thing every time we’ve gone over the plan. You’re not making this any easier for her, so shut the fuck up.”
I press my lips into a thin line, unable to deny Baron’s words, but I still feel bad for Teddy.
“Regardless, the decision has been made for Ivy and Hugo to touch the relic together. If it opens as a portal, we can all go through; if it acts as a portal without opening for everyone, they will at least be together; and if it doesn’t transport anyone anywhere, then we move onto another plan.
One certain fact remains: Ivy has to touch it, because no matter who else has, nothing happened. ”
“Damn Leonardo Corrigan and his witchcraft,” Teddy mutters under his breath, irritation clouding his vision, while I remain silently impressed with the mechanisms at work here.
I let my focus drift to the pretty flowers lining the pathway as we bypass the main academy building and continue toward the arena.
Classes are in full swing for everyone but those affected by the past twenty-four hours, and I can’t deny that there’s a part of me that was completely oblivious to all of this going on. Maybe one day I’ll get to live a life of my choosing, but I’m pretty sure today isn’t that day.
Instead, I’m battling nerves and anticipation as the arena appears in the distance.
“Any information on what they’re going to do with Dorian the Dickhead?” Teddy asks, and Sax shakes his head.
“I think everyone was so certain that this wasn’t actually happening, no one knows how to actually handle it. It’s like the whole Odesa jumping Ivy situation. Nothing came of it because they didn’t know what to do,” Sax states, and Archer scoffs.
“Fuck that. They have to do something this time,” he insists as Baron nods in agreement.
“They have to take this more seriously now, though. Right? Odesa only affected me, but Dorian, he was using some kind of magic to control others. It hasn’t just affected us. The campus, as a whole, has been placed under threat repeatedly because of his actions,” I state, and Teddy squeezes my hand.
“You’re right, we just have to make sure they see it the same way,” he murmurs.
“I think there was a shift last night after we wrangled Dorian and brought him before the meeting,” Sax adds as Archer scrubs his jaw.
“You’re right. Professor Viola was quiet but eagerly cooperative,” he observes, and I got the same energy too.
“Now we just have to hope that whatever this relic is about is over and done with in five seconds so we can get the hell back to bed. I need my beauty sleep,” Teddy declares, and I smile, but any response is muted on the tip of my tongue when I find my brother standing at the entrance to the arena.
I gulp past my nerves as Teddy slips his arms from around my shoulder, and I walk into my brother’s arms. He presses a soft kiss to the crown of my head before peering down at me.
“Are you sure about this?” he asks, and I roll my eyes.
“Don’t give Teddy an excuse for me to back out. I want to get this over with,” I murmur, and he nods.
“Everyone else is waiting,” he answers, guiding me inside, and I frown.
“Everyone?” I repeat, trepidation churning in my gut.
“Professors Viola and Professor Carbon.”
“Is that normal?”
He shrugs. “Usually, but I can’t say I’ve ever been in this situation before, VeeVee,” he admits, and I nod in understanding as he comes to a stop by the door to the meeting room.
He doesn’t give me a second to catch my breath before he enters, encouraging me along with him, and I find the relic waiting in front of Professor Viola’s seat.
Nausea threatens to overwhelm me as my pulse rings in my ears.
“Miss Hayworth,” Professor Viola mutters, and I smile.
“Before you do this, and by this I mean nothing at all because I don’t want there to be an issue,” she starts, lacing her fingers together nervously.
“I owe you an apology, not just for being unable to figure the relic out without you, but for not trusting in what you were saying this entire time. I understand how foolish of me that was, and if you’re open to it, after this, I would love to sit down and really discuss the situation as a whole.
No more reacting, only acting,” she states, and I nod, taking her extended hand.
She offers a firm handshake before taking a step back.
“That sounds like a great plan.”
“Let’s get this one over and done with first, shall we?” Professor Carbon asks, and I suck in a deep breath.
With a quick glance over my shoulder, I make sure to connect with each of my mates, a gentle smile on each of their faces, but the nervousness in the air remains high as I follow Hugo toward the relic.
“How have they worked previously?” he asks, and I point toward the unreadable letters engraved around the middle.
“I usually just run my thumb across here,” I explain.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to do, but nothing happened,” he offers, and I clear my throat.
“Shall we try it together?”
“Sure.”
“Put your hand on my arm as well, just in case. That’s how Archer ended up in a vision with me last time,” I add, and he does just that, his fingers curling around my shoulder as I try to summon another deep breath.
“Ready?” he mutters, and I nod.
“Ready.”
In sync, we reach for the engraving, our fingertips gliding over the gold as a blinding light erupts from the relic. Hugo’s fingernails bite into my skin as he clings to me, the flash of white dimming slowly to reveal surroundings I’m not even remotely familiar with.
“Fuck,” Hugo curses, making my back stiffen as I glance around the new scenery.
It’s just the two of us, so the relic didn’t create a portal; it became one. But where the hell are we?
Panic floods my body as I gape at the enormous waterfall off in the distance, the pretty shades of blues and greens colliding beneath the foaming bubbles. The sun sits high in the sky as a gentle breeze ghosts around us.
“It’s beautiful,” I blurt, and my brother scoffs.
“It’s the Second Kingdom.”
My jaw falls slack as I gasp. “Wait, what?”
Hugo nods. “If I’m right, which, when am I not?” he jokes, but the humor doesn’t meet his eyes. “Then the Second Kingdom palace is off to the left somewhere, and there’s a nearby village to the right.”
“You’ve been here before?” I clarify, and he grimaces.
“With Lucky,” he states, pointing up. “We’re not far from the kingdom borders,” he adds, and I gulp, the nerves zipping through my limbs in a frenzy.
“Hugo, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” I whisper, struggling to breathe as my brother’s hand drops from my shoulder to find my hand.
“It’s okay, VeeVee, we’re together. All we have to do is…”
His hand falls away as he clutches his throat.
“I…”
His face reddens, making my chest clench as he claws at his neck.
“Vee…”
He falls to his knees as I stand frozen in place, gaping in horror as my brother struggles to breathe.
The air stills around me as a shadow hovers behind Hugo, an unwanted guest smiling menacingly at me. With a snap of his fingers, my brother chokes, a gargled sound vibrating from his throat before he collapses in a heap, and terror burns through me.
Leonardo.
“What have you done?” I breathe, ice warring with the burning sensation in my veins as I sway, my body unable to handle the emotions churning inside of me.
“Oops, wrong Hayworth offspring. Never mind, Ivy. Let’s go.”
Ignoring him, I fall to my knees beside my brother, brushing my hand through his hair as he remains limp.
I scramble to feel my brother’s pulse, but nothing dances against the pad of my fingertips as I glower at the vile man before me.
“What. Have. You. Done?” I bite, my fingers trembling as tears line my bottom lashes, my eyes bulging as I fight against the disbelief claiming me.
My magic roars inside of me, detonating along my skin in a raging fire before blasting from my fingertips in a neon green, exploding across Leonardo’s body, while simultaneously swallowing me whole.
I scream.
Not for me.
Definitely not for him.
But for Hugo.
My Hewy.
Collapsing at his side, the green flames dance around us, cocooning us together.
As I take my last breath, I pray with all that I am that I don’t come back.
Because without him, there is no me.