Chapter 6 Ivy
six
Ivy
When Ivy awoke, she found herself disappointingly alone. After a short search, she located him in his study, poring over case files.
He spent much of the following week there. According to him, a case had dropped in his lap that he ‘simply couldn’t ignore’. Ivy was left in the care of her Broodmates, and her experiences with them varied.
Finare was charming, mischievous and hedonistic—he spent his nights in bars or clubs, and usually had his arms wrapped around a different creature at each venue. He dragged Ivy along with him on his pursuits, and she was enjoying Noctis’s social scene in all its colours and flavours.
But Leseldh insisted Voresta join them as protection, much to Ivy’s disdain.
She found Voresta to be gruff and irritable when he served as her personal bodyguard.
When he was around, he was overbearing and critical, and since he never let her stray from his side, that was the only side of his personality she ever saw.
In the few short weeks of knowing one another, she found him to be the greatest challenge of her new life.
It was a game of rope-pulling: Voresta on one side, Finare on the other, and Ivy was the rope.
She felt she was being tugged particularly hard on this evening, as she sat at a high table in Lunarian, a dance club on Second Spiral West. Voresta sat on her left with his scowl firmly in place, and Finare was on her right, grinning mischievously.
“So, what do you feel like tonight, Ivy?” Finare peered over at her while drumming his fingers on the table in time with the throbbing music reverberating throughout the club.
His question drew Ivy’s focus away from the mass of bodies on the dance floor, and she turned her head to meet his mismatched stare.
“I feel like dancing.”
She was wearing a tight-fitting black dress that she found in the armoire, and it was similar in style to something she would wear in Naum, although the shortness of it would’ve made her mother weep. Her long, toned legs were on display, and she loved how powerful the garment made her feel.
“I can’t keep an eye on you out there,” Voresta ground out, his grey eyes burning into Ivy’s.
“Good thing you won’t have to, V. Because I’ll be out there with her.”
Finare rose from his chair and grabbed Ivy by the hand, dragging her into the swirling mass of people. He started to move to the pulsating music in the centre of the dance floor, and Ivy quickly followed suit.
Ivy took full advantage of the short reprieve from the oppressive force that was Voresta by peppering Finare with questions.
“How old is Voresta?” She shouted her question over the music, which brought Finare’s attention whipping back to her.
“You don’t have to yell, I can hear you just fine. Do you mean, how old he is as a Human, or as a Vamp?”
“Well, now that you mention it, both.” Finare didn’t show any signs of struggling to hear her softer response. It was then that she realised that her own hearing filtered out the blaring background noise to focus solely on Finare. Such are the perks of Vampire senses.
“He’s 129, but I think Leseldh Created him when he was in his thirties or so.”
The music changed tempo, and the two were forced to increase the pace of their gyrating. A thin film of sweat formed along Ivy’s body. She nodded in response to Finare’s answer and fell silent while she mulled it over.
“I’m offended that you haven’t even asked me how old I am yet.” Finare put on a display of being offended, but his smile grew as their conversation continued.
To mirror Finare’s performance, she put on her own exaggerated display. “Oh, I’m sorry. How old are you?”
“Would you like to guess?”
“And risk offending you further? No way.” Ivy smiled playfully. Finare was so easy to get along with that she wondered if there was a single person in Noctis who didn’t adore him.
“Why, I’m but a baby. Only 23 years with fangs.”
“And as a Fae?”
“Still a baby. I was 77 when I crossed paths with Zeldy.” Finare’s nickname for Leseldh made Ivy explode with laughter, drawing the eyes of the dancers sharing the floor with them.
“Shit, girl, you’re so embarrassing!” The blurted statement sounded like an insult, but he was laughing as he embraced her.
As Ivy’s mirth subsided, she looked around, noticing a couple of Vampires dancing nearby with colourful drinks in hand. It triggered a memory.
“So, what’s the story with alcohol? Leseldh drank so much on the night we met, but I thought Vampires could only drink blood.” It was the one thing about the night she met Leseldh that confused her—he and Voresta drank as much as she and Annabel did.
“Oh, we can eat and drink, but each Vamp has a different tolerance. Usually, the older you are, the more you can tolerate. So, because Leseldh is ancient, he can drink loads. Voresta, as with everything he does, has trained himself to tolerate just as much.” Finare rolled his eyes with the explanation.
“Food, too? Same thing goes?”
“Yeah, same thing. But avoid garlic, it’ll give you the worst chest pains.” He chuckled. “I learnt that the hard way. Three nights it lasted! Made blood taste like shit, too.”
“Can alcohol get you drunk?” A sly grin swept across Ivy’s features, and when Finare connected the dots between what Ivy was and wasn’t saying, he mirrored the expression.
“You fucking bet it can, girl. Let’s go see if you can get drunk before you puke your guts up.
” Finare chased his words with a hoot of laughter.
He clutched Ivy’s hand and together they made their way to the bar on the opposite side of the dance floor.
It was a considerable distance from the table Voresta stood watch at.
“Let’s start with a shot, shall we? Two Climaxes, please.” Finare winked at the bartender as he gave his order, and Ivy quirked a brow at the curious name.
“Has Leseldh ever been here?” Ivy watched Finare as his eyes raked over the Human female bartender.
“Does he strike you as the kind of guy that would come to a place like this?” He spared her a look of disbelief before the bartender pushed their drinks towards them. It was a bright-red liquid with a foamy top. Finare’s interest in the bartender created another question in her mind.
“What happened to Eni… what was his name again?”
“Enidario. It ran its course.” Finare enunciated the name before running his fingers through his hair.
“Right. Tell me why you thought it would work out with a Werewolf? It’s not like our species get along.”
“He liked my Fae heritage. Said it made up for the ‘icky blood stuff’.” Finare wiggled his index and middle fingers, and his voice was tinged with disdain.
“Well, here’s to moving on.”
They clinked their glasses before throwing them back. The drink tasted sweet, and the foam on top bubbled as it went down. Ivy felt the burn when the drink hit her stomach, and she wasn’t sure if it was due to her alcohol tolerance as a Vampire, or the drink itself.
“Why is it called a Climax?”
“Because apparently you’re guaranteed to have one after a few.
” The smirk that spread across Finare’s face was downright lascivious, and she squirmed under his gaze.
He chuckled again, seemingly pleased with her reaction, before gaining the bartender’s attention and ordering more shots, and a pair of Banshee Screams—a bright-blue cocktail in a tall glass.
“Speaking of climaxes, have you done the nasty with Zeldy yet?” A mixture of reactions hit Ivy all at once—her brows hit her hairline; she suppressed a giggle at the reemergence of the nickname and scoffed at the unexpected question.
“Finare! Why do you want to know?” Ivy’s eyes were wide, and a blush crept across her cheeks.
“Call me curious. I wonder whether our Sire is as uptight between the sheets as he is everywhere else.”
Ivy had come to expect Finare’s sass, and she couldn’t help but laugh at his words. However, as the laughter subsided, her guilt crept in. “He’s been a perfect gentleman.”
Finare looked like he had another retort for her comment, but he fell silent when their eyes met.
The bartender pushed the new drinks in their direction, but as Ivy reached for the shot, Finare slapped her hand away.
“Nuh-uh, baby steps for you.” With a cheeky grin, he snatched up both shots and threw them back one by one.
Ivy watched in disbelief and reached for the cocktail before he could protest. They clinked the new drinks together before each taking a sip.
This drink tasted like citrus, and after a moment, she felt the burning sensation again.
Nope, definitely the alcohol. She kept her concerns to herself.
“What the fuck are you two doing?” Voresta’s voice broke through their merriment, and Finare and Ivy’s heads snapped towards their Broodmate. Voresta’s imposing height and bulk filled the space between them, dragging the air—and fun—out of the atmosphere.
“Relax, we’re unwinding. You’re so uptight. You should have one as well.” Finare rolled his eyes, using his free hand to shove at Voresta, but he didn’t budge. Ivy narrowed her eyes at Voresta.
“The last thing I need is her throwing up all over the place.”
“I’m fine.”
“We’re leaving,” Voresta’s irises darkened as he responded, going from a pale grey to almost black.
It unnerved Ivy enough that when he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away from the bar, she didn’t argue.
Finare, sighing heavily, followed behind after throwing back his drink and snatching up Ivy’s unfinished one off the bar.
As they weaved their way through the masses of people, Finare chugged the second drink and dumped the empty glass before they exited the club.
Voresta released his grip on Ivy’s wrist once they were back out on the street. They trudged towards the car, which was parked a block down from Lunarian. Ivy noticed the way Finare stumbled along after them, which contrasted his deft movements on the dance floor not long ago.
“Shit, five drinks in and my head is already spinning. I forgot how much of a lightweight I am.” Finare flopped into the back seat of Leseldh’s car. Voresta slammed on the accelerator before Finare could get the door closed.