Chapter 14 Ivy
fourteen
Ivy
Ivy’s footsteps were heavy with dread as she made her way towards Veldmoor’s front door. She was reminded of the last time she and Finare were greeted by Leseldh upon their arrival, and she convinced herself that this time would be different.
In a way, she wasn’t wrong. Finare led her into the mansion with her hand clasped tightly in his.
His shoulders sagged as he peered into the parlour, and Ivy knew their plans were already crumbling to dust. Ivy cursed inwardly when she saw Leseldh—they hoped he’d stay away for at least one more night.
“Welcome home.” Leseldh’s sentiment didn’t match his sardonic tone.
They were beckoned into the parlour. As Ivy entered, a sinister scene unravelled before her.
Leseldh stood to the left of the mantelpiece, with Voresta on the right.
A young male was sprawled on the floor at Voresta’s feet.
He was clearly unconscious. His skin clung to his bones, and he barely looked to be of age.
The vision of Killian standing over the male she’d bitten was already on her mind, but the similarities of the scene before her shoved that memory to the forefront, dealing her a fresh bout of guilt.
She couldn’t suppress the shudder that racked her body.
The certainty that this tableau was connected to her and Finare’s activities this evening was pervasive. Ivy wondered if Phaedra had anything to do with it. The Erath was preening her feathers, seemingly unaffected by the tension clogging the air. Leseldh’s next words confirmed Ivy’s suspicion.
“Phaedra tells me you’ve had quite an evening, my love.”
Ivy underestimated Phaedra, yet again. She wasn’t sure exactly how much of tonight’s activities Phaedra had witnessed, so she didn’t divulge any of the details.
When Ivy didn’t respond, Leseldh smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Didn’t you tell her how it works, Finare?”
“Tell me how what works?” Ivy snapped before Finare could answer. She felt her temper rising to the surface, and she gritted her teeth to keep her attitude trapped behind them.
“I’m so glad you asked. Voresta has brought you a visual aid to help you understand. Finare, perhaps you could also do with a refresher. Both of you, please, take a seat.” Leseldh looked to Voresta. They exchanged a silent communiqué, but the latter took no action.
Ivy’s dread clawed its way through her insides. Knowing escape was impossible, she sat on the couch nearest the exit. Finare sat down next to her.
“What do you remember of your Creation, Ivy?” Leseldh’s tone was devoid of the kindness and softness that it usually carried when he spoke to her. She shivered at the sound.
“I remember pain in my neck, strange dreams, sleeping for a long time, and then waking to find you in my room.” She was toneless and clinical in her delivery, denying him of the warmth of her voice as he was doing to her. Leseldh folded his arms across his chest and paced the room.
“You are aware that your Transformation has changed you in many ways.
But it appears that you are unaware of a critical change to your physiology.
It involves your saliva, which has two functions.
The first is that it carries the Gift of Forever.
Through my bite, my saliva entered your bloodstream, and I gave you the Gift.
“When I bit you, you bled profusely, and your heart stopped. Within a few moments, the Gift took hold, and your heart resumed its rhythm. That marked the start of the Transformation. It took about eighteen hours for you, but it differs for everyone. What remains the same for all is the fever, hallucinations and lapses in consciousness. Once those symptoms had faded, you rose as a Fledgling Vampire.”
“And the second function?” Ivy prompted, impatience creeping into her voice.
“Excessive blood loss is a result of the other function. Your saliva now has a caustic property. It corrodes the veins and makes the victim haemorrhage blood. This occurs for several reasons. It aids in allowing the Gift to enter the victim’s system swiftly.
It also hinders recovery efforts, guaranteeing the Transformation.
But when feeding, it accelerates the process, allowing for a swifter feed.
” With his statement, Leseldh flicked his gaze to Voresta, and her Broodmate’s response was instantaneous.
Voresta knelt and lifted the limp male off the ground.
He leaned in and bit down savagely on the male’s neck.
Voresta’s eyes fluttered closed as he fed.
The bite seemed to rouse his victim, his eyes snapping open, but his consciousness was short lived.
His eyes slowly drifted back together to form small, darkened incisions on either side of his face.
“Remember when you fed from Sylphina, and I told you that you must not take too much?” Leseldh’s attention returned to Ivy. She nodded. “If you take too much blood, there will not be enough to carry the Gift, and the victim will die. We call this drinking to Rubicon.”
The male was deathly pale, and blood streamed from the wound on his neck.
Voresta released the body, and it collapsed in a motionless heap.
With the point satisfactorily demonstrated, Voresta scooped up the body and carried it from the parlour.
Tears filled Ivy’s eyes as she processed the tidal wave of information that crashed down upon her, and she measured it against her experiences this evening.
When she bit the male outside Lunarian, she only took a mouthful of his blood. But blood stained the alleyway, and his clothes, aligning with Leseldh’s words. But there was an incongruity—she’d only ever seen a trickle of blood from the wounds she created on those she fed from.
“Why is it different in the bars and clubs? I haven’t seen anyone there bleeding to death.”
“That’s all thanks to the Lacuna. It counteracts the effects of our saliva.”
Ivy recalled the name of the little white pills she consumed prior to every feed. “But I had Lacuna tonight.”
“I didn’t give you one at Lunarian. It only works for a short time.” This time, it was Finare that responded. Defeat rang in his voice.
“But you said it was to make the experience more enjoyable. I thought it was a drug or something.”
“Perhaps a half-truth. It’s not a drug, per se. But it is more enjoyable to feed from a tasty morsel several times. Without the Lacuna, it’s a one-time transaction. Especially if they are Created because of your actions.” Leseldh gave Ivy a pointed look and she shrivelled beneath it.
That explains why I never felt high, I guess.
Leseldh asked, “What happened to the Fledgling?”
“Killian,” Finare supplied.
Another chill ricocheted through Ivy’s body at the utterance of the name. It was accompanied by an unwelcome flood of memories of tonight’s encounter. She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
“While I’m not pleased to hear that he has made a reappearance, he did eliminate a problem for us.
Ivy, in future, if you are to feed outside of the establishments, you must drink to Rubicon.
Your focus should be on your Ascension. I do not want you distracted with Creating Fledglings.
” Leseldh’s words broke through Ivy’s attempts to calm herself.
“It seems that you are willing to defy me at every turn. You must remember that your heart belongs to me. You are my Resonant, Ivy. Yet you seek pleasure with your Broodmate beyond these walls and it puts you in harm’s way.
Your actions have allowed Killian to tarnish you with his hands and his blade.
I will not allow this to happen again. If you are to leave these walls, you will be accompanied by Voresta.
” He spat Killian’s name from his lips as if it were poison.
Her eyes slammed into his and her dread threatened to swallow her whole.
Ivy felt a whirlpool of emotions competing for prominence inside of her—horror, remorse, anger, confusion. The feelings whirled around so fast that she felt nauseous. She peered over at Finare, and he looked similarly conflicted.
“You're lucky the Maurell Ended your Creation before the Transition was complete. A Broodling’s Ending imparts an unbearable soul-wound.” His comment made Ivy think of Voresta. It made her ponder the depth of suffering Elia’s Ending caused him.
Leseldh approached to stand before her. He collected her hand in his and pulled her to a standing position before him.
“You are my Resonant. I will not lose you.” The familiar conviction returned to Leseldh’s voice. It was as though while she was within his orbit, he morphed back into that passionate and loving individual she’d come to adore.
Despite the turbulence of tonight’s events, when he wrapped his arms around her in a firm embrace, it was the tether she needed to stop her from disintegrating to nothing. She clung to him as tears spilled from her eyes.
“It’s been a long night, Ivy. You should get some rest.”
Ivy looked up at the male she called her Resonant and was astonished by the rapid transformation in his demeanour. She was grateful for the reprieve and quickly made her way out of the parlour.
As she entered her bedroom, she felt a strong pressure on her shoulder that whipped her around to shove her against the wall.
Killian, was her first thought, as a massive figure loomed over her.
It took a second before her mind pieced the image together and revealed that it was Voresta bearing down on her with his teeth bared.
Rage rippled off him in waves and his eyes were a shade of grey so dark, they were almost black.