Chapter 18 Ivy
eighteen
Ivy
The high and steady tempo of the music on the main dance floor of Lunarian attracted a larger number of dancers than usual.
Ivy was pressed against Finare as they danced.
Their contact lacked a sexual edge, but Ivy found comfort in his proximity.
They’d been at the club for a few hours, spending the time oscillating between stints on the dance floor, and returning to their table to hydrate with various shots and cocktails.
Finare had increased his alcohol tolerance to an impressive twelve drinks, but Ivy managed only half of that before the nausea set in.
Voresta, whose eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, manned their table as they moved between the two stations.
Ivy pushed her way through the crowds of gyrating bodies with Finare trailing behind.
She leaned against the table and gazed back out at the dance floor, but Finare continued past her, in the direction of the bar.
The trio were more relaxed than usual. Although Voresta remained vigilant, he wasn’t as tense as he usually was while outside of Veldmoor’s walls with Ivy.
The fact that they hadn’t seen Killian since the night in Oaris contributed to the change in his demeanour.
As Ivy reflected on the weeks following that night, she realised she wasn’t even sure how the fight ended.
Voresta carried himself with a new, self-assured swagger that told her that he’d likely claimed the victory—so, she assumed Killian was licking his wounds somewhere.
She imagined that if he'd been eliminated, Voresta wouldn’t be on patrol at all.
Ivy noticed a change in herself after the altercation in Oaris that she couldn’t explain.
She didn’t understand what triggered the surge of feelings that overcame her, and the way she decided to handle her confusion was to pretend it didn’t happen.
When neither Finare nor Leseldh mentioned it in the nights that followed the incident, she was content to believe that it was just hunger that flooded her senses.
Despite her attempts to keep the memories at bay, she kept reliving that night in her mind.
When she closed her eyes in the darkness of her bedroom, she was inundated with a rush of memories of all the things that led to that point—and most of them centred around Killian.
Whenever she thought of him, her fingers would graze the razor-thin scar she bore from his blade.
Finare pushed through a cluster of people, holding a tray laden with an assortment of drinks. Ivy’s eyes widened with excitement at the colourful array of beverages as they were placed down on the table before her.
“You’ve got two options. You can have a Savage Delight, or an Amazing Surge,” Finare offered, gesturing to the pair of cocktails on the tray.
The first drink was in a tall glass, and the liquid transitioned from orange to purple.
The second drink was smaller, but it was bright-pink and shimmered in the light.
The tray also held shots of different varieties and a glass of water for Voresta, who had declined alcohol in favour of his faculties.
Ivy selected the smaller of the two cocktails. Her earlier conversation with Finare forced its way into her mind, making her pause before bringing the drink to her lips. She held the glass aloft instead.
“To lost loved ones. To Eldwyn, to Elia… and to Emer.” Ivy’s eyes landed on each of her Broodmates as she spoke the names of their fallen companions.
The gesture took both of her Broodmates by surprise.
Finare picked up the Savage Delight off the tray, and Voresta, a touch slower, collected the water.
They brought the glasses together with a series of soft clinks before taking a sip.
If Voresta wondered how or what Ivy knew of Elia, he didn’t voice it, but Ivy could feel his grey eyes watching her.
Finare also watched Ivy with a smirk as she took a sip of the Amazing Surge. A cough rose up from her throat, and her eyes snapped over meet Finare’s mischievous gaze. The drink was small but potent—the familiar burn started immediately and was stronger than most drinks she’d tried.
“I may have forgot to mention, that one packs a punch.” Finare winked at Ivy.
“Who’s Emer?” Voresta’s interruption drew her attention, and she found him focusing on her intently.
“She was my sister.”
“What happened to her?” Finare’s voice was gentler.
“She went missing when I was seventeen. We got a Black Letter a couple of months later, and my whole world changed.”
“A Black Letter. She went missing in Noctis,” Voresta stated.
Rather than flipping her head back and forth between the two as they took turns at leading the conversation, she stared down at her drink instead.
“She loved all things magical, but she found Noctis irresistible.”
Ivy’s voice was thick with sorrow, and a wave of painful memories broke through the walls she’d built to shield herself.
Over the last eleven years, Ivy survived by shoving the grief and regret over Emer’s loss into a dark, untouched corner of her mind.
Emer’s face had long since faded to a shadow in her memory, but when she allowed herself to remember her sister, the ache was enough to steal her breath.
“Come on, let’s go shake our butts for a bit,” Finare suggested in a light voice.
Ivy returned to her drink and threw it back in one mouthful. The burn was horrendous, and she couldn’t hold back the cough that followed. Finare barked with laughter as he offered his hand to Ivy. She smiled, but didn’t take his hand.
“I think I might get a feed.”
Voresta stood, but Ivy threw her hand out to still his movement.
“Please, I’m just going upstairs. I’ll be fine.” Ivy looked to him pleadingly.
She inclined her head towards the staircase that led to the private rooms, which was in full view from their position. Voresta’s eyes glanced in that direction and his expression darkened, but he gave a slow nod.
“Don’t forget this.” Finare pressed his case of Lacuna into Ivy’s hand. She slipped it into the bodice of her dress and slid away from the table. As she made her way up to the mezzanine, she felt Voresta’s eyes on her the entire way.
Once inside a private room, she leaned back against the couch and shut her eyes while she waited for her Human to arrive.
The music from the dance floor was muffled inside this room, but the pulsating beat was constant, and she let it fill her.
Although the alcohol clouded her senses, there was one feeling that was unusually sharp—she could sense someone approaching, and an unreasonable amount of excitement filled her at the realisation.
She kept her eyes closed and focused on the sound of the door clicking shut, and footsteps advancing towards her. She expected to feel the dip of the couch as the Human sat down beside her. However, the sound of movement on the opposite side of the room told her they sat on the other couch instead.
When she opened her eyes, a familiar figure sat with his ankle resting on his knee and his arms positioned along the back of the couch. Killian was dressed in all black, and strands of his dark hair fell in his face. His eyes were a brilliant red, and they flashed as she made eye contact with him.
“Glad I could finally get you alone.” Killian’s low, gravelly voice set Ivy’s skin tingling, and her heart started to race. She stiffened as she realised that she’d opened herself up to attack once again.
“And here I was, thinking Voresta had finally chased you away.” Ivy pushed bravado into her words and did her best to appear unaffected by Killian’s presence.
Her hands were shaking, and she clamped them between her thighs to still them.
Killian noticed the movement and a smirk spread across his lips.
“I thought I’d let him believe he’d won. For now.”
Killian’s gaze lingered on her hands wedged between her legs, before slowly raking up her body, pausing on her scar, and finally returning to her wide-eyed stare.
Ivy felt both thrilled and terrified by the lustful way he devoured her body with his eyes.
She shuddered under his scrutiny, which seemed to satisfy him.
“Besides, it’s been nice seeing you all so… relaxed. It’ll make it all the more delicious when I claim my prize.”
“What are you waiting for? You’ve only got a few months left,” Ivy fired back.
She didn’t realise the foolishness of the admission until it was too late to scoop the words back into her mouth.
She wasn’t sure what made her feel so bold as to challenge him, but she knew it was a mistake when he rushed towards her with lightning-fast speed.
He caged her in against the couch with his arms, and she was engulfed by his wood and vanilla scent.
Her heartbeat quickened in an instant, and her confidence was dismantled as she withered under his dominating presence.
“There it is,” he growled, and the low rumble of his voice reverberated through her. He leaned in and Ivy felt his nose brush along her jaw. He inhaled her scent, and she felt him tense against her. Ivy’s thoughts stuttered in her mind as his breath caressed her neck when he spoke again.
“The scent of your fear is intoxicating.”
His body was just inches from hers and the heat that radiated off him was enticing in a way that felt wrong but right at the same time.
She pressed herself against the couch to create distance between them, but it unwittingly exposed her neck to him even more, and she whimpered as she felt his fangs graze the side of her neck lightly.
The door to the room opened unexpectedly, and Ivy’s breath rushed from her lungs in relief. Killian’s attention snapped to the door, a mist of black clouding the red of his eyes. A young, blonde-haired female Human stepped into the room but faltered as she took in the scene before her.
“Sorry to interrupt. I can come back la—"