Chapter 28
twenty-eight
Ivy
The veil over Ivy’s consciousness lifted, but she felt a pressure on her eyes, and she realised she couldn’t open them. Panic barrelled through her as the fragmented shards of her memory pieced together what was happening.
She was in the earth. She was in a grave that was dug for her. She was completing her Ascension. She needed to get out. She was hit with the sudden thought. Up.
As she grasped onto that concept, she felt herself start to rise upward.
The earth parted around her, tickling her face and bare skin as she rose through the dirt towards the surface.
The higher she rose, the more her mind unravelled thoughts that were pressed into a dark corner of her mind while she was unconscious.
Ivy’s mind conjured the image of a pair of red eyes filled with swirling black clouds, and she felt a flutter in her chest. She breached the surface of her grave and found herself on solid ground, transported by thought alone.
As the night air kissed her skin, she opened her eyes and met someone’s gaze—but the eyes hers connected with were the colour of caramel. Not red.
Ivy blinked as her world came into sharp focus, and her mind dragged back the memories of everything that had brought her to this point.
Leseldh stood a short distance away with his arms outstretched towards her, beckoning her forth.
As she looked at his open arms, she realised that she didn’t really want to step into them.
She turned her thoughts inward and realised that the constant pull she normally felt towards Leseldh was blissfully absent.
The Sire and Broodling bond was broken. She almost wept in relief.
“My beloved, congratulations. You are now an Ascendant Vampire.” The pride in Leseldh’s voice was overwhelming, and Ivy looked around herself as an excuse to break her eye contact with him.
Voresta stood behind her, looking exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his pupils were a paler shade of grey than she’d ever seen before. Finare leaned against the side of the house, a small smile playing on his lips.
She eventually returned her gaze to Leseldh and saw that his expression had faltered.
Now that her disorientation had faded, she had an instinctive feeling that it was in her best interest to go to him.
She rushed into his embrace, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
Her arms encircled his waist, and she was suffocated by his sandalwood and malt scent.
“You are now free of the Maurell scourge, due to the Order of Protection.” His words sent a surge of anger through her, and her fingers pressed into his flesh in response.
She heard Leseldh’s sharp intake of breath, and he pulled back to look at her.
“I’m hungry.” She spoke without affect.
Leseldh’s lips kicked up in a smile. “As you wish, my love.”
His grip on her waist loosened, and his hand found hers. He started to lead her towards the house, but something told Ivy she needed to stay behind. She tugged his hand to get his attention. Leseldh stopped, returning his gaze to hers.
“Wait. I need a moment.”
“Fine. We will depart for Sabor Sanguine in sixty minutes. Voresta and I will meet you out front.” Leseldh’s eyes flicked to his First Creation before he turned on his heel and made his way towards the house, sweeping Finare inside with him.
Ivy sensed movement behind her, and she threw her hand out to catch Voresta’s wrist as he passed. His head snapped in her direction, his shockingly pale eyes falling upon the hand on his wrist, before rising to meet her gaze.
“Thank you. For watching over me.” Ivy’s words were sincere, and she offered him a smile.
The smile wasn’t returned and Voresta merely gave a sharp nod in reply. He appeared weak, perhaps words eluded him. She released his wrist, and he continued on his path towards the house. She wondered how their relationship would change now that he didn’t have to protect her anymore.
Ivy took a moment to take stock of herself.
She appraised her dress and although it appeared slightly rumpled, there were no traces of dirt upon the fabric.
What she could see of her hair and skin was the same.
Her eyes moved over to her grave, and she noticed the depression in the burial site, where her emergence had displaced the dirt.
As she stared at that spot, a raven landed on the dirt in the centre of the grave.
Ivy’s breath hitched as she looked at the bird and observed its unusual appearance.
It wasn’t black like a regular raven, but a deep, midnight-blue.
But two other aspects of this bird’s appearance were what really stole her breath—its feathers had a smattering of blue, purple and silver markings that resembled a galaxy, and as its wings shifted in the light, flecks of gold imitated stars.
As it turned to fix its gaze on her, she realised its eyes were a brilliant gold colour.
Ivy stepped towards the raven and raised her arm. The bird seemed to understand her intentions and took flight, landing on her outstretched arm. Ivy gasped, realising she’d just received her Blood Gift.
How do I speak to it, I wonder?
Like that, came the Erath’s reply.
Ivy gasped as the response reverberated in her mind, and a feeling of strangeness clanged through her. The voice was low and otherworldly, and it sparked chills along her arms.
What is your name?
I am Ozias.
Hello Ozias, I’m Ivy.
I know.
The Erath’s response made a shiver run through her. She shook it off, and she instructed Ozias to move to her shoulder with her mind. Ozias complied immediately. Together, they headed into the mansion.
Ivy headed straight for her bedroom and closed the door. She moved to the window that spanned the length of the wall in her room. She slid one of the panels open, allowing a means of entry and exit for the Erath.
I’m going to take a bath. Maybe you could… go for a flight or something? Ivy suggested, and Ozias departed through the open window with a flap of his wings.
Ivy advanced to her bathroom and halted when she saw herself in the vanity mirror.
She looked the same, but also different.
She noticed a small mark beneath her left eye—she leaned in closer and realised it was almost heart-shaped.
Her complexion was smoother and imperceptibly paler, and she now bore the impossible beauty that was shared by all Vampires.
It gave her a more ethereal appearance, which was jarring to see.
Although she’d been a Vampire for a year, the visage that now stared back at her no longer appeared Human.
A sudden thought hit her, and she hurried to wriggle out of her dress. Peering into the mirror once more, she was surprisingly pleased to see the faint scar still on her chest. She moved to the tub and ran herself a bath filled with scented oils and bubbles.
While she soaked, relief flooded her. The Sire and Broodling bond was broken, as Vampires of Iavus had foretold. Leseldh was no less handsome, but the attraction she once felt for him was decidedly absent. What she felt in its place caused a new worry to form in the pit of her stomach.
She wanted to see Killian. From the moment she stepped out of her grave, she was hit by a need to see him. But how could she do that if Leseldh was busy trying to seal their Resonance?
While the book helped prepare her for the Ascension, guidance on the Resonance was scant. She’d searched for months in Leseldh’s library and scoured every text she could but found nothing of use. If she and Leseldh exchanged their blood like he planned, would she become his Resonant?
She needed to stall Leseldh until she could see Killian. She remembered Killian’s instruction to find him after her Ascension. She knew it was simply a matter of heading into the city and locating him.