Chapter 28 Ivy
IVY
Ivy woke in the Book Nook's back room to the sound of voices in the main shop.
Moira was talking to someone in hushed tones, their words too quiet to make out but the urgency clear enough.
She dressed quickly and moved toward the front, finding Moira, Diana, and Twyla huddled around a table covered in open books.
"Morning," Ivy said, accepting the cup of coffee Diana pressed into her hands without being asked.
"How did you sleep?" Moira asked.
"Better than expected." It was mostly true. The bookstore's protective wards had kept the nightmares at bay, even if they couldn't quiet her racing thoughts. "What's all this?"
Twyla looked up from the grimoire she'd been reading, her usually cheerful expression replaced by determined focus. "Research. Planning. Preparation for taking your life back."
"Twyla," Diana said warningly.
"What? We're all thinking it." Twyla gestured toward the books spread across the table. "Sebastian Crowe thinks he can waltz into our town, humiliate one of our own, and face no consequences. Well, he's about to learn differently."
"Our own?" Ivy repeated.
"You think spending a few weeks here doesn't make you family?" Twyla's smile was fierce. "Honey, you became one of us the moment you chose to stay and fight instead of running. Everything else is just paperwork."
Diana nodded agreement. "The Council is investigating, but legal processes take time. In the meantime, there are other approaches."
"What kind of approaches?"
Moira pulled a leather-bound journal toward her. "Magical ones. Based on your research into songs of unmaking, we've been exploring practical applications."
Ivy settled into the empty chair, studying the notes and diagrams scattered across the table. "You've been working on this all night?"
"Some of us don't require much sleep when there's important work to be done," Twyla said, pouring tea from a pot that smelled like chamomile and something sharper. "Try this. I call it choice tea."
"Choice tea?"
"Herbs that strengthen will and clarify intention. Good for when you need to make important decisions without outside influence." Twyla's eyes sparkled with meaning. "Thought you might appreciate that particular combination."
The tea was perfect. "What did you find?"
"Several promising options," Diana said, opening a book to a marked page. "The legal approach through the Council is solid, but it could take weeks or months to fully resolve."
"And Sebastian won't wait quietly during that time," Moira added. "He'll keep trying to reassert control, keep pushing at the boundaries."
"So what do you suggest?"
Twyla leaned forward, her expression intense. "We suggest you take your power back. Actively. Definitively."
"How?"
"Songs of unmaking," Moira explained. "Based on your grandmother's ward techniques, but inverted. Instead of creating protections, you'd be dismantling bindings."
Ivy studied the diagrams Moira had sketched, recognizing elements of her grandmother's teachings woven through with more complex magical theory. "This would unravel Sebastian's contracts entirely?"
"If done correctly, yes. The bindings would dissolve, leaving you completely free of his magical influence."
"And if done incorrectly?"
The three women exchanged glances. Diana spoke first. "Magical backlash. Potentially severe, depending on how deeply the original bindings were set."
"Could kill you," Twyla added bluntly. "Or leave you permanently voiceless. Or drive you mad. The usual risks of advanced magic."
"Encouraging."
"I'm not going to lie to you about the dangers," Twyla said firmly.
"But I'm also not going to pretend you don't have other options.
You can wait for the Council to act through proper channels, hope Sebastian doesn't escalate his harassment, and pray that legal precedent is enough to break magical bindings that have been in place for months. "
"Or?"
"Or you can take control of your own fate. Use your own magic to free yourself on your own terms."
The choice was stark but appealing. After months of being controlled, manipulated, and protected by others, the idea of actively reclaiming her freedom held powerful appeal.
"What would I need to do?"
Moira turned to a fresh page in her journal. "First, compose a counter-ballad. Something that directly addresses and negates the original contract terms while asserting your own autonomy."
"A free-song," Diana added. "That's what the old texts call it."
"The melody needs to match Sebastian's magical signature but invert its effects," Twyla continued. "Instead of binding, it releases. Instead of controlling, it liberates."
Ivy pulled out her own notebook, the one where she'd been sketching musical ideas since arriving in Hollow Oak. "I remember how his magic felt when he was creating the bindings. Cold, possessive, like chains wrapping around my voice."
"Perfect. You'll want to compose something that feels warm, expansive, freeing." Moira handed her a pen. "Don't think too hard about it. Let your instincts guide the process."
For the next two hours, Ivy worked on the melody while the other women researched technical details and safety precautions. The song that emerged was unlike anything she'd written before, simultaneously gentle and powerful, personal and universal.
"Read us what you have," Twyla requested when Ivy finally set down her pen.
Ivy cleared her throat and began to sing softly:
"I name myself, I will claim my voice
I speak my truth, make my choice
No binding will hold what I release
No contract binds my inner peace
The words I used to sing in darker days
Are mere ashes now, the magic frays
I am my own, I will sing me free
My voice, my will, my destiny."
The words vibrated with power that made the bookstore's protective wards hum in recognition.
"That's it," Diana breathed. "That's exactly what you need."
"The magical structure is perfect," Moira agreed. "It addresses consent, autonomy, and personal choice while directly countering binding magic."
"When do we test it?" Ivy asked.
Twyla raised an eyebrow.
"This is my fight. My choice to make." Ivy met each of their gazes in turn. "But I'd appreciate backup if things go wrong."
"Always," Diana said immediately.
"Where do you want to do the test?" Moira asked.
Ivy considered the options. "Freya's apothecary. The warded awning would contain any magical backlash, and she'd know how to treat injuries if something goes wrong."
"Smart choice," Twyla approved. "When?"
"Now. Before I lose my nerve or Sebastian tries something else."
The three women packed up their research materials while Ivy gathered her guitar and notebook. As they prepared to leave, Twyla caught her arm gently.
"You sure about this? Once you start the unmaking process, there's no going back. You'll be committed to breaking free entirely."
Ivy thought about Sebastian's satisfied smile as he'd stolen her voice in front of people who once mattered to her.
About the months of running, hiding, living in fear of discovery.
About the trust she'd lost in her own judgment and the freedom she'd surrendered to people who claimed to know what was best for her.
"I'm sure," she said firmly. "It's time to take my life back."