Ivy #2
A hand lands on the doctor’s shoulder as he parts his mouth, pausing him from speaking. “We’ll take it from here, Doctor. Please, give us a moment.” Hugo’s voice leaves no doubt, and the doctor reluctantly nods, disappearing from the room just as quickly as he arrived.
“Hugo?” I whisper as he takes a seat beside me on the bed, and his hand finds mine.
“Rip the Band-Aid off?” he asks, a saying I’m familiar with, and I nod. “Okay, Vee, but I’m going to need you to take a deep breath and soak it all in, alright?”
“Alright,” I insist, forcing myself to sit up as I inhale.
“And remember that I’m here. We’re all here.”
“Band-Aid, Hewy,” I grumble, and he grins.
“Ember is your sprite, like she mentioned, and these guys,” he starts, glancing over his shoulder at the four other men in the room for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “Are your fated mates.”
“Four?” I balk, and the blond snickers, offering me a wink that heats my cheeks as my brother rolls his eyes.
“Sadly,” he grumbles, earning a huff from the beast of a man behind him. “You are a Fire Protector at Neverbound Academy, and three days ago, you finally learned your powers, blessed to you by The Fates.”
“Three days ago?” I repeat, and he winces, making me understand immediately.
“Have I been out of it for three days?” I clarify, and he nods, but the pinch between his brows tells me there’s far more I’m not ready for.
“Band-Aid me, Hugo,” I insist, and he inhales sharply, engulfing my hand with his.
“You are a phoenix, Ivy. It’s likely going to change your life in ways we can’t comprehend yet because there’s not enough knowledge about them. Especially not in the Fifth Kingdom. You’re the first to be blessed with such abilities since the First Kingdom.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” he admits with a shrug. “I wasn’t actually there when it happened.”
“We were,” the blond breathes, stealing my breath and attention as he stares at me with hollow eyes, as if he’s reliving something unbearable.
“When will I remember?” I ask the room, but no one can give me an answer for what feels like an eternity before the dark-haired, hazel-eyed guy steps forward.
“The doctors aren’t sure, but they’re quite firm on the fact that you will. It’s just going to take time.”
I nod, like it makes sense, but it doesn’t.
“When can I leave?” I ask, already hating the room and the negative energy that clings to the walls.
I feel out of my depth. I don’t know anything from the past three years of my life, and I can’t stand the way everyone is looking at me with pity.
“When the doctor signs off on your discharge paperwork,” Hugo explains, and I huff.
My head aches. “What’s with the lighting in here? It’s driving me insane,” I grumble, feeling irritated in my own skin as I band my arms around my middle.
The light dims a moment later, but it does nothing to deter my frustration. Throwing the blankets back, I move to stand, but my brother plants a hand on my thigh, rooting me to the spot.
“You should rest, Ivy.”
“I don’t want to rest, Hugo. I want to understand.”
“Ask me and I’ll try to help,” the blond adds from his place against the far wall, and I shake my head.
“How did I come to be a phoenix? How does someone figure that out?”
If I thought the room was thick with tension before, it has multiplied by a thousand now.
Not a single pair of eyes meets mine. Not even Ember’s.
“Someone explain it to me.”
The beast stretches his neck from side to side as his emerald eyes settle on mine. “You were killed.”
I sway, thankful that I’m already seated as rage erupts around the room.
Everyone screams and shouts, angry over the truth, as I clamp my hands on either side of my face and try to breathe. I can’t make out what one single person is saying, but collectively, they reach new volumes as they scream about what Mr. Man Bun just said.
With every sharp inhale, I feel my face pulse, my nerve endings tingling with anxiousness and distress as I curl myself into a ball, plastering my hands against my ears to block the world out. Tears trail down my face, wrapping me in more emotions I can’t decipher as a sob parts my lips.
“Get out. Get out. Get out.” The words burn from my lips over and over, slowly growing louder until I pinch my eyelids shut and scream louder than the rest. “Get out!”
Heaving, I bathe in the silence that follows, but it doesn’t last more than a handful of seconds before someone clears their throat.
“If I may interject, I believe Miss Hayworth is experiencing mild bursts of hysteria. Emotional spikes are to be expected. A little sedation may—”
“Sedation?” I bolt upright in my bed, eyes wide and my muscles coiled tight as I blink at Dr. Holland. “Stay the hell away from me.” It’s a warning, one that vibrates through every inch of me as I glower at the man in question, but he doesn’t seem fazed by my outburst.
Instead of running from the room as he should, he takes another step toward me, needle in hand.
Before he can take a third, Mr. Hazel-Eyes stands in his way, his back to me as he stands protectively at my side.
“Back the fuck away from her. Now.”
A chill runs down my spine at his tone.
“Mr. Bowen, I—”
“Don’t try to reason with me. I said, back the fuck away, and I mean it.”
The doctor shakes his head. “It’s my job to—”
“You won’t have a fucking job if you take another step toward her because you’ll be dead. Do you understand me?”
My pulse rings in my ears, disbelief coating my vision, yet a flicker of the tranquility and peace from earlier resurrects itself.
“I understand your protectiveness at this time, but there are consequences that come with such magic. You should be mindful of the choices you make, especially under such tense circumstances,” the doctor warns, taking a backward step. “Another emotional spike like that, and I’ll have no choice.”
He disappears before anyone can deny him of the promise he lets linger.
Lethargy wracks my limbs as the chaos calms a little, and I stare up at the ceiling, lost and afraid.
“Angel?”
I tilt my head to the side to find Mr. Hazel-Eyes peering down at me, concern etched into his features as he runs his thumb down my cheek.
“Archer,” my brother warns, and I scowl at him.
I don’t like his tone toward one of my mates, but I like the insider information.
“Archer?” I repeat, my eyebrows gathering as I blink at the man beside me. The tension eases in him as he smiles softly.
“Angel.”
“You’re one of my mates?” I clarify, and he nods. “And you’re not an asshole?” I clarify, earning a snicker or two from around the room as he shrugs.
“It depends who you’re asking,” he answers truthfully, and I like it.
A yawn parts my lips as my eyelids grow heavy. If what Dr. Holland was saying about emotional spikes is true, then the crash is hitting me full force.
“Lay with me.”
It’s not a question as my eyes meet his, and he doesn’t take it as one, immediately reaching for the sheets and slipping in beside me without pause.
He drapes his arm out for me, and I roll onto my side, nestling against him with my eyes closed as if we’ve done it a thousand times.
My face tingles as a smile ghosts my lips at the press of his lips against my temple.
Warm, safe, and calm, I let the darkness take me.