Ivy #2
Helplessness takes over as a vision of my wedding dress comes into view, quickly overwhelmed by the remnants of a dead body and blood spilling across the altar. Only to settle on the tattered remains of white lace as I find myself on campus.
Once the door is open, everything comes rushing back.
The clifftop with Baron, Sax in my room, the Rejuvenating Ceremony with Archer, Inky Lake, and Teddy. But I’m swallowed up by my last moments, by my father, and what he did.
Unfortunately, he’s not here.
But they are.
Unceremoniously dragged back to the present, I find my fingers curled into the sleeves of Archer’s t-shirt as he holds my weight, keeping me from collapsing to the floor altogether. His eyebrows are drawn tight, worry dancing in his eyes as he stares down at me.
I don’t need to part my lips for him to know.
“Ivy,” he breathes, defeat on his tongue as my hatred for him comes back full force.
Swaying on my feet, I push away from him.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t see.
I can’t think.
“Vee?” my brother breathes, but I can’t focus as I bend in half, bracing my hands on my knees as my head lolls between my shoulders.
Nausea churns inside of me.
“Get out!” I snarl, my vision blurry with tears as I dig my nails into my skin. I sense someone crouch down beside me, and it only angers me more. “I said get out!”
“Vee, tell me what—”
“She remembers,” Archer hollers, his words filling the room and igniting my rage further.
“Don’t fucking talk about me like you know me.” My gaze snaps to his. He assesses me like he always does, and I hate it. “Get out.”
“Princess,” Teddy starts, and I growl, anger burning so brightly inside of me that I don’t have control. I’m simply a vessel for the emotions that are consuming me.
“Don’t fucking princess me.” I stab a finger in his direction, forcing myself to stand tall despite the vertigo playing havoc with my body.
“What did I do?” he blurts, lifting his hands in surrender, and I shake my head.
“You didn’t stop me.”
“Stop you?”
I wave a hand at Archer. “Before I died, would I have willingly climbed into bed with someone I despise?” I snap, watching as guilt claims his eyes and slackens his jaw.
“I warned you about this,” Hugo starts, and I turn to him with rage still consuming me.
“You didn’t warn me.”
The room turns still, all eyes on me as I heave every breath. I can’t even bring myself to acknowledge the state of myself. But none of that matters. All I care about is getting the hell out of here and as far away from them all as possible.
How dare they fill my room, show they care, and hold me while I sleep, not expecting me to remember what they’ve done to me.
Teddy, I can half understand. I gave him my virginity like a desperate fool, but the others?
There’s no reason for them to be here. But since they won’t listen to my screams and leave, I’ll do us all a favor and be the one to take action.
“Vee, I need you to calm down,” Hugo starts, and my wild eyes return to his.
“I’m leaving.”
I expect him to push back, but to my surprise, he nods.
“Calm down, and I’ll get the medical staff to sign you out.” It’s a promise. I can see the truth in his eyes.
I nod, but he pauses at the door. “Can you not cause any chaos while I’m gone? I’ll be two minutes.”
My nostrils flare as I shrug. “No promises.”
The corner of his mouth curls up. “That’s my Vee,” he mumbles before disappearing through the door. He doesn’t even close it, but it’s as if I’m being suffocated as my four hated mates blink at me.
Teddy clears his throat first, but he doesn’t dare attempt to take a step toward me. “Princess, we can talk about this.”
“No, we can’t.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Baron grunts, and I scoff.
“Says the guy who hates me and has spent days in that chair.”
“Maybe that should show you how much we care,” Archer says calmly from his spot on the bed, and I shake my head.
“Or maybe he’s trying to figure out how to be rid of me once and for all. Especially since he was happy to let me fall from the top of the cliff. Maybe he encouraged Odesa to off me too. Was my father an unfortunate coincidence or a relief for you? Until it didn’t work, of course.”
Baron’s eyes bore into mine as Sax clears his throat. “Ivy, you don’t mean any of that. It’s the emotional spike taking over again. Just relax, okay? You—”
“Don’t baby her,” Baron grunts, dragging a hand down his face as if he has something to say, but before he can part his lips, Hugo returns.
He glares around the room, sensing the energy as he runs his tongue over his teeth. “Vee, let’s go.”
I don’t hesitate as I cut across the room, linking my arm through his, but before I can run, Archer’s voice carries through the air, freezing me in place.
“You can leave this room, Angel, but that doesn’t mean you can avoid us forever. There are things we must discuss, considerations to take into account now that your magic has revealed itself.”
Hugo stiffens beside me, his hand landing on my arm, but he doesn’t breathe a word.
Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes narrow on the Fire Protector who lay beside me, lying, knowing how much I hated him, but did it anyway.
“I am no concern of yours,” I promise, and he scoffs.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You may not like our presence, but we’re connected whether you like it or not. The quicker you get over it, the safer you will be.”
Disbelief floods my veins. “The quicker I get over what? The fact that you all rejected me and don’t regret it?” I start, recalling Teddy’s truth when I quizzed him with the help of Archer’s abilities. “Or do you want me to get over the fact that you snowballed my wedding day and—”
“You’re welcome.” Sax’s words linger in the air as my eyes almost bug out of my head.
Sensing my incredulity, he shrugs. “You didn’t want that life.
I know it, you know it, we all know it. And the fact that your father literally put a bullet through your skull, a memory I didn’t have the luxury of forgetting, even if only for a few days, only confirms it. ”
My stomach twists at his words, nausea churning the bile there as I shake my head. “Stay away from me.”
“No can do, Angel,” Archer declares. “Your safety is paramount. You can leave with Hugo now, but know that you are under the protection of your fated mates on this campus. If that means I have to walk that sweet ass to every class, every lunch, every fencing lesson, then you better believe I will. Because phoenix or not, I won’t survive you dying again. ”