50
ELIAS
DARKNESS danced at the edges of my vision as Ivy released the magic into me. Pain burned through my veins, almost forcing me to my knees.
Kingsley, who had pulled me into her bedroom, collapsed as swirls of blue power, similar to what happened to Ivy, ignited across his skin. When I looked down, I noticed the same along my own flesh, only the colour manifested in green, winding over my arms like vines.
It took all my power not to collapse, but it crashed into me, and I fell to the edge of the bed. White dots appeared across my vision, blurring the sight of Ivy’s bedroom.
But as soon as the magic slammed into me, Ivy went dark. The bond between us blackened with nothing, turning fragile and delicate in my chest. Somehow, that hurt more than the inferno of magic.
“Can you—can you reach her?” Kingsley asked from the floor. He struggled to his feet, gripping the edge of the bed for support. Sweat beaded his brow, and there was a red flush to his skin.
I tested the bond, prodding it carefully, but where there used to be light, thoughts and impressions of her emotions, there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
“No,” I choked out, shaking my head. “I don’t feel anything.”
Kingsley closed his eyes, head dropping. “This is my fault. I told her to take the fucking magic and release it to us. I told her—”
“You gave her the same instructions any one of us would have given her,” I replied, pressing a hand to my chest, over the thundering beat of my heart. “We all would have done the same fucking thing.”
The prince looked up and shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. We—we have to go to her. But we can’t leave. Fuck.”
I stiffened as a familiar, sweet scent tickled my nose. Turning to the door, I released a frustrated breath as a small, colourful body slipped into the room, violet eyes grim.
“Seer,” I said, gritting my teeth. “What are you doing here?”
She looked me over critically and sighed. “Perhaps you already know the answer to that, Elias Beckham.”
“Is this about Ivy? About...about what happened?” Kingsley questioned, rising to his feet. “Did you know this would happen?”
The Seer made her way to Kingsley’s side and pressed a hand against his cheek. Maybe for the first time since meeting the witch, she seemed genuinely concerned. Her bright eyes roamed Kingsley’s body, but she stepped back after a moment, before turning to me with the same worry.
“Tell us the truth,” I gritted out before she could make it to my side. “What happened?”
“The episode she had, before she began at the academy, weakened her,” the Seer explained. She pressed her hands into her lap as she met my stare. “Over the last several weeks, it has slowly unravelled.”
“How do you know that?” Kingsley asked. “I doubt even my mother would know that, and—”
Sable shrugged, like it meant nothing. “The reason your mother and I work so well together is that she knows there are things I will always know that she won’t. Some of the greatest Queens have had a Seer at their side. Ever wonder why? It was Amara of the Everhart bloodline who assisted Queen Daphne after the destruction of the Old World. An extremely powerful divination witch who had warned Queen Aura that the magic was going to destroy our home. Seers have always served a purpose to the Queens—and to Nyx.”
My jaw clenched as I finally found my footing. The dark, silent bond terrified me. After the accident, it awoke. The bond told me Ivy was asleep, unconscious, but alive.
This…this wasn’t right. It should have awoken by now. Given me something .
“What does any of this have to do with my mate?” I growled, anger shuddering through me. My skin prickled as the shift threatened to overcome me. But I tried to force the wolf down. Because if he took control, I feared the man wouldn’t return.
The Seer eyed me for a long moment, her brows furrowed. “It simply means you should learn to put your trust in your Elders, Elias.” She turned back to Kingsley, putting her back to me. “Her magic hit a breaking point. No matter how close you all are as a mate circle, it wasn’t enough to undo the damage of the first.”
The first mate . I wanted to kill him all over again. Skin him and toss him to the packs to tear apart. If he caused this, I would never be able to let him near her. It didn’t matter if she forgave him or accepted him back into her life. It would be a betrayal to her if I let that bastard get away with this.
“I want to kill him,” Kingsley muttered. “I fucking hate him.”
My jaw clenched as the Seer shook her head. “You won’t. She needs him. As much as you wish she didn’t. He was her first for a reason. Sent to her by Nyx for a reason .”
“Care to share with us the reason, Sable? Or will you keep that to yourself, too?” I snapped.
She huffed, though she didn’t get angry. Part of me wanted the witch to get angry. To finally admit what she knew. It was fucking tedious standing here, when I should be in a car on my way to Oberon.
I waited for a call from Grey, to give us something, to tell us anything , but the vamp was quiet. Not even Archer sent word.
“Enough.” She whirled on me, pointed a finger at my chest, and glared. “You can be angry with me, but it will not help. Not when he already knows the truth. ”
A chill swept through me. “The usurper.”
She nodded. “This instability will be her undoing. I thought perhaps the academy would mean change. Give her what she needed. But I was too late. He already knows her weakness. He knows he can take what he wishes now.”
My stomach plummeted. Over her shoulder, Kingsley and I shared a look. Horror played in his eyes, and the colour drained from his face.
“We need to go,” he stated, stumbling back a step. “We need to get to her first.”
“The children will be safe with me,” Sable offered. A different kind of fear played in her eyes as she motioned towards the door. “I’ll take them and Thea to Queen Greer. Go to Ivy. And protect her.”
~
Chaos. Complete and utter chaos.
We were at the academy within the hour, and the campus was in pandemonium. Darkness fell over the school, but not naturally. A heavy, grey fog distorted the buildings. My heart raced as guards waved us through the gates, and I was able to pull in by the front entrance. There were dozens of other vehicles lining the circular drive, and from them spilled agents and soldiers.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Kingsley murmured, jumping out of the SUV. “The magic here feels off.”
As he rounded the side, I glanced around again. “None of this feels right.”
Guards and agents were everywhere, stalking the grounds and moving students. I spied Headmistress Sylvia with several professors, but she barely glanced at us as we passed.
Carefully, I prodded the dark bond, but there was nothing from Ivy. No sign of her consciousness in the back of my mind, no impression of her thoughts or emotions.
I rubbed my chest, picking up the pace. “She was meant to be in her Defence class,” I growled. I couldn’t help but think that maybe I could have prevented this if I’d pressed her about that mentor. Maybe it could have been prevented if I’d been the one working with her.
“This way is faster,” Kingsley said, turning down a quiet hall. “She might still be there.”
We’d tried to set up comms with Grey and Archer, but neither had responded. It wasn’t until we’d taken a black-out SUV that we’d learned all communications in and out of the academy were down. That their wards had been compromised.
Her power shouldn’t have done that. She couldn’t have done that.
Not alone, at least.
Fuck . We picked up the pace, sliding into another hall, one all too familiar. But the crowds of students were thick, barricading the bridge leading into the gym.
“Move,” I shouted, a tremble entering my voice as the students quietened. They parted though, eyeing both Kingsley and I warily. At the front of the group, Ivy’s friend stood.
“Is she okay?” Vanya asked quietly as we passed. “No one has come out of there.”
I stopped beside her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, wringing her hands. “Several guards tried, but it’s in lockdown. I don’t know if…” She trailed off and glanced at the doors and swallowed hard. “There’s something wrong, isn’t there?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” I replied. “Don’t worry.”
Her eyes swam with tears, but she nodded, taking a step back.
I shared a look with Kingsley as we turned to the dark walkway between the hall and the gymnasium. Power radiated from the building in an entirely different way.
“You think Maeve and Rowan are in there holding everyone back?” Kingsley asked, pausing at the door.
I shook my head as he rolled his sleeve up and revealed the communication rune on his wrist. He ran a finger over the dark marks, and it took a moment, but it activated with a dull glow.
“Rowan?”
For a long moment, there was nothing. The rune’s glow flickered, but it didn’t give out right away. My heart almost stopped while we waited.
But the rune pulsed with light, and a voice came through. “Took you fucking long enough,” Archer rasped. “Where are you?”
Kingsley and I both blew out shaky breaths. “We’re outside the gym. Are you with Ivy? Tell me she’s okay.”
“The whole place is fucking dark,” he replied. “I can’t…I can’t feel anything. ”
I cursed under my breath. “Do you know why no one can get in?”
“What?” Archer questioned. “No. What the fuck?”
Kingsley and I shared a look. “Hold on. We’ll be in there soon.” As he lowered his wrist, he shook his head. “What the hell is going on?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. And I don’t care what it takes,” I said, “but I’m going in there.”
He exhaled harshly, nostrils flaring. “I won’t stop you.”
I rolled my shoulders back and let the shift claim me. My body rippled and muscles groaned as the wolf appeared. Any worries I had before disappeared. The wolf and I both wanted the same thing. And he knew he needed me to get that.
I danced back, while Kingsley moved to the side. I ignored everything else as I focused on the doors. I was ready to tear apart anything that tried to keep me from her.
Leaning back on my haunches, I launched myself at the door. As soon as I collided with it, I felt it. The power holding them together. The absolute darkness within.
But somehow, they gave way, and I landed on my feet inside the black gym. I’d only seen the inside briefly before. But nothing was recognisable, not even as my vision adjusted to the darkness.
Kingsley entered behind me. The building shook, and the doors groaned, slamming shut and trapping us within.
“That’s not freaky at all,” he muttered.
I let out a low growl, and it seemed he understood the warning, because he gripped the fur at my neck and let me guide him through the darkness. My nose twitched as I sought out her scent. The familiar trace of coffee and coconut was buried beneath layers of other smells; somewhere in there, I caught Archer and Grey, but just quickly as they came, they were gone.
Kingsley and I descended into the arena. There were hushed voices, then—
“Kingsley. Beckham.”
I couldn’t believe how fucking grateful I was to hear the vampire’s voice. Grey appeared like a ghost in the darkness. Blood, now dried, dripped down her forehead. Her gear was covered in dust and debris, her hair grey from the shit. As I took her in, I was forced to take everything else in, too.
The arena, renowned for its enchantments and structure, was shredded from whatever Ivy’s power had done to it. The students who had been trapped within the building were huddled in a less damaged area, some wounded, based on the blood in the air, while it seemed others were healed.
“The fuck happened?” Kingsley asked. “And where’s Rowan?”
Grey’s eyes darkened. “He was here first. He’s still trying to get into the sparring room where Nash and Ivy are trapped.”
Anger rippled through me, and I shifted back without hesitation. “What do you mean, where Nash and Ivy are trapped?”
“He is her mentor,” Grey replied stiffly. “He had her in one of the contained sparring rooms. Which I agreed to.”
Grey’s scent shifted as her eyes shuttered. She probably felt as guilty as Kingsley did—as I did.
“The runes should have prevented this. I don’t—” Grey stopped, a blank mask falling over her face. “Follow me. We need to get Ivy out of there. I still don’t…I don’t feel her.”
“Neither do we,” I muttered. “Take us there.”
Picking our way through the rubble, it didn’t take long to find Archer trying to move debris out of the doorway. He didn’t even look up as we appeared; there was blood in his hair, and a bruise forming on his cheekbone, but he continued moving the collapsed wall with help from a couple of other students.
It shouldn’t surprise me that the Fae Prince was amongst the group helping. But his desperation made me pause.
The witch who usually followed him around looked up, eyes wide. “I know they’re both…alive, in there.”
“Blythe is a mind witch and damned fucking good,” Archer grunted, throwing another rock to the side. “She claims she can feel Ivy in there. Alive.”
“But she’s not well. I can’t feel her thoughts like I should.” The witch glanced warily at the Fae male, who clenched his jaw, but didn’t stop.
There were others helping, too. A large shifter and a demon. Neither looked up. They just worked. And it didn’t take long for Kingsley and me to join them.
Since we’d arrived, I’d tried to ignore the fear. Fear that what I might find within could destroy me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep going without her. If I lost her…
I shook my head of those thoughts.
It took us another hour to break through the wall of rubble. My muscles burned from the exertion, and I wasn’t the only one feeling it. By the time we were through, the other students stepped back, leaving the team and I, as well as the Fae male, to finish breaking through.
My heart almost stopped at the destruction within. Her power was more potent now, and the expulsion of magic shuddered across my skin. I stomped into the sparring room, taking in the burnt-out runes lining the walls and floor, all empty of power. Most of the ceiling had caved in, too, taking out the support beams and almost everything else.
The darkness here seemed thicker, discoloured by smoke and dust. But the shadows shifted, and I held my breath as something moved within them.
I released a heavy breath as Nash turned, tucking his wings into his back. He was shirtless, bloodied, but he clutched someone to his chest.
I didn’t wait for the others. I stumbled towards the male, not even caring to check in with him. Not as I pulled Ivy’s unmoving body from his arms and held her against my chest. Her heartbeat was steady, her breathing soft. Almost like she was asleep. There was no blood, and I took in the dark eyed agent. His hair was grey from the debris, and blood coated his skin. He was shirtless, wings gone.
“You protected her,” I said quietly, voice hoarse. “Thank you.”
Nash bowed his head, swaying on his feet. “Just make sure she’s okay,” he muttered. “Don’t let her die.”
The others appeared around us, though the Fae male stood back. I didn’t care. Not as Ivy sighed, not as her eyes fluttered and I knew she was there.
The bond remained dark and quiet, but I had her again.
And I wouldn’t let the usurper get his hands on her. Not again.