Chapter 58 Ivy
Ivy
Ifelt myself slipping in and out of consciousness. Faintly, I heard the world around me; waves crashing against a shore, thunder rumbling in the distance, the steady beat of someone’s heart beneath my ear.
Cold air and sand whipped at my bare legs for only a moment before it all went oddly quiet.
“Holy shit,” someone whispered. “What the hell is this place?”
I recognised that voice almost immediately as Rowan’s. Tears burned my closed eyes, emotion thickening my throat. Slowly, everything came back to me; the tunnel, the hellhounds and the demon, freedom when we hit the beach, and then…
The Elysian demons. The old High Fae Palace.
And my mates finding me.
My breaths came faster as I tried to pry my eyes open. I wanted to see them, to see all of them again. I needed to prove to myself that they were real and that it all really happened.
“Stop,” another said, this voice much closer, strained with fear. “Ivy?”
I blinked my eyes open and saw what appeared to be a stone wall.
I frowned, but that quickly vanished when Rowan appeared.
Relief flooded me when I saw him; red mussed hair that appeared longer than the last time I saw him, falling in messy waves over his forehead and curling around his ears.
There was a pink flush to his cheeks as he met my stare.
I couldn’t form the words to express how damned relieved I was to see him.
But it wasn’t just Rowan who was there. I glanced up and found myself staring into the red eyes of my vampire mate, her lips parting as she sighed. She appeared more tired than she ever had, stress lining her once smooth face.
“Oh, thank the Goddess,” she murmured, dropping her forehead to mine. “You’re awake.”
I made a sound in the back of my throat, the words I wanted to say trapped on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t recognise anything around us. Not the smell of the ocean or the flowers that tickled each breath I drew in. And not the arch of dark stone we stood under.
“We’re on Orion’s island,” Blythe said, appearing in front of me. “Follow the path, it’ll take you to the main house.”
My breath caught, heart pounding harder as I met her sad eyes and was forced to remember the one thing I wished had been a nightmare.
The witch tore her eyes from mine and moved past Rowan, walking out of sight.
“It’s alright,” Rowan said, brushing his fingers against my ankle. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Again, I wanted to say something. To at least speak, but I couldn’t. Not as we left the dark stone arch and stepped onto a path overgrown with wildflowers.
A storm raged above us, turning the sky a deep shade of grey, growing even more tumultuous the longer I stared. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky, somehow making the clouds look even darker. Rain fell in sheets, though not along the path.
Somehow, Orion had known to protect it with a ward.
Emotion thickened my throat as Rowan moved ahead of Maeve, soon followed by a familiar creature no longer in his shifted form.
Seeing Xerxes as a man again made my stomach flutter. His earrings were on full display as he passed, a relieved smile curling his lips. Shifted, he was in gear almost like what Rowan wore, but it was the gear he’d been wearing at the compound issued by Dante.
Just the thought of that male had my stomach souring. Even thinking about the compound had fear racing down my spine.
But we were nowhere near there. We were on Orion’s island.
The island he’d found for me. With the house he’d been rebuilding as a home for us.
The path was narrow, making everyone walk single file.
I couldn’t tear my eyes off the landscape ahead of us, though I knew if I turned my head, I would find the others walking behind Maeve.
Elias, Adrian, Damon, Hawk, and hopefully, Thor.
I had no idea what’d happened between us getting from the island in Faery to here, but I was partially glad I hadn’t needed to witness any of it.
I somehow felt better after that sleep, even though the nightmare still played in the back of my mind. I’d needed it, and a small part of me felt restored. Like I could think clearer now.
The narrow path wound through trees lining either side of it.
I couldn’t see much ahead, though there were witch lights hanging in the branches guiding us through the darkness.
It had an almost gothic feel, especially with the thunder playing in the distance and the occasional strike of lightning that illuminated the way.
A curve appeared ahead, leading us to what looked like a shed. We didn’t stop to check it, though curiosity flared within me. It did give us a small break in the trees to see what lay beyond, and what I saw made my heart race.
More trees and a beach with only the horizon beyond. We had to be on one of the outer islands, furthest away from the mainland. The ocean disappeared as we continued up the winding path. There was a gentle incline, like we were walking up a hill of some sort.
“How could he have hidden all of this?” I asked quietly, not expecting much of an answer.
“Glamours and wards,” Maeve replied just as softly. “And with Blythe’s help, some mind tricks to keep enemies away.”
A shiver rolled down my spine. For the first time since waking, I finally looked over her shoulder to check on the others.
Walking directly behind Maeve was Elias, and just the sight of him had my stomach clenching with worry. By now, they had to know. He had to know. There was no glamour or spell hiding my pregnancy now.
Elias met my stare, a gentle smile curving his lips. To my surprise, he was carrying Hawk over his shoulder, the male unconscious. Before I could even ask, Elias shook his head.
“Power overload,” he explained. “Don’t worry, Angel. He’s fine.”
My throat tightened with emotion, tears once again rising to the surface.
This time, I didn’t stop them from falling.
Goddess above, was I ever going to stop crying?
I felt like that was all I’d done since escaping Dante, but each tear felt like another step away from him and what he’d done.
But I couldn’t. Not with the pressure around my neck.
Thinking about the collar made it ache. Even though it technically wasn’t heavy, it still felt like a weight on my shoulders, suffocating me as it tightened around my neck.
Elias’s expression softened, the crease between his brows deepening.
Even my wolf mate seemed…aged. Changed. His hair was longer.
Not the cropped military style he usually kept it in, but messy and thick, barely staying out of his eyes.
It framed his face nicely, making him appear younger in a way.
But the lines of his face, like Maeve, were deeper, carved by the time that’d passed between us.
A beard covered his strong jawline, not scruffy, but almost neat in a way. He’d foregone shaving, but the length made it feel like I’d been gone months, not weeks.
I couldn’t see who walked behind him, though I suspected Adrian wasn’t too far. I itched to see my charm mage, to know that what happened in the ruins of the cottage hadn’t completely changed him.
I also couldn’t help but want to see the demon king. Guilt curled in my belly as I turned away from Elias and Hawk, guilt I couldn’t properly identify.
Ahead, I caught my first sight of the house. My breath lodged in my throat as I took in the familiar tower breaking through the trees, the old castle style manor that I’d only seen snippets of in my dreams.
My heart pounded as we came to a fairy tale style stone bridge that arched over a trickling stream below.
“Maeve, put me down,” I murmured.
She shook her head. “You don’t have shoes, a mhuirnín, and you need to rest.”
I made a sound of frustration in the back of my throat. “Please.”
Our gazes met, and I noticed the fight playing in her eyes.
The beautiful ocean blue of her irises bled red from the ring surrounding them, her hunger—or fear—barely hidden from me.
I didn’t need our bond to understand the thoughts running through her head.
Because they were similar to the ones that’d been pounding in mine the moment I saw her and the others again: if I let go, would they disappear?
But she finally stopped and let me down, gently putting me on my feet. We were close enough to the bridge now that beneath us was old stone, worn down from years of foot traffic.
I slid my hand into Maeve’s, sighing in relief when her fingers locked with mine. “I can carry you the rest of the way,” she offered.
Shaking my head, I gave her a gentle smile. “I want to experience this place like he would have.”
Something I couldn’t read flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before I could really understand it.
They were keeping something from me. Of course, they hadn’t had time to even tell me anything, anyway.
I couldn’t blame them for keeping secrets, since I hadn’t said anything about the pregnancy or Dante’s involvement, either.
Maeve didn’t say another word as she guided me onto the bridge.
A shiver rolled down my spine at my first real look at the building.
I couldn’t call it a house. It was a manor right out of an old English countryside, with walls surrounding it for protection, a large gate ahead of us, and a courtyard within.
“This is not a house,” Rowan said from ahead, glancing over his shoulder at me like he’d read my thoughts. “Though, to a prince, it probably is.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Rowan grinned, cheeks pink and held out his hand for me as Xerxes stopped nearby. The Primal watched me with an unreadable expression. I’d gotten so used to his other form that I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the male version of him. It was nice to see him not as his Primal, but as himself.
When Maeve and I made it to the bottom of the bridge, I took Rowan’s outstretched hand and fully enjoyed the feeling of his touch again. Especially when he stepped into me and I could breathe in his spicy scent. He pressed his lips against the top of my head, lingering for a moment.
“You have no idea how badly I’ve missed you,” he whispered, voice cracking.
I pressed my lips together to stop them from trembling, eyes closing as I soaked in his warmth, his touch. “I do,” I replied, my own voice hoarse. “I really, really do.”
He shuddered as he pulled away. “I’m sorry, I know you do.”
“It’s okay,” I said, blinking hard and swallowing past the lump building in my throat. “I’m lucky I wasn’t alone.” I spared Xerxes a glance, one he met carefully.
“And I’ll be thankful for that—for them—for the rest of our lives,” Rowan said before kissing the top of my head. “Come on. Let’s get you inside and out of…that.”
The nightgown stank of dirt, sweat, and blood. It’d been my only protection against Dante’s soldiers, specifically the ones who liked to stand near the cages to just…watch. I was ready to get rid of it, to finally shed this humiliating part of Dante’s torture.
The ground went from the hard stone of the bridge to cobblestone, smooth and slippery beneath my feet.
We walked beneath another arch, crossing the threshold into a courtyard empty except for a few planter boxes—which grew nothing—and a large chest. Maybe remnants of a project Orion had been working on, before…
The lump in my throat made it difficult to breathe as I tore my eyes away from it. Inside the courtyard, I got a better look at the manor. There was a tower, just one that reached for the storming skies, pulled right out of a fairytale with vines of green ivy crawling up it.
The roof looked intact, no clear damage anywhere. When Orion said it was abandoned, I expected a lot worse. But this…this place was beautiful. There were stained glass windows nearby, a set of ornate double doors across from us, little details in the stone walls.
I could almost imagine what life might look like here. Quiet mornings on the balcony to my left that overlooked the courtyard and forest, drinking my morning coffee while I watched the ocean. Of afternoons down here with my sisters, planting flowers in the boxes.
I blinked away tears, clearing my throat as the others entered the courtyard.
Someone closed the heavy wooden door behind us.
I looked over my shoulder to watch Damon, tall and imposing, lock it with his shadows, finding his burning red eyes when he looked up.
Other than the fact that he looked tired, probably from all the shadow jumping, and the distressed way his black hair hung in his face, he appeared the same. Still powerful. Still soulless.
Adrian had a rock clutched in one hand, eyes wide with hope.
The sight of him, with his golden hair mused, dark bruises beneath his eyes and a slight tremble running through his body, took my breath away.
He was still the same beautiful mage I’d fallen in love with, but he looked… broken. Frayed around the edges.
And beside him…
My breath escaped me in a rush as I stared at what looked like Orion’s dead body lying on a floating bed.