Chapter 65 Ivy
Ivy
Rain flooded the island, turning it into a soggy, unwalkable prison, the manor my cell. I slept, ate, and tried to be helpful where I could, but recounting my time in Luna brought back memories I hadn’t even realised I’d locked away.
I tried to keep the fear at bay as I helped my mates with plans that would likely never work, but I felt it trying to consume me.
“Wrath soldiers infiltrated the compound under the mountain,” Damon read, standing by the light of our only source of warmth in the cold, wet manor—a fireplace in the back of the main living room.
“They found remnants of Dante’s army, but no sign of the male himself.
Sent to your—I assume that means you, vampire—tablet is a map of the compound, as well as photographs taken of unfamiliar runes.
We found bodies—Dante executed nearly thirty of his soldiers and left them to rot.
But we have identified all cells marked with the God Runes and found evidence of Seer Sable. She is still unaccounted for.”
Damon glanced over at Rowan, who stood stiffly by the large window, shoulders tense. I wanted to go to him, but I was trapped firmly between Thor and Elias, who had both taken on more…protective roles over the last twenty-four hours.
The latter I could understand; even though he didn’t say it, I knew part of it was his wolf reacting to the baby, his instincts telling him to stay by my side no matter what.
And even the former had a reason: he didn’t appear to trust anyone here but me, though he seemed to be a little open to Xerxes.
I tore my eyes off Rowan, who just shook his head, not looking at anyone.
To that, Damon continued, voice darker, “We found enough evidence of his practices that we believe we may know the identities of his supposed High Council, and at least one is in our hold. We also have the demon torturer known as Doyle Garrik, as well as the healer, Marion Moss. Both are being held in the dungeon, awaiting verdict. Elara Blackwood has assumed control over interrogating our prisoners, while Blythe Windermere has been working tirelessly with survivors. At this time, we have yet to help any of the shifters through a complete shift, though several of the females were able to identify their young. We may have a breakthrough with that.”
My stomach sank, though I could also understand it. They likely felt safer shifted, though without being there, I couldn’t be sure.
“We have sent scouts further into Luna for Dante, but reports are coming in from Avalon of his presence at the palace.”
“He’s making his last stand there,” I said quietly, looking up at Damon. The light of the fire flickered across his face, highlighting his features. “He wants us to go to him.”
“It doesn’t sound like he knows where we are, but with him being so close, we need to be careful,” Maeve said from where she leaned against the wall by the fireplace. “Adrian, can you increase the power of the wards?”
“Yeah,” my charm mage said, clearing his throat. I glanced back at him, but he wouldn’t look at me. At least there was colour in his face again, the bruising around his eyes gone. “I’ll work on that.”
“Anything in there about him looking for Ivy?” Elias asked, resting his elbows on his knees, concern darkening his eyes. “Have the scouts noticed an increase in his soldiers searching the realms?”
Damon glanced at me, our eyes locking for a moment.
The hesitation told me everything we needed to know.
“Increased activity around the different access points throughout the realms,” he continued darkly.
“There have been two attempts to enter Hell through the Titan’s Channel—both failed, and the Leviathan ensured they were taken to the depths.
Our allies in Faery have confirmed Dante’s attempts to reach them for alliances and protection should they hand over the Queen.
Headmistress Sylvia at Oberon Academy reported several harsher attacks, assumes they are related to the Queen’s escape. ”
Bile rose in my throat as I covered my mouth with my hand and squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t hide forever.
“It’ll be okay,” Elias murmured, capturing my knee with his hand.
“We don’t know that,” I replied, dropping my hand and meeting his stare. “He won’t stop. Not until he has me. Maybe he won’t have me for the next eclipse, but there’s another a month away. And then another. I can’t hide forever. Not when he’ll tear apart the realms in the meantime.”
“Avalon’s blood moon, we believe, is his goal,” Damon said, voice quiet. “Doing it here—in Avalon, in the world created by a Queen for the safety of all creatures—serves a better purpose for him. And if what Hyperion revealed is correct, he has one chance.”
“We don’t know that,” Xerxes replied from his position near the door. “His bid for power may be far more important to him than the symbolism.”
“We have reason to believe it does. At least, to Hyperion Black, it did.” Damon shrugged, crumpling the letter up and tossing it into the flames.
“He’s here, and he has taken over the palace.
His plan is already in action; all he has to do is wait until the blood moon and find a way to smoke Ivy out. ”
The storm worsened, each strike of lightning flashing behind my eyes and pulling me out of my fitful sleep.
I crawled out of bed, heart racing, eyes darting to the window. The wind howled, rolling into the trees with a terrible force, sending debris from them into the windows, rattling the glass.
I grabbed a cardigan, one of the few things sent for me, and left the safety and warmth of my bedroom.
I only spared a single glance back at the three sleeping figures sprawled out on the bed, their hulking forms shifting slightly, as if they realised I was missing.
But when they didn’t wake, I closed the door softly behind me, releasing a harsh breath as I did.
The rest of the house was quiet except for the howling wind and thundering rain. I crept past Orion’s room, pausing only slightly to look in.
The door opened a crack, revealing the soft light of the sun lamp by his bed. Since being here, I hadn’t seen him in my dreams.
I was terrified to walk in and reach for him, only to have it made real.
Either he was still alive, or he wasn’t. And I couldn’t tell if I was ready for either option yet.
“Why are you not sleeping?”
I spun, heart pounding, to find Damon standing by the banister of the stairs, leaning against it without a care in the world. From what I knew, he’d claimed a bed down the other hall.
In his hand, he gripped a short glass filled with a familiar golden liquid. The smell of honey was faint, but when I sucked in a deep breath, I could almost taste it on my tongue.
“What?” I asked, crossing my arms.
His eyes glowed a deep red, boring into me as he brought the glass to his lips. “Nightmare?”
I shook my head. “No, just can’t sleep.”
“Why is that, wife?” he asked, swallowing what remained of the deadly wine in one go. “What makes you so restless?”
A shiver rolled down my spine as he pushed off the banister, leaving the glass on the edge. Those eyes continued to stare right into me in a way that had my skin prickling.
“I don’t know,” I replied quietly, watching him as he stalked towards me. “I just feel—”
“Like you are missing something?” He stopped in front of me, leaving only a breath between us. I tilted my head to keep my eyes on him, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from his even if I tried. I felt trapped under the weight of his stare, alight with fire.
“I understand the feeling,” he murmured, lifting his hand to brush my cheek. “But I know what I am missing. Do you?”
My skin prickled from his touch, from the heat of his hand. “I think I do,” I said quietly, sucking in a breath. “I think…I need my mates. But they…”
Damon’s eyes finally left mine, flickering down to the collar.
The thing keeping them away. The thing keeping me at arm’s length.
“When they look at you, when they see this—” his fingers brushed the cool metal of the collar, sending another shiver down my spine, “—they see their failure to protect you. But do you wish to know what I see, wife?”
My lips parted, mouth suddenly dry as he dipped his face close to mine, the smell of honey stronger. “What?”
“I see your strength,” he murmured, hand moving to cup the back of my neck. “I see your power. That despite this one bit of his control, you somehow defy him at every chance. That it does not matter where you are: you are still the Queen he hates to admire, the one thing standing in his way.”
Damon’s lips were a breath from mine, his heat burning through me. My heart raced the closer he got, anticipation swelling within me.
I had to wonder what my magic might think of him being so close. Would it be telling me to run, to put distance between us? Would it tell me to put the ancient male on his ass for daring to get so close?
Or would it urge me to take what he is offering? Would it want me to kiss him and finally answer that burning question? Would my magic want him to be mine?
For a moment, I thought he might kiss me.
Might take his chance and claim my lips.
When his lips brushed mine so lightly, an explosion of pure need rushed through me, a desire to feel more than just the pain, fear, and frustration I’d been rotating through since escaping. I knew with Damon, I could escape that.
But he pulled away sharply, inhaling so deeply I wondered what he was scenting.
And then he was gone, striding away from me, scooping up his forgotten glass as he did.
I had a craving for honey and darkness, but I instead settled on orange juice.
Too bad we didn’t have any.
Through the butler’s pantry was a single door that led out to a fully blooming garden. At some point, an earth witch must have been here to bless the soil and ensure that whatever was planted would grow regardless of the weather, because we had everything one could think of.
Including oranges.
Thea would have a field day with this, I thought, looking around the small jungle of plants.
Zucchinis grew outside of their planter boxes, longer than my forearm.
Tomatoes bigger than my hand dangled precariously from an arch.
There were pumpkins in a patch in the centre of the greenhouse, as well as potatoes, cucumbers, and an entire row of bushes dripping with berries.
It was my favourite little secret that none of the others—aside from my shadow, Thor—knew about.
“Take this,” I said, handing him the old wicker basket I’d found stashed in the pantry. “I’m going to load it with some fruits. Think you can hold onto it for me?”
Thor’s eyes were filled with amusement as he took the basket from me silently. Not for the first time, I wished I could help him speak—or at least communicate with him another way. It must have been frustrating not being able to respond.
But he held the basket for me as I reached for the low hanging oranges. “These can be a little tart,” I explained, dropping a couple in the basket. “I’ll juice them, but you can eat the insides. I wouldn’t recommend trying to eat the skin.”
From what I’d seen in the cages, he’d been fed a different diet to my slop: raw meat and gruel. Neither of which had looked appetising. So, he probably had no idea about the wonders of fresh fruit.
“These are apples,” I added, picking a few that were huge and weighing down the branches.
“You can eat the skin of these. My mom used to peel them for these little apple pies she’d make, and instead of throwing out the peel, she’d put them on a plate and call them apple chips to make my little sisters eat them. ”
I shuddered at the memory of Kerry. All the resentment I once had towards her fled me as I dropped the final apple into the basket.
Clearing my throat, I moved towards what looked like a pineapple bush. “Goddess above, I don’t know how it’s possible to have so much in such a small space,” I muttered, twisting one of the pineapples off the plant. “But here. Now we have some good fruit to try.”
Thor smiled, one of the few genuine ones he’d managed since shifting. The scars pulled, especially the ones closest to his lips, but he didn’t seem too bothered by them.
As I went to put the pineapple into the basket, my hand brushed his.
Pretty, a voice said, deep and husky, the sound filling my head. Smells so nice.
I pulled back sharply, staring up into his eyes. There was no way, was there? Maybe I was hallucinating, or maybe the effects of whatever Dante had done to me and my bonds was starting to wear off.
But that voice was unrecognisable, something I’d never heard before.
And Thor…
The smile slipped from his lips as he cocked his head, as if to ask me if something was wrong. His nostrils flared as he scented the air, though I shook my head.
Slowly, I touched his hand, covering his fingers where they held the basket. “Do you understand me?” I asked, stepping into him.
The response was immediate, soft. Yes, he seemed to say as he nodded once. I do.
This changes things, I thought, eyes widening.
Why? he asked, eyes narrowing.
“Holy shit, you can hear my thoughts, too,” I said aloud, tearing my hand away.
Thor, apparently, was more than he appeared.