Chapter 67 Elias
Elias
“He hid a hell of a lot of rune stones out here,” Kingsley muttered as we stopped at another tree. “I’ve lost count of how many now.”
I grunted as I searched the forest. The island wasn’t huge, but it was large enough that it took us a few hours to check the entirety of it for weaknesses.
With Dante being in Avalon, we were running out of time.
And if he found us with that so-called powerful charm mage at his side, then we were fucked.
“You sure he can’t find us?” I asked quietly, crossing my arms. “I don’t want to move her again.”
Kingsley stiffened but shook his head. “I’m certain.
Orion must have gotten a couple of different charm witches to make these.
There are at least seven different magical signatures with seven unique charms, all of which have built in alerts.
If one goes down, then we’ll know. He made sure of that.
” Kingsley knelt at the base of the tree and exposed one, just like he had the others, and placed down his own stone to fortify them.
“This place is a fucking fortress, Elias. And we don’t even know what he did off the island yet. ”
A shiver rolled down my spine as he rose, wiping his hands on his pants. “We should get the demon to expand the glamour.”
“It’s already pretty strong, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it tightened. I can tell Orion made this one. When Ivy came into her power, he must have come back to reinforce it. But with Blythe’s magic, this place is safe.”
“You haven’t spoken to her yet about…” I trailed off, everything in me pained over what I wanted to say next. “The pregnancy.”
Beside me, Kingsley tensed. “I don’t know how to when he probably got through to her because of me.” He stopped at another tree, but instead of kneeling to place a rune stone, he leaned against it and closed his eyes. “You have no fucking idea how horrible I feel about it, Elias.”
I stopped in front of him, heart pounding. “You know she doesn’t blame you. But she will if you don’t talk to her. She’s terrified, and she has no idea how you feel because you won’t even look at her.”
I hadn’t, either. Other than the moment in the bath when she realised we knew—had known—I’d seized up and hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t seemed all that open about discussing it, either, but that was no excuse.
Kingsley’s eyes opened, tears shining in them. “This isn’t how it was supposed to happen.”
“You’re telling me,” I snorted, crossing my arms. “That fucker must have disarmed my own protection. The agency gave me something when I was of age.”
“I forgot to do mine, and that’s on me.” The mage pressed a hand into his forehead and chuckled. “What a fucking joke. This was supposed to be a happy thing. Something we—she—should have been excited about. And now this entire experience has been tainted. There’s no way to get it back, is there?”
Slowly, I shook my head. “Probably not, but we need to follow her lead on this.”
He sighed, pushing off the tree. “Agreed. Let’s get this over with.”
I couldn’t stop myself from looking out over the dark, rolling waves.
With the rain having stopped, our job searching the island became a whole lot easier.
The earth was still soft, wet, and I could smell the threat of rain hanging in the air, but for now, we continued our perimeter search for Black’s secrets.
“Shack up ahead,” Kingsley muttered, taking a step towards it.
I followed his line of sight and noticed it hidden in the trees. “Looks like it might have been an old feeder room,” I replied, stalking towards it.
“Or used for fishing. We don’t know if this used to be a vamp coven,” Kingsley said as he trailed after me. “I have a feeling this was an old Fae vacation spot which is how Black found it.”
I shrugged, stopping on an old overgrown path that cut through the underbrush leading down to the beach. I followed the path with my eyes, taking in the view from between the trees. “Or it could have been a guard cabin.”
“Why do you think that?” Kingsley asked, stopping beside me.
I pointed between the trees at the water. “Look.”
Kingsley made a sound in the back of his throat as he took in the very clear path between the islands and the unobstructed view of the mainland. It looked like there used to be a dock, one that’d been recently pulled apart, the remnants of it stacked on the shore.
“We can see them,” Kingsley said, “but they can’t see us.”
I hated to admit the Fae prince was fucking brilliant, but he was.
And that made the guilt over not trusting him sooner worse.
Because maybe if we had, he wouldn’t be lying half-dead on a bed in a room my mate physically couldn’t make herself walk into.
Maybe if we’d had his back, his father never would have gotten to him.
The manor, like always, was quiet. When we entered through a mostly unused side door, I waited for Ivy to greet us, but she never came.
Without our bonds, I felt like I was missing a crucial part of me. A part that smelled like her, that felt like her. Even if she wasn’t physically beside me, it’d always felt like she was with me regardless.
I scrubbed a hand down my face as we both made our way into the building.
I could tell Rowan, Xerxes, and Rhadamanthus were working through the pages of notes Sir Theon sent through to us.
And apparently, there was a lot they needed to tell us.
From recounts of their time with Dante, down to the runes on Ivy’s cell, what they overheard while in the cages, what they knew about Dante’s plans—everything.
Based on what I’d been told, it didn’t sound like Dante expected them to survive long enough to pass any of this along. He likely thought they’d die in their cage before they could be a problem.
“I’m going to give them a hand,” Kingsley said, hesitating in the hallway leading towards the unfinished wing of the manor. He looked as though he wanted to say something else, but he shook his head and started for the workroom, leaving me standing beneath the stairs.
I blew out a harsh breath. Ivy’s scent tickled my nose, just the briefest whisper of it bringing my wolf out. There was a deep ache within me, a need to reclaim her, to show her badly I wanted to protect her.
But that was something I wasn’t entirely sure she could handle.
I couldn’t tell if that was something she even wanted—if I could even ask her about it, because talking about it felt selfish, especially after everything she’d already gone through.
The need to claim her again had more to do with my wolf’s Primal need to be with his mate, and that wasn’t something she needed to worry about.
I stalked out from beneath the stairs and into the entryway, prepared to find her upstairs. But when I looked up, she was already making her way down, dressed in my sweats and a cardigan from Maeve. When she saw me, a smile brightened her features.
If it weren’t for the collar shining around her neck, she didn’t look like she’d spent weeks imprisoned.
She looked like her old self, the female I’d fallen in love with.
But even thinking that, I couldn’t help but search for any cracks in that smile.
For the darkness in her eyes from her time in the cages.
Without our bond, I couldn’t quietly check in with her, couldn’t ensure she was okay. I knew when she lied, but even then…
Ivy hit the bottom stair, smile faltering for only a moment. “Hey,” she said softly, cheeks flushed. “What happened out there?”
I shook my head, taking her hand. Even if I couldn’t give into the wolf’s desire to claim her again, I could still hold her—offer her some comfort.
“Nothing,” I said, meeting her eye. “We went and reinforced the wards, but it didn’t look like we needed to.
Orion had this place secure before we got here. ”
Her eyes shined with tears that she tried to blink away, breath shaky as she released it. But she cleared her throat without commenting on it. “Can we talk?” she asked.
My heart skipped a beat for a moment, but I nodded. “Of course, Angel.”
The watery smile she gave me did nothing to calm my racing heart as she started for the front door. “I really want to take a walk,” she said, looking over her shoulder at me. “Get some fresh air.”
I tensed, but I didn’t stop her from opening the door. My wolf rose within me, wanting to turn her around and lock her in her room where I knew she would be safe, but I pushed against the urge.
She hadn’t left the manor since we got here, except to sneak into the greenhouse she didn’t think we knew about.
I’d found it hours before she had, cleaned up as much of it as possible, and made sure the baskets were in plain view for her in case she went wandering in.
So, I knew she probably needed the escape.
We left the house without a word and stepped out into the dreary afternoon. The smell of rain was still heavy on the wind, but it continued to hang over us like a threat.
“Careful,” I murmured, moving in close behind her before she could make her way down the stairs. “They’re still slick.”
Ivy glanced over her shoulder at me. “I know.”
And yet, she still allowed me to help her down into the courtyard.
“You know, this will be so nice in summer,” she said, gazing over the space. “I’d love to get a nice table out here. Large enough for everyone.”
My chest warmed with hope. “Yeah?”
She smiled at me, though darkness flickered in her honey-brown eyes. “Yeah.” A sigh passed her lips as she looked away, staring out over the wing of the manor we hadn’t found access to yet. “What do you think is in there?”
“We found a ballroom,” I admitted, glancing at the long room to our left, which did have an outside access. “Whoever lived here before liked to throw parties.”
Ivy snorted and slowly walked through the courtyard, pulling me behind her. “And the rest?”
“No idea,” I replied honestly, keeping my eyes on her. “Maeve’s been looking for old records.”