Chapter 76 Ivy
Ivy
Igroaned, my entire body aching like I’d just done the workout of my life. I supposed demon sex could count, especially with the slight ache between my thighs and the residue of said exploration still evident when I moved. But the ache that came with me trying to shift had me wishing for relief.
Not the sexual sort, but maybe a full body massage and a movie marathon with a bottle of wine and pizza.
You’re awake, someone said, the voice dragging me into the present.
Reading my thoughts when I’m waking up is not fair, I replied, even the voice in my head groggy from what happened.
Somehow, with a hell of a lot of effort, I peeled my eyes open to a shit show. Thankfully, although I was still definitely naked, I was covered by a sheet and had been tucked into my own bed. As soon as my eyes opened, the ache that thrummed throughout the rest of my body went straight to my skull.
Fuck, it was starting to feel like I’d gone on a bender, not worked out.
Trying to sit up appeared to be more effort than I was prepared for, though at least the nosy mind reader helped. The giant shifter moved to sit behind me, allowing me to use him as a back rest as the rest of the room fell silent and stilled.
I’d awoken to a massive fight. Curses, threats, and the promise of fists through faces.
Elias had Damon against the far wall, though both stared at me now, while Xerxes was nearby looking like he wanted to step in—but couldn’t.
Then there was Maeve, standing with Adrian, both looking as though they’d been in the middle of a heated discussion.
Rowan and Hawk, on the other hand, were in a harsh stare down, with Hawk standing closest to me and Rowan’s hand fisted like he wanted to punch Hawk in the nose.
The silence helped the thrumming in my skull, though as soon as I spoke, the pain came back tenfold. “What the hell is going on?” I asked, throat dry.
They shared looks like they were trying to come up with a cover story, but I held up a hand, stopping them from responding. “If you’re mad about me and Damon, take it out on me—not him.”
Elias growled, stepping away from the demon king. “What happened? We found you passed out, and his cock still inside you.”
I shuddered, rubbing my head as I dredged up the last few moments with Damon. “We had sex, obviously,” I replied carefully, grimacing at a spark of pain in my lower back. “We completed the bond—well, sort of. And then I had a lovely talk with Sable.”
“Wait, what?” Rowan said, as Elias growled, “Your bond?”
I held up a hand again, closing my eyes against the onslaught of pounding inside my head.
“Damon and I are mates—I know that for certain,” I said, opening my eyes again, pushing through the pain. “The bond couldn’t be completed properly for obvious reasons, but it did do something.”
“Yeah, it hurt you,” Adrian said, his voice almost emotionless. “It could have done damage.”
I shook my head slowly, leaning into Thor’s chest. “It didn’t though. It unlocked something.”
I recounted as much of my conversation with Sable as I could manage, telling them how she told me this was the right path to be on.
I tried to summarise how she felt about the whole skull of Nyx thing and mentioned her warning about how this war would inevitably mean change—and a choice I’d have to make.
Throughout it all, they stayed quiet. Now was about the time I wished I did have access to the bonds so I could understand what they were thinking, because most of my mates had the uncanny ability to hide their emotions from me, and I didn’t like it.
“I kind of already knew I would need to complete my bonds in order to survive this,” I finished, looking at each of my mates. “But Sable confirmed it.”
Elias tore his eyes from me for a moment and completely stepped away from Damon, sparing him a disgusted look. “Then you should have talked to us.”
“It was kind of a spur of the moment,” I replied. “Like how I bonded with you, remember?”
My wolf mate grimaced, though he wouldn’t meet my eye. “That was different. You and I bonding didn’t knock you out.”
“We don’t even know if the reason I passed out was because of Damon,” I said, glancing at the demon, who looked far less imposing than he normally did.
It took a few moments for him to look at me, but when he did, fear radiated in his red eyes.
“And even if it was because of our bond, I don’t regret it.
It proved what I already suspected, and it meant I could talk to Sable. My magic is close.”
“That shouldn’t be possible,” Rowan said, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I mean, talking to my mom is one thing. But the collar…”
“And yet her bonds are what she needs,” Xerxes said. “And that is the only thing he cannot control.”
My skin prickled with a shiver as words echoed in my ears.
My bonds really were the only thing Dante was never able to control.
Despite everything, I always found them—and they always found me.
Whether that be in cages or in the middle of the Underworld.
The force of our mate bonds brought us together.
Even across realms, across oceans and through death, we were always going to find each other.
Not even Dante could stop that.
I stared at each of my bonded mates, taking in the anger that still radiated from Elias, to Maeve’s carefully concealed fear, the emotionless way Adrian watched me even though his eyes betrayed something else, and Rowan’s stance and the uncertainty playing across his face.
“I need to wake Orion,” I said finally, removing the covers from my body. I didn’t even care that I was still naked as I scooted out of the bed.
To my shock, though, Hawk didn’t look at the others as he strode towards me and helped me up. “How do you intend on doing that?” he asked, wrapping an arm around my back, his touch gentle.
I glanced at him, then at the door. “I have no idea.”
A quick shower and more discussion followed, but once I was outside Orion’s door, I faltered. I didn’t have any idea how to wake him, and the collar felt heavier than ever. Even though he said he didn’t need my power, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was wrong.
It wasn’t like he knew why he was asleep, so he probably didn’t know what to do to wake, either.
A hand gently took mine before I could push the door open, forcing me to look up into the concerned stare of my newly bonded mate.
“We didn’t get a chance to talk,” he said quietly, his other hand moving to my cheek. “But I am glad you are okay.”
Leaning into his touch, I offered him a smile. “I’m sorry I ruined the post-bond bliss.”
Damon shook his head and pressed his lips against my forehead. “You ruined nothing, wife,” he murmured against my skin. “I just worry.”
“Worry about what?” I asked, heart pounding.
Damon hesitated, pulling back enough so I could meet his stare. For a moment, something I couldn’t read flared in his eyes, brief enough that it had worry forming in the pit of my stomach.
After a moment, he kissed me, light and swiftly. “Nothing,” he said as he pulled away. “Wake your mate. I will be waiting.”
Even though I had a feeling there was more to it, I couldn’t stop the swell of anticipation from rising within me.
Drawing in a deep breath, I released it slowly as I pushed open the door. The room was empty save for the bed and Orion’s sleeping form.
I knew the others had been in here checking on him, but my heart hurt any time I saw the door open. The Orion in my dreams looked the same as he did before his father tried to kill him, but the male on the bed looked like a ghost of the one I loved.
I stepped inside, breathing in the musty air and sweet scent of wildflowers. At that, a smile formed on my lips.
But it faltered the closer I got to the bed.
Someone had put a blanket over him, but that didn’t hide how thin he looked.
Even though the room was dark, I noticed the bruises around his eyes, each crack on his dry lips.
There was absolutely no movement from him, not a breath in his chest, or movement behind his closed eyes.
Stopping at the edge of the bed, I waited for any sign that he was even alive. That I hadn’t been making up the dreamscape and our time together.
I could have been dreaming about him, believing the others when they said he was still alive because I so badly wanted to believe it.
There was no sign of life before me. Just my mate, lying so still he could be a corpse.
“He is still in there,” Damon said, voice startlingly calm.
When I looked away from Orion, I found the demon standing across from me on the other side of the bed. I hadn’t even heard him follow me in, nor the others. Adrian was at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed, lips pursed.
“And you’re sure?” I asked quietly. “Because if you’re not…”
Damon bowed his head in a nod. “I am certain, wife. He’s in there. And he’s been waiting for you.”
I shuddered as I looked away from him and back down at Orion. This is it, I thought, lowering myself to the edge of the bed. He needs to wake up.
Sable told me to listen to my instincts, that they hadn’t let me astray yet, but I still had no idea what I needed to do. And no one was offering me any solutions.
“Maybe we should give you some time with him,” Adrian said, clearing his throat. “Let you be alone. Us hovering probably isn’t helpful, and I doubt he’ll want to see any of us when he wakes.”
Adrian being the one to suggest it took me by surprise, but I didn’t say anything, just nodded. I heard them leave, each footstep matching the thundering beat of my heart. I couldn’t look away from Orion, no matter how hard I wanted to.
And yet, I waited until the door closed before I sucked in a breath, closing my eyes. “I am so sorry,” I whispered, hands trembling. “I should have come to you sooner, but I was so scared. That’s no excuse.” I opened my eyes and took his hand. In my dreams, he’d been warm—so alive, so real.
The team had left his gloves on, probably at Blythe’s request. But slowly, I peeled them off. In the dreams, he’d gone without them. He’d been free of the barrier.
I was careful pulling them from his fingers, setting the first aside with a shaky breath. His palm should have been warm, soft. But instead, it was cold, limp, fingers stiff as I wrapped my hands around them.
“You said I would know what to do.” I glanced down at his hand, then followed the length of his arm up to his face. “You said I don’t need magic.”
A shaky breath fell from my lips as I moved closer, following whatever piece of me knew what to do.
“You said you just need me,” I whispered, resting a trembling hand on his chest. I couldn’t feel his heartbeat, which immediately had tears burning my eyes. “Well, I’m here, Orion. So, what now?”
My Fae prince didn’t move. There was no flutter of his lashes, no sudden beat of his heart. No gasp for breath as he came to, or even a twitch.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” I said, shaking my head. “But come on. This vague bullshit doesn’t help anyone.”
Outside the window closest to me, I watched a tree bend to the force of the powerful wind blowing across the island. Darkness covered the sky, heavy clouds blocking out the stars and moon.
“We can’t even go out to enjoy the field for real,” I told him.
“The weather has been shit. The rain stops only long enough for wind or thunder. The ground outside is literal mush. The clouds don’t disappear for long, either.
Under other circumstances, I would really, really enjoy being trapped here.
But being pregnant and in constant danger takes away from the cosiness. ”
I could almost imagine him smiling at that.
Moving my hand from his still chest, I brushed my fingers over his lips. I remembered what they felt like in the dream when he kissed me.
It’d been so long since I’d kissed him for real. The thought of doing it now made my chest hurt, had my skin pebbling as I shivered. Yet I leaned in, brushing my lips against his cold cheek.
“I promised you I would never let your father hurt you again,” I whispered, a tear sliding down my cheek silently.
“And I failed you, Ry. I didn’t stop him.
I should have been able to, but I didn’t.
And I will regret that for the rest of my life.
But I need you to wake up. Please.” I pressed my forehead against his, another tear rolling down my cheek and dropping onto his own. “I love you.”
It was only a brush of our lips. Maybe a goodbye, or a plea for him to fight his way back to me.
But I felt it when his lips parted, heard him suck in a breath, felt his pulse skitter beneath my fingers as his heart raced.
And when my eyes opened, I felt a rush of warmth flood me at seeing him again.
“You,” he whispered, colour slowly returning to his face. “I love you.”