Chapter 104 Ivy
Ivy
It didn’t matter how hard I tried to fight against the explosion of nightmares, I couldn’t escape them.
One by one, they crashed into my mind, even darker than the last.
Thea screaming as she was dragged into one of the breeding rooms in the underground compound.
The cries of my sisters as they were tossed into their own tanks of water and forced to take a form they never should have had.
My mother’s last breaths echoing in my ears, knowing now that maybe her death could have been prevented if we had been smarter—more wary of those amongst us.
And the death of each of my mates. Those hurt the worst, because there was no other fate for them.
Nothing they could do to stop from being claimed, even by the hands of Dante himself.
But I watched them all, battling against the knowledge they weren’t real despite it feeling as though each death was.
Maeve with her heart torn from her chest, a heart that learned to beat once we completed our bond.
Elias with his fur skinned from his body, forced into his wolf form, never to return.
Rowan with his head on a pike, far worse than any vision could have created.
Adrian, bleeding out in a cage, no longer the dutiful, useful brother Dante wanted.
Orion, skewered with his own shadows, hanging above the Luna Court for all to witness.
Hawk’s wings cut from his body and on display while he lay dead beneath them.
Damon, bloodied from someone carving each of his swirling, ever-changing tattoos from his flesh.
Xerxes in a cage like the one Dante had trapped me in, torn apart by the shifters in his control.
And Thor…my poor Thor, forced to commit the killing blow before he, too, was slaughtered by the same creatures who’d tortured him his whole life.
The guilt slammed into me, impossible to run from, almost crippling in its weight. Maybe I was no better than Dante. Maybe I was a coward for allowing it to get this far.
Would I ever be strong enough to win against him?
You are truly pathetic, he whispered, his voice like ice running down my spine. Sickness churned in my stomach as horrifying images continued to flash across my vision. Thea, the children, my mates. Over and over again, never ending.
So easy to break. So fun to destroy. You care too much, Ivy. That’s your undoing.
My breaths quickened as more images crossed my mind. And you don’t care about anything, do you? I asked. There’s nothing you love? Not even your brother?
Dante chuckled, dark and dangerous. My siblings picked their side. When I am done with you, I will ensure none of them rise again.
I wanted to close my eyes and block out the worst of the images, but I couldn’t. That is sad, I murmured. So terribly sad.
Dante growled, and the images around me shifted again, this time to the battle raging around us.
My mates were gathered in a circle around Dante and me, fighting against his hoard of soldiers.
The sky was dark with the raging weather and onslaught of winged Fae.
Fire lit up the skyline, crossing the mountain ridge, replacing the water of the waterfall.
And there was death. So much death.
This is sad, Ivy, he hissed, pulling me into him. I could almost smell his breath, rancid and bloody, over the fear and rain. This is horrible. They fight for us. Two sides of the same coin. Are you really no better than I am? Are you really a greater ruler than me?
Of course I am, I replied darkly. Not because Nyx chose me, but because I don’t force anyone to fight.
You have half your army under your control.
What would happen if you released them, Dante?
Would they still fight for you? These creatures…
they were gathered to be my army, yes, but they weren’t forced into it.
No one warped their minds. No one stole their choice from them.
If there was one thing I would always ensure, it was that my creatures—whether they followed me or not—had a choice. Even if I didn’t, even if I stood here giving my everything to a psychopath when all I wanted was to run, I wouldn’t because that wasn’t my fate anymore.
Dante pulled me closer, his breath fanning my face, his grip on the skull trembling. You think you are better, but you aren’t, he growled. You are weak. Pathetic. You are powerless against me. You and your mates are no match for my power. You are no match against the power of the Order.
Those final words made a chill run down my spine. But I didn’t get a chance to respond before warmth flooded me. At first it flared in my chest, almost familiar, but hard to place.
When it came again, I almost stopped breathing.
In my chest, my bonds came to life, brightening and glowing impossibly strong. I’d felt them come back to me when the collar came off, but it was entirely different feeling them explode with a rush of power. It was almost like they wanted to prove Dante wrong.
The heat of the bonds wasn’t stifling or overpowering. In fact, I drew strength from them all. Nine perfect threads, each one as bright and powerful as the last.
Each one flooded me with love and warmth that gave me hope. The warmth washed away the horror-induced chill left behind from Dante’s cruel visions, pushing it from my body and my mind.
From the darkness that was his hold over me came a newfound strength to take it back. Walls slammed into place, each one shoving him back, each one a powerful reminder that none of it was real.
None of it would happen, not as long as I lived and held onto Nyx’s magic.
Gone was the image of Thea in her cell and her screams as they dragged her away, replaced with her smiling face as we walked through the old second-hand bookstore towards the romance section.
My crying sisters faded away to laughter as we set up movie nights in front of the television, piles of blankets and pillows making up our bed while popcorn cooked in the kitchen.
The deaths of my mates disappeared, replaced with hope for our future.
It was replaced by the knowledge that once this was all over, once Dante was gone, we could be at peace.
We would be able to return to our hidden island paradise and rebuild.
I would be able to bring the children home.
Thea could have her life back. We wouldn’t need to run or hide anymore.
The nine threads of my mate bonds became my lifelines back to the present, back to the reality we were in. Not the nightmares, not the threats.
The battle. My mates surrounding us. Their magic flooding me, refilling the well of my power, feeding it until it was almost too much.
Power, blood, fire, pain. Visions of possible futures.
My grasp, tenuous at best, over death. Souls flickered behind my eyes, appearing with each fallen body.
My jaw ached with the threat of my fangs and the need to strike out at the male across from me.
I could almost tear apart the protections Dante so hastily clung to, the charms growing weaker the longer my mates fed my power.
The flesh of my arms rippled with the presence of my wolf, while I felt the darkness around me, the trembling earth at my feet.
Every one of my mates’ powers hit me all at once, and I welcomed it all.
As the walls came crashing down, Dante fled my mind with an audible growl. “You can’t run from me, Ivy. All it takes is one—”
“There are no cracks in my barriers, Dante.” My eyes opened, and gone were the nightmares, the horrifying images. Instead, I felt everything. “And I am not running. Not anymore. Never again.”