Chapter 35 Ivy
Ivy
The miserable grey light of dawn filters through the trees, bringing with it a fine mist, but I keep on marching, determined to hunt down the one thing that has held me back all these months.
The wolf.
I know that vicious lupine is in league with the king. And I know that it was never a wolf in the first place, but a member of his court.
A Fae.
For Belle, I will kill it.
And for my parents, I will kill the king.
It’s time to fight back. My mind is stuck. Somewhere inside, there is a smart girl banging on the glass, begging me to see reason and not to do anything rash.
But grief has taken over. The abyss sucked me right back into its cruel, black mouth, and now the creature has become me, its eyes searing deep into my soul.
My fingers grip the knife as I finally find the clearing where Belle and the wolf fought. It barely ended in bloodshed.
I don’t even know what became of the horse; she just vanished with a blast of light, and I still don’t fully understand what happened that day.
The clearing is overgrown with snowdrops, even though the winter frost has long since settled. But I don’t question the peculiarity further as I focus on the surrounding trees, knowing that the wolf’s out there.
I may not survive today, but at least I will die in a beautiful place. The snowdrops glisten with what can only be described as liquid diamonds. They drip from the petals, collecting inside the veins of each leaf, and the effect almost resembles magic.
Tegwyn would love this place.
Leaving him was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I hope he understands that I do love him. He will just have to find his happiness without me. This will be the hill upon which I die. I’ve made my choice.
The hair pricks at the back of my neck, and I grasp the knife tighter. I’m not alone. Someone watches.
Finally, I spy a pair of floating eyes in the gloom—eyes that mock me. Every muscle in my body locks in fear, but I never take my gaze off the beast.
Slowly, it slinks from the shadows, a four-legged creature larger than life itself.
My heart pounds faster. It hardly resembles a wolf now, just a devastating hell beast with pure bloodlust shining in its quicksilver eyes.
Branches crack beneath its paws, paws bigger than my whole head, and its claws dig deep into the earth as it leaves its mark, letting the world know that it was here and that it killed the princess—the last living descendant of the Godwyn Dynasty.
My bloodline will end with me.
Its mouth widens, revealing a set of curved fangs that makes my knife look like a sewing needle, and it’s hopeless.
I won’t even make it to the king at this rate. This wolf will tear me limb from limb.
The hell beast pushes me towards a tree, and I press my back against solid bark, heart thumping so loudly that the creature stops a moment to savour the sound.
Its quicksilver eyes still taunt me, its hot breath burning my cheeks as it widens its jaws, and only death glares back at me now.
A low rattle rumbles in its chest, and it takes me a second to recognise the sound. It's laughing…
I find my voice, having had enough. “Just get it over with already and kill me.”
It snaps its teeth, pinning me in place with its pinprick pupils, but I bare a snarl of my own. “What are you waiting for?”
“I’m not going to kill you.”
My muscles seize at the guttural sound. It’s like the creature is whispering to me deep from the abyss, a sound like cold, trickling water that ices my veins.
I swallow.
It never once moved its mouth. Instead, it used its tongue to form words, mainly because it was too busy peeling its lips back from its teeth.
There’s no mistaking that the wolf is female. But it makes no difference to me.
Those fangs could still rend my flesh.
“I promised someone I would bring you back alive, and that is exactly what I plan to do, princess.”
There it is again, the snark, and someone really is mocking me... So, I guess that makes her a bitch. Well, this bitch is about to die.
Flipping my knife around, I plunge it deep into her eye, and her dark blood splatters my cheeks. She rears back with a howl, and I seize my chance.
I run.
Back to the only one who has ever had my back in this cold, grim place.
Tegwyn. I never should have left him.
Hopefully, I can make it back to him before the wolf regains her strength.
A shadow lumbers after me, and then I’m flat on my back, winded from the heavy impact.
I gaze up hazily into a burning silver eye. The left one is bleeding, and it looks like she managed to get the knife out.
My only regret is that I never got to see him again, but at least I got my revenge on one of my enemies.
That knife was for Belle. Wherever she is, I hope she’s happy.
She opens her mouth, and her jaws encompass my whole head. The top half settles on my scalp and the lower beneath my chin, and I squeeze my eyes tight shut when her saliva drips onto my face.
“Fuck bringing you back alive. I’ll just tell the king that you died on the road. Accidents happen.”
She laughs again, and if only I had another knife to take out her other eye.
That’s when I feel the hard press of steel at my back, making me widen my eyes.
Can it be?
It’s hidden beneath the undergrowth, out of sight of the she-wolf, but can I grip the handle before she crushes my skull?
I bide my time, asking before I die, “Who are you?”
She only cackles harder, yet I go on. “Who sent you?”
“None of that matters now.”
I don’t remove my gaze from her tonsils as they squirm at the back of her throat. “No, I think it does. At least give me this courtesy.”
She stops cackling. Then she growls, “I don’t know why my brother wants you so badly.”
Brother?
So, she’s the king’s sister.
Well, at least we have one thing in common; it’s not as if I asked to be related to him either. He wants me dead because I’m a threat to his throne, so he sent his sister to do his dirty work for him.
“Now shut up and keep still while I kill you…”
This is my chance. I must strike, now. But then she pins my arms down with her paws, and I shed a silent tear.
I was too late. I’m going to die after all.
An arrow hisses through the air, puncturing the wolf’s other eye, and I shuffle away, finally free from the rotten stench of death. I didn’t have time to grip the handle, but none of that matters anymore. Because I’d know that arrow from anywhere…
Help has arrived.
The wolf whips her head around, flaring her nose, and I almost cry for joy when I spy him standing amongst the snowdrops, looking like a hero from a storybook as he draws another arrow.
His hood is up, and all I see of him are those glowing eyes. They’re pissed.
“Ivy. Get behind me.”
I don’t move, peering back and forth between the wolf and Tegwyn.
“Now!”
At his command, I scramble to my feet, coming to his side.
The she-wolf snorts when she detects Tegwyn’s scent. “What have we here? The handsome prince coming to save the little princess from the big bad wolf? Cute.”
Tegwyn throws his hood back, and the wolf halts. Even though she’s been blinded, she can still sense his horns, the claws, and his general otherness.
He chuckles. “No handsome prince, I’m afraid. Just another monster, like you.”
The she-wolf bares her teeth, and it almost resembles a smirk.
Tegwyn speaks. “Change forms. I want to see the bitch beneath the wolf before I kill her.”
She snarls. “You’re a disgrace to Fae kind. Falling in love with a dung?”
“And you’re a filthy cur,” he chimes back. “Now reveal yourself.”
Her eyes burn brighter than the moon upon the night sky of her face, and she finally lunges.
Tegwyn releases his arrow.
The projectile makes contact just as her teeth graze his shoulder, and I have no idea what comes over me.
One moment, I’m about to watch him die, and the next I’m leaping in front of him, taking the brunt of her sharp teeth in his place.
There’s blood. It rents the air, a thick, coppery tang, yet I don’t even feel the pain.
All I find are his eyes. Eyes so full of pain and regret.
“Ivy…” he whispers.
Before I can reach up and caress his cheek, my arm falls slack, and then my eyes close.
It's dark. But through the murk, I spy a bright light. A light so warm, I hardly feel despair. All I sense is love. It’s Tegwyn’s soul. And it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
“Têr nghalon.”