Page 13

Ivy

W hen the two hours were up, a pit opened in my stomach. My heart raced like it wanted out of my chest. And honestly, the longer we waited, the more I wanted out of my body.

The same thought kept running through my head. I never should have let them go alone. We never should have split up . Over and over again, those words played through my head. Not even the brief touches of my other mates could quench the panic rising within me.

There was a brief brush of Orion against our bond, and I blew out a shaky breath. Are you okay? Are you hurt? I asked, pausing my pacing. The old wooden fisherman’s shack we hid in didn’t allow for much space to pace, but I made do with the several circles I’d burned into the rickety floors.

Orion brushed the bond again calmly before answering. We are both fine. We have a ship. The crew is small, but so is the vessel. We are sailing into the ocean away from the docks and we will send a small rowboat out to pick you and the others up.

My eyes fluttered shut as I sucked in a breath. Okay. I’ll let them know , I replied, turning to my other mates. I relayed what Orion said, and watched the relief hit everyone. Even Hawk sighed and rubbed his eyes.

Are you sure you’re okay? I asked carefully, once the others were occupied with making their own plans. Nothing happened?

A flood of warmth followed my questions. I almost expected him to not respond, but based on the impressions his emotions gave me, he was pleased I was concerned.

Around me, my mates spoke in hushed tones while I waited for Orion’s answer.

I couldn’t hide from him the fact I was worried about him.

That the entire time he and Maeve had been gone, I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin.

Part of it was my magic. Finally having access to all of it—the power linking me to my mates, the remaining magic that had kept Greer alive for over five hundred years—was overwhelming.

It was unsettled, needing to be tamed through the claiming of my bonds.

But after eight years of not having Ry at my side, seeing him walk away with Maeve had torn something within me.

His departure broke a part of me. I understood why, now. Why it had felt like I’d lost a piece of my heart when I’d returned to the old hunter’s shack in the forest only to find him missing. Watching him leave again felt like a potential storm of chaos, a chance for him to disappear again.

I am not leaving you, my flower, he said, voice soft even through the bond. My heart clenched. I closed my eyes as the voices around me dimmed and focused on the bond between us.

I couldn’t ignore how different ours felt. Still broken in places. Weathered by the time lost. And I knew what I would need to do in order to fix the bond.

I will prove to you that I have no intention of ever leaving you again, he continued, his promise followed by a flicker of a memory. I focused in on it and bit my tongue as it went from a hazy vision to something else.

Through his eyes, I could see him holding something. One hand was hidden within the black gloves he wore, but the other was bare. Dozens of pink and red scars dotted his fingers and knuckles. I remembered his fingers having some scars when I’d found him, but there were so many more now.

Between his fingers was a photograph. Tears burned the backs of my eyes as I took in the crumpled image. The edges were frayed, like they’d been stroked and held far too many times. And there were creases, as if he’d been forced to hide it in his pocket without it being seen.

It wasn’t about how worn it was, though. It was the image itself that caught me by surprise.

It was a picture of me the day I graduated high school.

It was taken in a way that made it clear it wasn’t one Kerry captured, or any of the thousands of photos Thea’s parents snapped that day.

This one was taken from an angle where I was in frame but wasn’t paying attention.

I had a wide, bright smile on my lips, like I’d been laughing at something, and I had my cap on, but no gown.

Instead, I was in the pretty floral dress Kerry picked out for me, one of the few times we hadn’t fought on what I should be wearing and what was appropriate.

A lump formed in my throat as the memory disappeared. Were you there? I asked .

No, he replied slowly. I wanted to be. Blythe was there instead .

I frowned at the thought of his mind witch friend being at my high school graduation, but it didn’t seem to be the most important part of what he’d revealed. Why? Why bother? Why risk it?

He was hesitant for a long moment; it gave me a chance to tune back into what the others were planning. Something to do with Hawk flying to the ship to meet Maeve and Orion, so one of them could row back to pick the rest of us up.

I’ve tried to be there for you. Not physically—that would have put you in danger. If my father had ever found out about you, he wouldn’t have killed you—it would have been worse than death. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t. But I also had to make sure you were always safe.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it only thickened with the threat of tears.

I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. What could I say to that?

Should I thank him? Tell him I appreciated the sacrifice?

It terrified me that at sixteen, he knew he had to hide me, hide our bond, from his father.

Did you know I was the Daughter of Nyx when we met? Or when we bonded? I asked.

Through the bond, he deflated, and a wash of exhaustion darkened his emotions.

Neither. I did not know until after I left.

But I knew we’d forged a bond. I hadn’t yet known how powerful it was until you came into your magic, and it finally snapped into place.

Then, I knew how much danger you were in, and that it was my duty to protect you—even if it meant staying away.

On the horizon, we spied our ticket out of Avalon, a small vessel shaped like a pirate ship.

“It’s not a pirate ship,” Rowan murmured, taking my hand as we waited for Hawk to reach the dark boat rocking lightly against the blue sky.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the half-Fae male.

Couldn’t even make myself crack a smile.

Anxiety was too simple a word to describe the chaotic storm swirling within me.

And the magic…that was a different beast entirely.

There was a heavy weight of knowledge pressing down on me.

One that told me I would need to claim the male soon.

Had to find the others Nyx warned me I needed to bond.

Swallowing hard, I shrugged. “I know. But that’s my only frame of reference,” I replied quietly, breathing a sigh of relief when I watched Hawk lower himself to the vessel.

We hadn’t been spotted—yet. I prayed to the Goddess that not only was he good at hiding himself, but that the ship was hidden, too. That Dante’s people hadn’t caught wind of our escape plans.

“To be honest with you, I don’t know what to call it, either,” Rowan said, squeezing my hand. “But it’ll be okay.”

At that, I finally tore my eyes off the ship and glanced at him. Dark circles underlined his hazel eyes, and though he had a light smile to his lips, there was a strain to it that made my heart ache.

“As long as we’re together, I know it will,” I replied, trying to offer him a smile, but it felt stiff on my dry lips.

From the other side of the small shack, Elias grunted.

I turned in time to see him lower his wrist, the rune on his skin disappearing.

“Nash made it fine. Found Grey and… Black… with the rest of the crew. The original captain was compromised, so someone else stepped in. Skeleton crew, mostly. Dante’s people got there and thinned the crowd.

But it’ll be enough to get us to the Underworld. ”

My gut twisted. The Hell realm, or better known as the Underworld, depending on who you asked, was home to the demons and the Houses of Sin. They had a King, though his domain wasn’t the demons—it was the fields of death known as Elysian.

I shivered, thinking back to the hellhounds that’d attacked me back home. My first taste of what this world could be: dangerous, dark, and more than it seemed.

Releasing Rowan’s hand, I moved to my shifter mate. His emotions were carefully hidden, so unlike him, but I didn’t need the bond to understand just how stressed he was. Scared over what might happen.

Everything was at stake now. We knew what our futures held if we didn’t survive this journey.

Elias tracked me with his eyes until I stopped in front of him. “Hey.”

The corners of his eyes softened, and slowly, he held out his hand.

I took it with a sigh of relief and let him pull me into his chest. The last forty-eight hours hadn’t given us much time to be together.

And as much as I needed him, I understood why he’d put up the barrier between us.

Right now, he needed to be the soldier. The fighter.

My protector. His need to defend me outweighed his desire to stand back and let others take the lead.

I circled my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. “Thank you,” I said, voice muffled by his gear.

“For what, Angel?”

“Just for being you,” I replied. His chest rumbled, and he stroked a hand over my hair. The quick braid I’d put it in after getting some help removing all the pins and pearls in my hair was messy, but it held for now. I would need to ask Maeve to fix it for me once we were on the ship .

“I can see the boat. It’s being rowed to shore now,” Adrian said from the dirty window of the shack. I forced myself to pull back from Elias enough to turn and face my charm mage. His emerald green eyes found mine, softening slightly, but tension wound his body tightly. “Not long now, Sweetheart.”

My body stiffened, tightening with a force that made it hard to breathe.

Goddess help us, I thought, reaching into myself for the magic still slumbering in my chest. Gently, I tugged a small thread free; it reminded me of the magic I’d been able to conjure during the attack at the safe house, the dome of protective energy I’d summoned during our escape.

Before, it’d been difficult to call forth.

But now, it came to me easily, sliding across my skin invitingly.

I shivered as it settled over my flesh. All eyes were on me now, taking in the soft glow of magic settling over me. My wolf kept an arm around my waist and bent down to kiss the top of my head. “You don’t need to strain yourself, Angel. We’re protected.”

“I know,” I replied, breathing a sigh. “But I won’t be taking any more chances. Not with Dante out there hunting us. Not when he might have a way to hurt us.”

The tension in the room thickened at my words. But my fears weren’t unfounded; Rowan’s vision came to mind first. The fears my mates had shared concerning them. And then my own look into the future. The death awaiting us if we failed.

I squeezed my eyes shut to will away the images of my mates spread out in front of my cage, their unmoving bodies reaching for me.

My heart raced, despite pushing the memory aside.

Elias’s arms tightened around my waist, and he pressed another kiss to the top of my head, lips lingering for a long moment .

“I love you,” he murmured, soft enough so only I could hear. “We will make it through this.”

I shivered, leaning into him. His warmth enveloped me as we waited for the boat to make it to shore. I had to trust in his words, otherwise, the fear would set in.

And it wouldn’t matter how hard we fought, then. Because we would have already lost.