Page 5

Ivy

A nother explosion echoed through the air, propelling us out of the ballroom and down to the gardens of the palace. Nyx’s words replayed in my head as Elias dragged me into the trees. Somewhere behind us, there were hoots and howls, telling us we’d been spotted.

We need to get Vanya to safety , I told Elias, chest burning with the speed I tried to maintain. She can’t be part of this. I won’t put her in more danger, and she’s safer with her family. She’s an original Bloodline.

Elias’s hand tightened around mine, his bond warming reassuringly in my chest. We’ll get her to safety. Don’t worry .

The ground beneath our feet shook with the impact of another attack. I cursed under my breath and chanced a look over my shoulder. But there was only darkness and shadows. The light of the fires didn’t penetrate the thick trees. I wasn’t sure if that scared me or not.

But when I blinked, it was like the darkness cleared. No. My eyes were adjusting to the night.

I blinked again, and then I saw them .

Wolves. Bears. And creatures made of trees and vines and stone.

We were being hunted.

My chest tightened as I returned my stare to the forest ahead of us. Through the trees, I spied others also running from Dante’s soldiers. Some in gowns made of snow and others in robes of blood. We were not the only ones being hunted, but we were their prey.

The beasts behind us howled again, their battle cries cutting through the air dangerously. I flinched at the sudden sharpness of the sound, my ears ringing.

Either I’m picking up on Elias’s power, or Maeve’s. Both had the same heightened senses. I didn’t feel the ache of fangs like earlier, so I had to assume I was touching on Elias’s shifting ability.

Maybe shifting wouldn’t be so bad right now.

Surely, I’d be able to keep pace with everyone that way.

The only other person struggling as much as I was had to be Vanya.

I picked up on her sharp breaths and the rattle in her lungs, same as my own.

Everyone else seemed fine; Maeve and Elias were built for this, and the others were trained. We were slowing everyone down.

I could almost feel the rancid breaths of the creatures on my neck. They could reach us easily, cut us down and tear into our flesh. We weren’t nearly as fast as we could be. But they were enjoying the chase.

The hunt.

My chest burned from more than just the lack of air. It burned with fire and vengeance. It burned with power .

I reached into the well of magic building within me. More than ever, it was full of untapped power. And it so badly wanted to be unleashed.

Electricity crackled along my skin, and I summoned it in my hand. I threw my arm back, aiming in the direction of the beasts, and let the power fly free. As I did, lightning struck the sky, violet and bright, illuminating the darkness of the forest, cutting through the smoke-filled night.

It was a message to Dante and everyone else.

I was alive, and I would not be beaten so easily.

We ran for hours until the sound of vehicles cut through the tense silence. My breath burned with each sharp inhale, nose running from the chilly air. All I could smell was smoke, no matter how far we ran from the fires.

Somehow, we’d kept to the Queen’s Road, following the long, winding passage from the palace. But now, rumbling cars sped down it. Or up it. One dark vehicle caught my eye as it cut through the night towards the palace itself.

Who? I asked no one in particular, too afraid to speak any words aloud.

Phoenix Compound, Maeve replied. From the front of the group, she held up her fist, which slowed us until we came to a halt.

It took all my power not to collapse. Everything burned. From my muscles to my lungs. The least my magic could do was give me a bit more stamina.

Though when I glanced around, I was a little happy to find I wasn’t the only one winded. Rowan leaned against a tree, face tilted up to the sky as he sucked in sharp breaths. Adrian, who had been keeping pace with me on my other side, bent over, gasping for breath.

It made me feel less insecure about how badly I hurt from that run. I needed out of the ball gown I wore, too. One too many times, it’d gotten caught on something, almost making me lose my footing.

Maeve paced the tree line as more and more vehicles rushed past us. Are they with Dante or us ? I asked Maeve, watching the darkness with furrowed brows.

She stopped between two trees, tension rolling off of her. It was like we were all holding our breaths, waiting for Maeve to make a move. To decide whether it would be safe to go again.

Right as another car entered the periphery of my vision, Maeve stepped out onto the road. My heart stopped in my chest and fear set in. I tried to race after her, but a different set of arms pulled me back before I could break through the trees.

“Let go of me,” I growled, just low enough for Hawk to hear.

His arms only grew tighter around my stomach and chest as he hauled me back into the shadows. The SUV speeding towards Maeve came to a stop, shouts sounding from within.

The driver’s side door opened, and a male dressed in all black slid out from behind the wheel. He wore a mask from what I could tell, but Dante could have warned his people to start dressing like actual agents to fool us.

My heart thundered, but the male lifted his arm and bared his wrist for Maeve. They were speaking, but their voices were hushed, and any super hearing I had before was gone.

What are they talking about? I asked Elias .

He’s offering Maeve a chance to read his memories and prove he isn’t with Dante, he replied carefully. The rest of his team will offer the same, he claims .

Something in my chest twisted, a voice in my head telling me this was too easy. That something bad might happen. That this was too easy, too simple?—

Maeve grabbed the male’s wrist as soon as realisation hit me.

“Stop!” I screamed, ripping myself from Hawk’s grip. All attention turned to me as lightning danced between my fingers, racing up my arms as I stalked out of the forest.

Anger flashed across Maeve’s face. She started for me, but I only had the agent in my line of sight. Up close, I noticed the clamminess of his skin, how his eyes shifted warily between Maeve and me.

“Ivy,” Maeve growled, stepping in front of me. “Don’t.”

I spared her a glance before side-stepping her and making my way to the male. He backed up several steps, fear flickering across his eyes.

“Get all of your team out here, now,” I commanded, stopping within arm’s reach. I didn’t let go of the lightning. Not yet.

What are you doing? Maeve asked, her presence appearing at my back. Even angry, she didn’t try to pull me away. Even if she hated this, she trusted me.

Our bond pulsed, and I motioned for the others in the male’s team to line up against the car. As they all slid out, I felt a tingle of wrongness prickle my skin.

The only other time I’d felt this particular magic was when I’d come in contact with the poison mage after the car crash, when my magic had begged me to stop what he was doing, to pull it away from my mates.

I cocked my head as I let my eyes roam over the five agents. They were similar height and build, all male presenting, and wore masks over the lower parts of their faces. But the skin I could see was sweaty, and they all had a darkness in their eyes that unsettled me.

Slowly, I let my magic unfurl. Keeping the lightning contained to myself, I reached out with my power and let it investigate the males before me.

My stomach twisted as the magic inspected each of them, testing their own power against mine, reacting to the bitter infection within them.

Something dark and wrong boiled within all of them.

It felt like a sickness that needed to be cured. To be pulled from them and destroyed.

“Your hand, agent,” I asked, nodding to the arm he’d held out earlier for Maeve. “Bare your wrist for me.”

Maeve grabbed my other hand as I pulled her dagger free from the sheath beneath my dress. “Ivy, what are you doing?”

“Trust me,” I murmured, tugging my hand free. Our eyes met briefly. Hers flashed red, though she let go with some hesitation.

Turning back to the male, I took his gloved hand, and without meeting his eye, I sliced through the thin flesh of his exposed wrist. He hissed, but my eyes were drawn to the blood spilling from the cut.

First, it ran red, but soon, the colour darkened to black. I turned his wrist and watched as it dripped onto the road. “You were poisoned,” I said, finally glancing up from the blood. “Intentionally or unintentionally, agent?”

The male’s eyes widened in shock, the colour draining from his face.

With his free hand, he tore the mask from his face to reveal his features.

He was young, maybe only the same age as me, likely new at the compound, with soft features.

He didn’t try to pull his hand away from mine as he stuttered a response that sounded like a ‘no’ .

“He’s from Jay’s team,” Rowan suddenly interjected, and quickly, everyone else left the safety of the forest to join us. “I recognise him from the second safe house.”

My stomach twisted at the thought that this male was around my sisters and Thea. That he’d had access to them.

But there was no anger or hatred in his eyes as he fell to his knees before me. “I would never betray my Queen,” he breathed, tears shining in his eyes. “Please.”

From behind me, Elias growled, and the male’s gaze shot to my mate. The pleading look didn’t disappear. “Please.”

I searched his face, then the faces of the others as they stared down at their own wrists. One pulled his own dagger free and sliced through his wrist, and his face twisted in disgust as his blood bled black.

“I believe you,” I replied, finally turning back to the male on his knees. “And I’ll fix this.”

A tear slid down his cheek as I handed Maeve my dagger. She accepted it silently. The weight of everyone’s stares should have unsettled me, but as Nyx’s power settled over me, the rest of the world fell away. My eyes closed on a sharp exhale, and I summoned the power I’d felt before.

The need to fix the males lined up before me filled my very being.

I reached into him, felt his magic meet mine.

He was a mage, likely cosmic. But I dove deeper, seeking out the poison filling his veins.

I found it eating away at his magic, at his mortal body, a dark disease determined to destroy him and anyone else he came in contact with.

My heart hurt for him as I took hold of the very basic magic that brought the poison into being.

The infection hadn’t been inside him long enough to cause lasting damage.

As I unravelled it from around his essence, I tried to heal what it destroyed, knitting together the mage’s magic and physical body as I drew the poison out.

My heart pounded as I pulled away from him. He dropped his head, arm falling to his side, as the remaining poison leaked from the unhealed wound.

I stumbled back a step and sucked in a breath. “You are safe,” I whispered before turning to the other males. Slowly, each one dropped to their knees lifting one fist up to their hearts and bowing their heads.

Something primal in me reared its head, a sense of power burning within me at the acknowledgement.

These were my people, my creatures, mine to protect and serve.

And I would save them all.