11

IVY

THE sound of screams filled my ears. I wasn’t sure if they were mine, or if they belonged to someone else, but they echoed inside my head, furious and agonising.

I peeled my eyes open, blinking away the haze of blood dripping from a wound on my forehead. The entire world titled around me, turned upside down with trees in the sky, and clouds on the ground.

No. That’s not right . I blinked, realising the world hadn’t shifted—I had. My body was hanging upside down, still strapped into the middle seat of the SUV. The seatbelt cut into my chest and belly, tightening its choking hold, but the gear I’d been gifted protected me to some degree.

I groaned, my voice coming out hoarse. Maybe it was me who had been screaming.

“Ivy?” A shiver raced down my spine as panic ignited in my chest. I tried to lift my head and turn, but my neck ached and screamed in pain. “Ivy, please tell me you’re okay.”

Adrian . The warmth of our bond made me groan again. But I couldn’t speak.

I’m okay , I tried to say, sending it down our hazy bond. I’m alive. I’m right here .

But he made a sound of pain, one that shattered whatever resolve I had left.

Darkness filled my vision as I attempted to reach for that Goddess forsaken power, and instead of saving me, it consumed me.

~

“Where are you?” a harsh voice snapped, pulling me through the thick, inky darkness surrounding me.

Whatever fight was left in me completely disappeared when he appeared. Still, I couldn ’t make out his features, save for the colour of his eyes. They were different to when we’d first met, but so beautiful. So enchanting.

I stopped myself there.

“Where are you, little flower? You broke your promise. You said you would keep me blocked. But you screamed for me. You begged. And now you are in pain.”

Through our bond—or because of the damned dreamscape—I felt his unhinged concern for me. It rattled something within me. I hadn’t felt anything like it from him. “Why do you care?” I bit out. “It’s not like you’ve cared before.”

Cool fingers gripped either side of my face, and despite his nearness, I still couldn’t make out any features. “I have always cared about you, my little flower. Everything I do is because I so foolishly care. And you are hurt. So, tell me where you are.”

Something in me yearned to give into his temptations, especially when he ghosted his lips over mine. I forced my face out of his grasp. “I’m not in Avalon.”

“I know.”

I swallowed thickly. “We were on the way to the ferry. The soldiers were following us. I—I took some out, but it wasn’t enough. We couldn’t get away.”

The darkness shifted unexpectedly, and Ry cursed. “You need to wake up, little flower. You need to wake up and build your strength.”

“So you can leave me again?” I asked, stepping out of his reaching grip. “Goodbye, Ry.”

I was once again pulled into the darkness, and I waited for it to spit me back out into the pain of reality.

~

When I awoke again, I no longer hung upside down.

Cold, damp grass tickled my skin, wetting the back of my shirt and pants. My toes curled, and I realised I’d somehow lost a boot.

Great , I thought, glaring up at the overcast sky. Storm clouds were gathering, blocking out the sun that had once warmed the day.

“Ivy?” Emerald green eyes filled my vision. Tears spilled down my cheeks as Adrian swept me into his hold. “Fuck, I was so worried about you.”

I whimpered; my arms ached, but I still tried to wrap them around him. Slowly, everything started to come into focus. Adrian smelled of burning metal and blood, but beyond that, he didn’t seem hurt. I took stock of myself, checking to make sure I could easily move all my limbs—and that I had them all. My arms were fine, though sore. I still had all my fingers and toes. Nothing else hurt based on my own observations, but I wouldn’t feel right about that until I could stand and speak properly.

“Where—everyone?” My throat tightened, my tongue heavy and dry in my mouth.

Adrian pulled away slightly to meet my stare. “Hawk is fighting. A local team of agents were alerted and they’re here. We’re okay. You are okay.”

But something in my chest tightened as fear spiked within me. “Maeve?”

The moment his eyes left mine, my stomach dropped. Panic made my breaths come faster, and I tried to pull free of his grip.

“Where is she?” I whispered. “Adrian?”

My mate clenched his jaw, gaze darting off to the side. “I’m sorry. The sun—”

I looked up. Even with the clouds essentially taking over the afternoon sun, it still had a bite to it. And it would kill her.

“She’s still in the wreckage. She’s safe there until the reinforcements can move her.”

Tears burned the back of my throat, and I pulled myself up into a seated position. “Is she alive?” I asked, head swimming.

Adrian blew out a shaky breath, but there was hope in his eyes when he nodded. “Last I checked. But I had to get you out of there, Ivy. I didn’t want to leave her, but—”

I surged forward and kissed him. “I know. I know.” As I pulled back, I noticed the unearthly glow coming from my skin. The markings that had scared me that first time now gave me a sense of strength. “I can help her. I think I can save her.”

His shoulders slumped, and he sighed. “Okay. This goes against everything I’m feeling right now, Sweetheart.”

“I know.” And I did. The longer I clung to consciousness, the clearer our bond became. His worry and fear clamped around my heart, but he was trying his hardest to hold it back. To trust me.

I blew out a long breath and turned towards the wreckage. The SUV had essentially been destroyed in the hit; the left side of the vehicle was completely crushed, the windows blown out from the impact, and the doors melded together. That side of the bonnet was also torn apart, and it looked like it had sustained further damage since the hit.

Adrian drew something against my skin before kissing the inside of my wrist. “A protection rune,” he said when our eyes met again. “I made sure Maeve would be protected as best I could, so the SUV is charmed. I just didn’t have time to make it sun resistant. Those take days to make.”

“That’s okay.” The power in my veins burned brighter as we crawled towards the car. The closer we got, the louder the fight became. Metal crashed against metal, and the roars of shifters echoed through the air. I didn’t even bother to ask how the supes were keeping this hidden from the humans—I just had to assume they were controlling the situation Men in Black style.

I scanned the side of the SUV and caught sight of Hawk; great, black wings unfurled from his back, feathered and strong as he pushed into the air and took flight. My stomach bottomed out as he swooped, taking out a lumbering green creature with the swipe of his sword.

Bile rose in my throat, and I quickly returned my gaze to the SUV. “That was an Orc,” Adrian whispered, anger darkening his voice. “Protected by the Fae. They aren’t supposed to leave the Seelie Court.”

“I don’t know what any of that means,” I replied, sparing him a glance. “But I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”

He gave me a weary smile. “She’s in the back. I pulled one of the back seats down and moved her into the trunk.”

Adrian moved into the wreckage first, clearing the broken glass and debris away as he did. With magic moving under my skin, I barely felt the bite of metal against my shin, but as I looked down, the cut healed immediately.

I hummed under my breath, quickly following Adrian. He moved aside as soon as I entered the back of the SUV and motioned into the darkened trunk. “She’s in there.” Before I could go any further, he gripped my upper arm. “She’s experiencing blood lust. I need you to promise me you’ll be careful. My charms are keeping her trapped there temporarily.”

“She won’t hurt me,” I murmured, removing his hand. “She’ll never hurt me.”

His expression told me he didn’t fully believe me, but I pushed on regardless. A hum of magic slithered over my skin as I pushed through the centre console and into the trunk. A cold chill seeped into my bones, and something heavy pitted my stomach.

“You should not be here,” Maeve whispered, her voice cracking. She was sitting pressed up against the car corner where the back windshield had cracked on impact. Her body seemed smaller as she wrapped her arms around her legs.

The smell of blood filled the air, followed by the static of my magic rising around us. “Let me help you, please.”

Maeve shook her head. “I’m too dangerous right now. Please, a mhuirnín , I need you to get out of here before I do something I’ll regret.”

“You won’t hurt me,” I replied. “But I need to help you. Please .”

I tried to crawl closer, but she snapped. Red seeped into her blue irises, turning the bright colour crimson. Fangs ripped through her bottom lip, claws appearing from her fingers. But she remained eerily still as her chest rose as she scented the air.

“I can smell your blood,” she rasped, accent thickening with each word.

I shuddered, but not out of fear. My lower abdomen tightened from the heat in her stare. “If you need to feed, then feed. I can take it.”

She shook her head, long strands of black hair falling from her once neat bun to frame her face. “No, you can’t. If I bite you, I will kill you.”

Something inside of me told me that wasn’t true. Slowly, I inched closer, ignoring the crunch of glass beneath my hands and knees, until I was sitting in front of her. “I will not lose you, ” I whispered. “I refuse to lose anyone else. So, feed .”

The mask of fear and anger seemed to slip from her face; I took that opportunity to take a piece of sharp glass and lift it to my neck. Maeve’s lips parted, pure fear filling her eyes, as I cut into the soft flesh of my throat.

“Ivy—” Her voice came out strained, and before I could move, she took me into her arms and pressed me down into the roof of the SUV. Her weight was light above me, almost like she wasn’t there—like she thought she’d hurt me if she gave in.

Maeve revealed her fangs; they brushed her full bottom lip, almost puncturing the flesh. Anticipation pulsed through me as she lowered her head to run her nose over the slope of my throat. “You smell too good,” she murmured, what sounded like a purr vibrating from her chest. “If I start, I’m afraid I won’t stop.”

Need pooled in the pit of my stomach. “I trust you.”

As if to prove my point, something slammed into the body of the SUV, rocking us and further damaging the cracked window. Maeve cursed under her breath, shielding me completely with her body as the SUV continued to groan from the impact.

My heart thundered wildly as she lifted herself off me. “Are you afraid, a mhuirnín ?”

I shook my head. “Not when I’m with you.”

Maeve watched me for a long moment before she struck. The burn of her fangs cutting through my flesh left only a moment of pain, like the initial touch of a tattoo-gun, followed by the numbness after. Only the numbness didn’t last, either; it transformed into something pleasurable, and it tingled down my spine right down to my fluttering core. I clenched around nothing, and yet it was almost consuming.

Maeve’s tongue circled my skin, sparking waves of arousal through me. A moan tore from my throat as she skimmed a hand over my heated flesh, trailing up my side and over my breast. My nipple tightened as she cupped me and dragged her thumb over the nub.

My mouth opened in a gasp as she released my throat and forcefully claimed my lips. There was something ferocious in the way she kissed me, and I met each swipe of her tongue with a matched passion. Everything within me uncoiled, the pressure building within me concerning Maeve completely disappearing. Her hands roamed my body, but I wound my arms around her shoulders, holding onto her as if she could be ripped from me.

I opened my mouth to her and tasted my own blood on her tongue, but it didn’t disgust me in the way it should have.

It only made me more feverish, feeding my need for more.

Her tongue battled with mine. She bit into my bottom lip, and I tasted fresh blood in my mouth. But I didn’t care, not as I bit down on her lip hard enough to break the skin.

As soon as her blood entered my mouth, my magic exploded. White dots danced behind my eyes as the tether of a mate bond snapped into place, claiming Maeve and entwining our lives and souls together as one. The bond in my chest that belonged to her brightened. Rather than knotting together like with Elias and Adrian, the tethers of our bond seemed to come together with a burning need. My back sparked with short-lived pain as her mark joined the three others already lining my spine.

The power of it forced her off of me and onto the ground beside me. She clutched her chest, breath sharp and harsh in the cold silence of the SUV.

Confusion and pain entered her eyes as she stared. “What—”

Adrian appeared beside me, his face white. But as soon as he tried to touch me, Maeve was there, pulling me into her arms, against her chest—against the sudden thundering beat of her heart.

My mate. Maeve was my mate. I felt her now, felt her bond as she probed it with hesitancy. Our hearts both crashed against our ribs at the sudden change between us. With Adrian, I’d known we would finish our bond, a bond that had been begging to be forged since he was hurt.

With Elias, it had been urgent and full of passion, protection, and even in the moment between him fucking me and leaving his claiming bite on my shoulder, I’d still known what would happen.

But as I watched Maeve’s face shift between confusion and protectiveness, I caught myself wondering how I didn’t know.

“Because,” Maeve said, her voice hoarse, “the bonds of the Queen can reveal themselves in any way and at any time.”

I swallowed thickly and tried to shift, but her arms tightened around me. “We completed the bond.” Guilt at not realising hit me, and I slumped in her grasp.

The burning need for more was soon outweighed by everything else.

Across from me, Adrian scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Shit,” he breathed, though he definitely didn’t attempt to come any closer. “It is not the time for this.”

Maeve nodded, though she nuzzled her face into my hair. “I know,” she murmured. Through the bond, I felt the barest impression of her emotions: craving, shame, desire. “I know. This was unexpected.”

“Not really.” Adrian shrugged as I frowned up at him. “What? It makes sense.”

Maeve made a sound in the back of her throat as the SUV rocked again. “My instincts are telling me to go out there and rip apart the traitors who did this.”

“That’s mostly under control,” Adrian replied, shifting slightly so that he blocked the exit completely. “It’s best if you stay here, especially with the sun.”

She grumbled something, but I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that she would have to wait until the reinforcements were here before she could leave. The bond demanded I be close to her, be together, and it made the panic worse. But I also knew we couldn’t stay here.

“You’re right, a mhuirnín ,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “We cannot stay here. We’re easy targets.”

A shudder raced down my spine, and the world spun for a moment. Black dots danced at the corner of my vision, blurring the faces of my mates, as a loud roar pierced the air.

Then a voice, one that brought tears of relief to my eyes, shouted over the hum of battle. “Where the hell is my mate!”