22

IVY

I RAN.

The ground was like sludge, making it hard for me to move. Each step weighed me down further. The inky darkness threatened to swallow me whole.

Hands reached from the shadows, grabbing at me. But they always fell short; a warning of danger, that they could have me if they tried.

I looked over my shoulder, searching for the beast who haunted my nightmares.

But it wasn’t behind me. My legs gave out and I stumbled, falling to my knees. I waited for that familiar shock as the earth tumbled with its thundering footsteps, but nothing happened. There were no screams in the air. No taunting voices telling me it was too late to save my family.

Silence thickened the air. The hands that had once reached for me were gone. I was totally alone in the strange, twisted forest I constantly found myself in when I entered the nightmares.

I was used to the chase now. I knew I had to step up—to fight—if I wanted to protect everyone. I had no choice. If I gave up, we were all doomed.

But this...this conjured a new kind of fear. A fear that twisted around my heart and gripped my lungs.

Something shifted, breaking the thick silence, and I turned slowly to take in the familiar towering figure. Cloaked and hidden, I recognised it immediately. Gone was the crown it usually wore when it visited me. Instead, it wore a skull atop its head, one weathered and browned with age.

A shiver rolled down my spine, but I didn’t move. The cloaked figure lifted a skeletal hand in my direction, pointing a bony finger at my chest. “In time,” it whispered, “you will be mine. Dooming the world of Nyx. Turning the world to ash and death in your wake. If you fail, Daughter of Nyx, you belong to me.”

Pain unlike anything I’d felt before crashed into me, and the ground swallowed me whole.

~

I shot awake, my hand travelling to my racing heart, as remnants of the dream flooded me. Fear tasted bitter on my tongue, making my mouth dry as I sucked in calming breaths.

I’m okay, I’m safe, I thought, sitting up slowly. The light from the sunset lamps on the bedside table reflected the early morning dawn, casting the room in a soft glow. It was early, too early considering the night before and the last couple of exhausting days.Shadows still danced in the corners of the room, shadows that moved the longer I stared.

ButI let the words of the figure echo in my head as the bed shifted. Adrian and Elias both rose, one either side of me. I was surprised my mage had awoken, given his inability to wake on time any other day. But I knew just how aware Elias was of the nightmares.

My shifter pulled me into his side and kissed my temple. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, tucking me into his warm embrace.

“Yeah,” I replied, blowing out a long breath as I tried to push the nightmare out of my head. “It was probably just stress.”

Or Ry related , I thought. But given everything, I refused to give him that much power over the dreams. He’d reached out before without triggering them.

Thinking of him, I closed my eyes and checked his bond again. It was still that same dark, wrong thing in my chest. Ever since the accident, it hadn’t been right. Maybe he’d done something on his end to finally close it off for good. He hadn’t been particularly happy about me tearing down the wall.

I prodded it gently, to test whether it would awaken, but searing pain struck me. I cried out mentally, but my voice echoed in my ears, too.

A burning sensation radiated throughout me. Every part of my body ached fiercely. It scorched my body, a roaring fire that threatened to consume me.

The fire wanted me to suffer. It wanted to devour me. And my magic only made it worse.

I gasped as the burning subsided almost as soon as it appeared, leaving a tingling feeling in its wake. A dull fuzziness rang in my ears, drowning out the world around me.

Slowly, I regained some sort of feeling. I knew there were hands on me. Elias, Adrian, and Maeve. Nothing but tingling. Ringing in my ears. Then freezing cold.

It was a shock to the system, and my eyes flew open as I stared at the water falling from above. Elias held me to his chest, while the others shifted to cage me in.

“What happened, Ivy?” Maeve asked, cupping one of my cheeks.

I cleared my dry throat, as I tried to piece it together. “Nightmare,” I whispered hoarsely. “Then—I tried to test the bond with him .”

“Why?” Adrian asked. Fear darkened his eyes, and he held tightly onto my ankle. “Ivy—fuck. That was terrifying.”

A lump formed in my throat. “I know.” My eyes closed, and snippets of the nightmare flooded my head, as well as the bond, frayed and dimly lit. “But there’s something wrong with it.”

A growl vibrated from Elias, and his arms tightened around me. “We need to see the Queen.”

Tension grew between my three mates as Maeve shut the water off. I hadn’t even noticed the drastic change from feeling so hot I could melt, to so cold my teeth chattered. But Elias didn’t release me until there was a large towel covering my body, and even then, when he placed me back on my feet, he didn’t let go.

It was a blur; hands carefully stripping me of my soaking wet sleep-clothes and towelling me off. There was a sort of urgency to their movements, which were stiff and almost robotic, but as they worked, there were whispers of praise, reminders not to sink into the panic rising in my chest. The lump in my throat grew harder to ignore as Elias kissed the top of my head.

“You’re safe now,” he murmured, turning me to face him so Maeve could carefully braid my hair back. “We’ll sort this out.”

Maeve brushed her fingers lightly down the curve of my throat as she finished. “Do you need more layers?” she asked softly.

I shook my head. The chill in my bones was mostly gone, but as I brought my hands together, I realised how cold my fingers were. “I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I actually felt. “I am fine.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched as Elias looked over my shoulder, likely at my other two mates. Sighing, I turned to the others. “I’m going to be okay.”

“You said you feel something wrong with your bond.” Adrian joined Maeve’s side and reached for one of my hands. “You aren’t okay.”

I swallowed thickly, tears burning the corner of my eyes. I didn’t want to admit how terrified I was; about the bond—or Ry. What if something had happened to him? Was happening to him? A new kind of pain started in my chest as I thought about all he ’d revealed during those months together. Even without words, I knew he’d been hurt by someone close to him. Was that happening again? Was he protecting me from that?

Cool hands framed my face and forced me out of my thoughts. Maeve swiped her thumb beneath my eye, chasing away a runaway tear. “Don’t go there,” she murmured. “Chances are, something triggered your nightmare and the pain you felt. It might be him, but we don’t know that. Let us at least see Queen Greer and Seer Sable first before you think the worst.”

I forced myself to nod and suck in a breath, blinking back tears. “You’re right,” I replied. “Everything might be fine on his end.”

“And if it’s not, we’ll assess what to do next as a team,” Adrian added. “Rowan will stay here with Thea and the kids while we go down to the visitor meeting room where my mother is waiting. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ignoring the panic, I let my mates guide me out of the bathroom. I had one hand entwined with Elias’s, while Adrian took the other. As much as I wanted to feel Maeve’s touch, she led our party, and I took comfort in knowing she was making the decisions I couldn’t.

Despite the hole in my chest, I was glad I had these people around me. Supporting me. The fear I had seeing the love and devotion surrounding Queen Greer seemed like a hazy memory now as I glanced at each of my bonded mates. We might not have been at her level yet, but I knew how much they cared for me—and how much I loved them, too.

~

The meeting room they took me to was similar to the sitting room we’d been in the day before, only this one seemed more formal and elegant. The colours here were reds and gold, depicting an air of royalty and formality. Rather than two different sitting areas with comfortable couches and coffee-tables laden with food, there was a long table, with one end holding the Queen, Seer Sable, and two of Greer’s mates, while the other had what looked like a make-shift coffee station.

I didn’t even need to ask. While Elias and Adrian guided me to sit across from Queen Greer, Maeve made me a coffee. It seemed like she’d learned my order during our time in the safe houses, because she handed me a caramel latte like it was nothing.

“Thanks,” I murmured, my cheeks warming as she ghosted her fingers over my shoulder, her brief way of showing intimacy.

Maeve took a seat beside Elias, glancing at me momentarily before turning her attention to the Queen. “Last night, Ivy had a nightmare. One that seemed to trigger her bond with the mystery mate.”

Queen Greer eyed me warily for a moment, as did one of her mates. Sir Amais , I reminded myself. The silver eyed vampire, one of Queen Greer’s first mates.

“How do you feel now?” Greer asked, her soft gaze meeting mine.

I shrugged. “I don’t really know how to explain it. But I’m terrified of reaching out to it.”

“It?” the vampire asked, his voice low and deep. It sent a shiver down my spine.

“The bond with— him .” Again, Ry’s name was cut off by the stupid promise and glamour. A lump formed in my throat, one born of frustration and fear.

How could he do this to me? I hadn’t felt him since last night. No testing the bond, no checking in on me. The hole in my chest reminded me he’d abandoned me all over again.

Greer’s other mate hummed under his breath. He had dark eyes and silver-white hair combed back from his face, and angular features that made him look deadly, sharp like the edge of a blade. A shiver rolled down my spine as he ran his eyes over me. Like he was assessing a potential threat.

“Have any of you made progress in searching for the male?” the mate asked, glancing to either side of me.

Elias bristled and stiffened. I couldn’t ignore the spike of anger at his accusatory tone. Beneath the table, I reached for Elias’s hand and entwined our fingers. “This isn’t their fault,” I argued. “ He is staying away. There isn ’t much we can do about that.”

The mate’s lips twisted as he slowly shook his head. “I understand you are new to this world, Ivy. But as your mates, they have made a vow to protect you. To serve you. To be your anchors and your lifelines. The one causing your distress is a problem. One they —” he motioned towards Adrian, Maeve, and Elias “—should want to hunt.”

My skin prickled at his words. “But—”

“Lazarus,” Queen Greer whispered. “Enough, my love. This will get us nowhere. Remember: it took us many years to sort out our differences. Ivy and her mates are dealing with a situation that none before her have had to handle.” Greer turned back to me with a gentle smile. “In all my years as Queen, in looking into the past Queen’s and their mates and rule, this is something I am entirely unfamiliar with. But if I had to guess, I would say your magic, now that it is anchored, is reacting to his disappearance. It feels the weight of his departure and Dream Walking simply is not enough to sate it anymore. Or help you.”

“He reached out last night. Just briefly.” I winced as Elias’s hand tightened around mine reassuringly. “He also came to me during the accident. I guess the impact from the crash must have broken my barriers.”

“How soon after did you complete the bond with Maeve?” Sable asked.

I met her gaze. “Not long. It was the same day.”

The witch hummed under her breath and drummed her fingers against the table. “To me, it means Maeve was your final anchor. Yes, you had three bonds before that. But one wasn’t technically completed—it was reactivated. And your magic sensed it needed another to anchor what he could not.”

“But we cannot be sure of that,” Greer replied, pursing her lips as she rested her hands atop the table. “Sometimes, Nyx works in ways we do not understand. Not until She reveals it to us, of course. Your Fae mate may be serving another purpose, which is why Nyx allowed for your mating and for the bond to lay dormant all these years. However, I would think by now he would have made himself known.”

“There was something else you didn’t say, when we first found out about him.” Adrian took my hand, forcing me to meet his eye. “When you found him, you said he was hurt. How?”

I swallowed thickly. The part of me still loyal to him wanted to hold back my suspicions. But the part of me that was exhausted sighed. “If I had to guess, abuse. He was skin and bones when I found him.”

“He’s a powerful Fae male to be your mate,” Lazarus mused. He glanced over Greer’s head at Amais. “If he stands to inherit one of the Court’s, that will make his situation dangerous. And if he is suffering at the hands of someone, it is likely the current ruler of his Court.”

Disgust and fear filled me as his words settled between us. The potential of what it meant. If Ry was being hurt, it was by someone powerful.

A bitter taste filled my mouth, but Elias stiffened beside me, his discomfort rolling down the bond. Are you okay? I asked gently.

His hand tightened in mine, but the tension didn’t leave. Yes , he replied. You don’t need to worry about me .

Even though he tried to push reassurance down the bond, it didn’t sit well with me. It drew me back to our conversation after we bonded, about his worries that he’d never be enough.

“What if he’s just...a Fae male from the Dream Court?” I asked, earning a narrowed glare from Lazarus. “He could just be Fae. Him being my mate doesn’t mean he’s likely a prince.”

The male beside Greer shrugged. “You may be right, but it’s more likely he’s of a powerful bloodline. I would consider his presence at Oberon a possibility, if he is of a similar age to you.”

“He might have been a year older; I don’t know. He never told me,” I muttered. It just didn’t seem like enough. Like when it came to Ry, talking would never get us anywhere. We could sit here for hours, but unless there was some proof out there of a male like him, we wouldn’t get anywhere.

My sternum ached, a dull, painful reminder of the night, and I sighed. “What else can we do?”

Greer rubbed a hand tiredly over her face. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly, lowering her hand into Lazarus’s outstretched one. “Truly, I have no idea.”

“I’m working on something,” Elias announced. “Quietly. If he’s dangerous, then I don’t want him knowing we’re looking for him.”

“I’m afraid he likely already suspects,” Sable replied, and all eyes fell on her as she rose from her chair. “I’ll consult the visions. See if I can pick anything up. Best you rest, young Queen. You’ll need it.” And with that, Sable left us in the meeting room.

Maeve stood too, lifting a fist to her heart, and bowing her head. “If there’s nothing else, Your Majesty, I’d like to take Ivy back up to the suite.”

A soft smile tilted Greer’s lips, and she nodded. “Of course. I, too, could use some rest.” She turned her stare on Adrian, who tensed beside me. “Come see me soon, please. I want to catch up.”

Adrian bowed his head. “Of course, Mother.”

I swallowed thickly as Elias helped me up, Adrian taking my other hand. Despite the discussion, I was still as lost as I had been before. Perhaps even more so. We still had no answers, and even more questions than when we started.

As we made our way to the suite, I reached for my magic. The beast of power that usually purred when I reached for it remained a silent, weary entity in my chest.

A new fear rose in my chest. I wanted to chalk it up to the nightmare, to the reaction I’d had to Ry’s return. But was it possible it had done something to my magic? That his bond had damaged something so powerful?

I shivered, but I rebuilt the blocks in my mind and prayed to Nyx it was just because of the nightmare. That nothing else was wrong.

Because I truly wasn’t sure I could deal with anything else imploding before being shipped off to Oberon Academy.