Bitter Brambles (The Ivy Institute #2)

Chapter 7

brIAR

T he noise in the nest picks up after the strange introduction, making me think the silence from only moments ago was an unintentional byproduct of them waking up with a stranger amongst them.

Now that the immediate threat is over, my body’s needs make themselves known. I finally have enough liquid in my system that I need to pee. I can ignore it for now, but after eating, I will have to figure out where the bathrooms are.

I can feel eyes on me from every angle, but I pretend to be unaffected. When I notice a female standing alone off to the side, not even trying to hide the fact that she’s examining me, I finally give her my attention. As if that was the cue she was waiting for, she steps forward but makes sure not to get too close. I’m not sure if it’s Tank that keeps her at bay or myself.

Clearly, there’s something she wants from me, and there’s something I need—the bathroom. “How did you do it?” she asks then bites her bottom lip as if there’s more she wants to say, but she stopped herself.

“Do what?” I could guess what she’s asking, but that would be dumb. This way I can get her talking.

“Best Hawk?” The way she speaks his name, full of disgust, says it all. I wonder if she was one of his victims. I’m not ready to give away all my secrets, so I decide to give her some of the truth.

“He underestimated me.”

“That’s because he thinks he’s a gift from the gods,” she gripes. “Did you kill him?” She bites her lip again. I think it’s a tell, a way to show she’s eager to hear the answer.

“No,” I admit rather sadly, and I’m surprised to find it’s really how I feel. It’s a stark realization. I’m not the same person I was a few months ago.

“Damn, did you hurt him?” Her question ends on a hopeful lilt.

“A little,” I confirm, even though his physical pain wasn’t significant, because I have no doubt the loss will hurt him in other ways.

“That’s at least something. I’m Oshea,” she says.

“Briar,” I reply in case she wasn’t close enough to hear when I told Tank my name. “Will you show me where the bathroom is after we visit the tavern?” I get right to the point.

“Sure, but it might be better to go now to the one on this floor. The one near the tavern tends to be mixed use, which really means it’s usually the elites that use it.”

“Okay,” I agree. Now that I’m talking about peeing, I suddenly have to go more, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous to let this female lead me out of my perceived safety.

She does a half turn, keeping her eyes on me, and it puts me a little more at ease. She’s just as nervous about me as I am about her. I can feel eyes tracking our movements to the door. Right before we leave the confines of the room, she looks back and says, “I’m showing her to the bathroom.” Smart move. If I was planning on hurting her, she just alerted everyone that we’re leaving together and where we’re supposed to be going.

She pulls the door open and walks into the hall with a measure of confidence, but the way she glances around tells me she’s still on guard. I need to be more like her instead of bumbling around and hoping I don’t die, or if I do die, hoping it’s quick and easy.

“Technically, anyone can use this bathroom, or any of the others, but it’s like an unwritten rule or whatever that it’s mostly for the nest. The elites kind of take over the more communal area bathrooms, so be careful there.” The short walk down the hall is easy to navigate. We don’t see anyone else until we’re at the door and someone exits just as Oshea grabs for the handle.

A male walks out, not even bothering to look up. Oshea is quick enough to make sure she’s out of his way, but I’m not. His scowl is in place the moment I step back after our soft collision. “Sorry,” I say out of habit more than anything.

He doesn’t even speak as he gives me a wide berth and leaves the way we came. “Gin can be kind of a dick,” Oshea mutters once we’re in the bathroom. It’s larger than the novice ones I used to use at the Ivy, but not nearly as nice. Everything seems to be a little more run-down here.

I handle my business awkwardly with Oshea standing near the wash basin. “We should hurry so we can go with the group,” she says the moment I’m done. I make quick work of washing my hands while she stands in the doorway, holding it open for me. I have half a mind to tell her she didn’t need to wait if she was in a hurry, but I can’t bring myself to say it. I don’t want to seem ungrateful.

By the time we make it back to the stairs across from the room, Tank is closing the door to the nest, and Oshea gestures for me to follow the others who are already disappearing into the stairwell. I feel her on my heels every step up, but I also know Tank is on hers, so I can’t blame her. If she’s still willing to chat later, maybe I’ll ask her why everyone keeps their distance from him. Maybe she could even be my friend.

I almost snort out loud at the thought. I don’t have friends. I doubt anyone here does. You have allies and alliances.

I follow the rest of the group into the tavern and make my way through the line just like everyone else. When it’s time to sit down, I have a small moment of panic, wondering what the hell I should do, but Oshea simply says, “Coming?”

I need to be careful, or I’m going to end up liking her, and liking her would only lead to complications.

I give her a small, thankful grin and follow her to a table where two others already sit—a male who’s on the smaller side and reminds me a little of my youngest brother, Conner, and a female who is watching me with open disdain as I approach. I take the seat nearest her, hopefully hiding the way my legs shake when I drop into the chair. I hate this, I hate everything about trying to pretend I’m not bothered by the constant need to put on airs and act like I’m not the weakest person in the room who happened to get lucky a time or two.

Oshea introduces the others. “This is Jovi and Perrin.”

“Why did you bring her here?” Jovi, the female, doesn’t hide the fact that she doesn’t want me around.

“She beat Hawk,” Oshea defends, barely moving her lips as if I’m not sitting right here and won’t hear her. I could get up and give them the table, because I’m clearly not wanted, but I’m not going to. Instead, I dig into my food, not saying a word about the awkward situation.

“Yeah, and what does that say about her? Maybe she’s using some kind of influence on you. Did you ever think of that?”

“I’m not,” I deadpan. If they only knew, but I’m not about to let it slip that I’m powerless and the only reason I bested Hawk was because I caught him off guard. I don’t expect it will happen again.

“So she says,” Jovi argues. Perrin shifts his arm. I can’t see under the table, but I would put money on the fact that he placed his palm on her thigh. I don’t know if it’s a show of support or if he’s trying to calm her down.

“How about you let me eat in peace and we can pretend we never met?” I offer, eager for her to shut her trap and not draw any more attention to the table.

“How about you disappear to wherever the fuck you came from?”

A bitter laugh escapes me. As much as I hated the Ivy, I would give just about anything to go back just so I could be with Kage and Ziv again. I slam my fist down on the table, and the area around us falls silent. I’ve done exactly what I didn’t want—attracted everyone’s attention. There’s nothing I can do about it now but deal with it. “I don’t know how you arrived at this icy hellhole, but the dragon who brought me didn’t offer a roundtrip.”

Whispers of the word “dragon” fill the space around us. Jovi narrows her eyes even more. If glares could kill, she’d be murdering me right now. “Too bad he didn’t drop you.”

“I guess I’m just lucky that way.” I don’t admit I felt the same way at times when I was in isolation after it left me here.

Tank surprises me when he places his hands on the table between us, separating us. You wouldn’t think someone his size could easily sneak up on you, but it just shows how I let Jovi distract me. “Save it for the training field,” he grits out through clenched teeth.

I shovel another bite of sawdust mush into my mouth, not looking away from Jovi. “Sorry, Tank,” Oshea murmurs as if this is her fault, and maybe it is for inviting me to sit with her and her crew.

Jovi pushes her plate away, causing small bits of food to slop onto the tabletop. I can’t help but think what a waste it is as I clean my plate. I wonder if she’s ever gone hungry. If she has, then she should know what a stupid move it is to refuse food.

When my plate is clean, I rise. “You don’t have to go,” Oshea pleads, glancing at Jovi.

“I do, but thank you for the invite.” I don’t want to dismiss her kindness, even if it backfired on both of us. It’s easy enough to spot the wash bin and drop off my plate on my way toward the door. Walking out of this room is probably stupid, but I just can’t stand feeling everyone’s eyes on me for a second longer. It makes me want to crawl out of my skin, and that’s not an option.

No one tries to stop me from leaving as I exit the tavern. When I get into the hall and the door snaps closed behind me, I let out a long breath and roll my head on my shoulders. Sleeping on a bed helped with my achiness, but I’m so damn tense, every muscle in my back is rigid, so it wouldn’t matter if I slept on a cloud.

I let my eyes roam around the wide hall, wondering if there’s a place nearby I can hide out and wait for the rest of the group to leave so I can tag along behind them. There are no helpful signs directing me to the training field or anywhere else for that matter, so I take a leap and head to the left with the intent not to go too far so I don’t miss the others leaving.

The knowledge that Oshea shared about the elites taking over the bathrooms near the tavern is fresh in my mind when I notice the doors lining the hall. It wouldn’t be smart to barge into the rooms for several reasons, so I continue down the hall. After making my way to the end, where it splits to go right or left, taking me too far from the tavern, I meander back the way I came, stopping in front of the closed doors.

After a quick examination, I note that only one of the four has a keyhole, meaning three should be unlocked. My hand is on one of the knobs before I can talk myself out of it, twisting it open. I’m not dumb enough to shove my head inside without knowing what’s behind it, so I push it the rest of the way open while holding my breath and spy a… closet, or a room small enough to be considered one anyway. It’s just deep enough for the door to swing all the way open, but upon further inspection, I realize it’s at least twice as wide. Shelves line the side walls, and most are empty except for the thick layer of dust gathering on the wood. The few that aren’t bare hold weathered boxes in various sizes.

Taking a quick peek down the hall and finding it empty, I step over the threshold and promptly sneeze several times. When I finally straighten, a chill works its way up my spine. Without even turning around, I know there’s someone or something behind me. My gut is churning, but not in the usual nervous manner. A sliver of hope unfurls, making my heart pound hard against my chest. I know this feeling, and it’s not fear—it’s anticipation.

I turn my head, expecting to find Kage or Ziv, but what I find has me spinning around fully and stumbling back, nearly colliding with the wall behind me. The hall is empty, yet the feeling that someone should be there lingers. “Kage?” I question, stepping forward, thinking he may be in his shadow form, but there’s no response.

I rush into the hall, only for the sense of familiarity to disappear. The heavy feeling of loss nearly cripples me. I seriously consider walking back into the closet and closing the door. I wonder how long it would take before someone found me.

The door to the tavern opens, letting out a din of chatter. It proves my presence was a hindrance to everyone inside, because there wasn’t any vibrant conversation while I was with them.

I shut the door to the closet quietly, then I make my way toward their group, welcome or not. It’s a much better option than hiding inside and feeling sorry for myself.