Torn Ivy (Thornfield Supernatural Academy #2)

5. Ivy

5

IVY

I stand in the cavern, pink energy still crackling around me as I try to process everything I’ve just learned. My whole life has been a lie, orchestrated by forces I didn’t even know existed, and now they want me to become some kind of chaotic entity to fight Death.

Part of me wants to tell them all to go fuck themselves. To run as far and fast as I can from this insanity. But another part, a growing part, feels a strange sense of rightness. Like pieces of a puzzle I didn’t know I was solving are finally falling into place.

“Okay,” I say finally, looking at the faces around me. Josh, Vex, Cathy, Ramsey. People I thought I knew. People who have lied to me. But also, people who might be my only chance at saving my guys and stopping Death. “What’s the next step?”

Josh, his expression way too serious, says, “Now that your powers have awakened, we need to train you to use them. Chaos magick is unpredictable and dangerous. If you can’t control it, it will consume you.”

“Lovely,” I mutter. “And how exactly does one train to use unpredictable magick?”

Vex grins, and it’s not a comforting sight. “By embracing the chaos, of course.”

“You sure I can’t run, instead?” I ask, but it’s a non-starter. If I run, my guys die. That is not happening.

“You could,” Vex says, almost reluctantly, like he doesn’t want to give away a big secret. “I know of maybe one place you could go where he wouldn’t find you.”

“And that would be?” I ask, curious despite myself.

“An Academy a few hundred miles from here called MistHallow. Much like this one, but way higher up on the food chain.”

“Hmm.” I ponder, but then shake my head. I’m not running. Not now. If I fail, then I can, but Poison doesn’t run from fights. Ivy might on occasion, but Poison is a badass, and I need her right now.

So, I shift. Pink bobbed hair, baby blue eyes. Killer body.

And in doing so, the magickal clothes that Vex gave me disappear, leaving me naked in a roomful of creatures who want me to take on Death and win.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

It about sums up my day.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter, crossing my legs and covering up my tits in a futile attempt at modesty. “Anyone got some clothes?”

Josh snickers while Vex leers at me. Cathy rolls her eyes and snaps her fingers, conjuring a simple black outfit of leggings, a tank top, and boots.

“Thanks,” I say grudgingly, quickly pulling on the clothes.

“Now then,” Cathy says briskly, “let’s get started with your training.”

“What? Right now?” I ask incredulously. “Don’t I get a moment to, I don’t know, process all this bullshit you’ve just dumped on me?”

“Time is a luxury we don’t have,” Ramsey says, his face still bloody from where I punched him. Good . “If you go back out there, you have this ultimatum hanging over your head.”

He’s right, but maybe that’s not the worst thing. Maybe I can buy some time.

“Actually,” I say slowly, “maybe going back out there is exactly what I need to do.”

Josh frowns. “What are you thinking?”

“Death gave me a choice: kill my guys, or he takes my soul, right? Well, what if I pretend to go along with it? Buy us some time while I figure out how to use these new powers?”

Vex shakes his head. “It’s too risky. If Death realises you’re stalling?—”

“He’ll what? Kill me? Take my soul? That’s what he’s planning anyway,” I argue. “At least this way, I have a chance to save the guys and learn to control this chaos magick bullshit.”

Cathy looks thoughtful. “It could work. If you’re convincing enough.”

“I’m a damn good liar when I need to be,” I say, gesturing to my shifted persona.

Ramsey nods. “She has a point. It might be our best shot at catching Death off guard.”

“Okay,” Josh says after a moment. “But you can’t go in blind. We need to give you at least some basic training before you face Death again.”

I nod, relieved they’re not fighting me on this. “Fine. Give me the basics.”

“It’s not as simple as that. Chaos magick is… chaotic. By its very nature, it shouldn’t exist,” Cathy says.

“Are you saying I shouldn’t exist?” I growl.

“Yes,” she states. “When your soul rejected Death’s calling, you became something that shouldn’t exist. Deal with that however you want, but do it quickly. The longer your magick is left to run wild, the more it will tear you in half.”

“Do you mean that literally?”

She purses her lips but doesn’t reply.

“Okay, then,” I say, taking a deep breath. “Let’s do this. Teach me how to control this chaos magick before it tears me apart.”

Josh nods, his expression serious. “The first thing you need to understand is that chaos magick doesn’t follow the rules of normal magick. It’s unpredictable and wild. You can’t control it so much as guide it.”

“How?”

“By embracing the chaos,” Vex says, stepping forward. “You need to let go of your preconceptions about how magick should work. Forget everything you think you know.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “That shouldn’t be too hard, considering I didn’t know I had active magick until about ten minutes ago.”

“Fair point,” he concedes. “But you’ve been around magick users. You have ideas about how it should work. Forget all of that.”

“Okay,” I say slowly. “So what do I do instead?”

“Feel the energy inside you,” Cathy instructs. “That pink crackling power. Don’t try to control it. Just let it flow through you.”

I close my eyes, focusing on the strange energy I can feel buzzing beneath my skin. It’s wild, unpredictable, like lightning trapped in a bottle. Every instinct screams at me to contain it, to force it into submission, but I resist the urge. Instead, I try to relax, to let the power flow freely through me.

“Good,” Josh murmurs. “Now, think of something you want to happen. Don’t try to make it happen, just hold the intention in your mind.”

I think of my guys - Tate, Torin, and Bram. I want to find them, to know they’re safe. The energy inside me surges in response to my desire, crackling along my skin.

“Open your eyes,” Ramsey says softly.

I do, and gasp.