Torn Ivy (Thornfield Supernatural Academy #2)

6. Bram

6

brAM

“What the fuck?” I snap, staring at Ivy, or rather Poison, in disbelief. One moment we were in the Thornfield parking lot, the next we’re... wherever this is. Some kind of underground cavern filled with strange creatures and Poison crackling with pink energy.

Tate and Torin look equally as baffled next to me, shaking off the very unsettling ride we just came on.

“Ivy?” Tate says cautiously. “Sorry, babe. Not calling you Poison right now. How did we get here? What’s going on?”

Ivy’s eyes are wide as she stares at us. “I think I did this. Somehow.”

“You did what exactly?” Torin growls, his eyes darting around suspiciously at the others in the room.

“I was practising with this stupid magick, and I wanted to find you,” Ivy explains, her voice shaky. “To know you were safe, and then you were here.”

“Impressive,” a woman I don’t recognise says, eyeing Ivy with interest. “You’re more powerful than we realised.”

“Who the fuck are you?” I demand, stepping protectively in front of Ivy.

“Easy, Bram,” Ivy says, putting a hand on my arm. “That is my Aunt Cathy, you know the rest.”

“Vex,” Tate snarls. “You had better not have laid a single finger on her.”

He smirks. “Only when she asked me to.”

Tate’s fury is like a living thing. He calls his magick to him, but Ivy stops him by slapping her hand on his wrist. “No. Don’t let him wind you up. He’s an idiot.”

“Hey,” Vex snaps. “An idiot who saved you.”

“Noooo, an idiot who brought me here to this shitshow!”

“Okay, back up a fucking minute here. What is going on? Why did you run, Ivy? Was it because of Death?”

Her eyes go wide when she looks at me. Those cornflower eyes that make my dick go hard. As much as I’ve fallen for Ivy as herself, I can’t deny the effect Poison has on me. “How did you know about Death?”

“He paid us a visit,” Torin growls. “And decided to imprison us. We escaped.”

Ivy’s eyes widen in shock. “You escaped from Death? How?”

“Long story,” I cut in. “The short version is we found some weird orb thing that transported us out of there. Now, will you please explain what the fuck is going on?”

Ivy takes a deep breath, looking around at the others in the cavern. “It’s complicated. Basically, Death gave me an ultimatum to either kill you guys or he takes my soul. I ran to try to protect you, but then...” She gestures vaguely at herself and the pink energy still crackling around her. “All this happened.”

“What is ‘all this’ exactly?” Tate asks, eyeing her warily. “Why is Vex here?”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Tate is so caught up in Vex and his jealousy or rivalry or whatever the fuck it is, it’s like they're fucking siblings or something…

Wait. Did I just… I narrow my eyes at them. Nah. They look like exact opposites.

“Apparently, I have chaos magick,” Ivy says, interrupting my wayward thoughts. “Because I’m some kind of cosmic glitch that rejected becoming Death while still in the womb, and now these guys want me to use it to take down Death and The Syndicate.”

I blink, trying to process this information dump. “That’s a lot.” Frowning, I look around the room. “Are you? Do I know you?” I ask, zeroing in on the woman again.

“No, that would be me,” Josh says, raising his hand. I barely know the guy, only by sight. He’s Ramsey’s boyfriend.

“You? You’re the creature that I’ve been dealing with?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“So you guys are really trying to take down The Syndicate?”

“Death, mostly, but The Syndicate is his brainchild, so by proxy, yes.”

“So where do the kills fit into your thing… and don’t give me, need to know. If you want me to get on board with whatever shit this is…” I wave my hand around, “… not to mention the fact that Ivy has something I’ve only ever heard of in tales of the ancient Fae, you owe me this.”

“What kills?” Ivy asks, momentarily distracted.

“Bram has been doing some freelance work for us, taking out strategic allies of Death. He has several beings who deliver him souls, on the down low for extra treats.”

“That fucking warlock. I knew he was a piece of shit,” I spit out.

“Wait,” Ivy interrupts, her eyes narrowing at me. “You’ve been working for them? This whole time?”

I shift uncomfortably under her intense gaze. “No. Very recently. I was trying to find a way to get closer to Poison. I didn’t know who they really were. I just knew they wanted to take down The Syndicate.”

“You were trying to get closer to Poison?” she asks. “Why? So you could kill me, too?” Ivy’s temper has flared, dramatically increasing the pink energy around her.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snap. “I didn’t want to kill Poison.”

“No, just abduct her and chain her to the wall until she agreed to be with you,” Tate snarls.

“What?” Eyes wide, Poison stares at me. I make the differentiation now because I’m in seriously deep Dragon dung.

“No,” I lie. “That wasn’t exactly?—”

“Okay, everyone, just calm down,” Josh interjects, holding up his hands. “We’re all on the same side here, and your personal shit can wait.”

“Are we all on the same side?” Ivy asks, looking around the room with suspicion. “Because from where I’m standing, it seems like everyone’s been lying to everyone else.”

She’s not wrong. The tension in the room is overt with all the secrets and lies bubbling to the surface.

“Look,” I say, trying to defuse the situation. “We can argue about who kept what secret later. Right now, we need to focus on the bigger picture. Death is after Ivy. Are we assuming he wants her because of the chaos magick or because he knows she can kill him with it, so he wants to keep his enemies closer?”

Ivy’s eyes narrow at me. “Good question. Why does Death want me so badly? Is it just because of this chaos magick, or is there more to it?”

Josh and Cathy exchange a loaded glance that sets my teeth on edge.

“There’s more,” Josh admits reluctantly. “We believe Death wants to use you as a weapon. Your chaos magick, if properly harnessed, could potentially destroy entire realms.”

“What?” Ivy whispers, her face pale.

“Death has been accumulating power for centuries,” Cathy explains. “But there are still realms beyond his reach. With you under his control, he could expand his dominion even further.”

“Fuck that,” Torin growls. “We’re not letting that happen.”

Tate nods in agreement, but I notice his eyes keep darting to Vex. There’s definitely something going on there that I don’t fully understand.

“So, what’s the plan?” I ask, trying to focus on the immediate problem. “How do we keep Ivy safe and stop Death?”

“We train her,” Josh says firmly. “Teach her to control the chaos magick so Death can’t use her as a weapon.”

“And then what?” Ivy demands. “I just waltz up to Death and kill him?”

Vex grins. “Something like that, yeah.”

“You’re insane,” Tate snaps. “We can’t send her against Death. It’s suicide.”

“We don’t have much choice,” Josh argues. “Death won’t stop coming for her, and if he gets his hands on her, the consequences could be catastrophic.”

I watch the argument unfold, my mind still trying to process that Ivy has chaos magick. That is some seriously mythical shit right there.

“Enough,” Ivy says suddenly, her voice cutting through the bickering. The pink energy around her pulses ominously. “This isn’t for any of you to decide. It’s for me and me alone.”

“Beg to differ,” Torin says, his gaze boring into hers. “You don’t get to experience what we have and then dismiss us as something not worth your time.”

“I never once said that?—”

“Yeah, you pretty much inferred it,” I interrupt. “We get a say in what goes on in your life, Ivy, whether you like it or not.”

Ivy’s eyes flash with anger, the pink energy crackling more intensely around her. “You don’t get to dictate my choices,” she snaps. “None of you do. This is my life, my power, and my decision.”

“Ivy,” Tate says softly, reaching out to her. “We’re not trying to control you. We just want to protect you.”

She jerks away from his touch. “I don’t need your protection. I need you to trust me to make my own choices.”

“Even if those choices get you killed?” Torin growls.

“Especially then,” Ivy retorts.

I watch the standoff, feeling torn. On the one hand, I understand the guys’ desire to keep Ivy safe. On the other, I know firsthand how suffocating it can be to have others try to control your destiny.

“Look,” I say, trying to be the voice of reason for once. Tate is blinded when it comes to this. He can’t see reason. “We’re all on edge here. Why don’t we take a step back and figure this out together?”

Ivy’s gaze snaps to mine, her blue eyes blazing. “Really? After you’ve been sneaking around working for some shadowy organisation to get closer to Poison?”

I wince. “Touché. However, that isn’t the issue here.”

She grimaces because she knows I’m right.

“Okay, this has gone far enough,” Cathy states, stepping forward. “Ivy, you are acting like a sullen child. Snap out of it. You want to be such a grown-up? Act like one. This isn’t just about you, dear girl. It’s about everyone. The good, the bad and the downright evil. But they all matter in the bigger scope of things. Do you understand that? Or do we need to go back to basics with you like a toddler?”

Torin and I exchange a shocked stare. Wow, this woman doesn’t pull any punches.

However, it seems to have worked. Ivy is huffing, but she is losing her defensiveness.

It’s not much, but it’s a start.