Torn Ivy (Thornfield Supernatural Academy #2)

8. Ivy

8

IVY

Waking up alone after possibly the weirdest night of my life is different from how I expected it to be. There is no dread, no anxiety about what I have to do. Instead, I feel strangely at peace with my situation. Death might be a massive arsehole who wants me to kill my guys or have my soul, but there is power in knowing who your enemy is. More than that, there is power in knowing who and what you are.

Although that is debatable right about now. Really need to figure that shit out or I’ll die trying. It’s not exactly how I want to go out.

I stretch languidly, feeling the buzz of that chaos magick under my skin like thousands of fizzing champagne bubbles racing through my veins. It’s still there, waiting to be unleashed, but it doesn’t feel as volatile as it did last night. Maybe because I’m starting to accept it as part of me rather than fighting against it. Or maybe it’s because I was sleeping, and once I fully wake up, all hell will break loose.

I guess we will find out shortly.

Rolling out of bed, glad of my warm pjs in the cold morning, I pad to the bathroom and yawn before setting about getting myself in order.

Once back in my bedroom, there is a knock on the door that makes me jump. The chaos magick surges in response to my startled state. Pink sparks dance across my skin before I can calm it. Frowning, I go to answer it, opening it a crack and glaring out, expecting Ramsey.

Instead, it’s Cathy, looking pristine as always in another smart suit, this time a deep navy that makes her look even more intimidating than usual. “Good morning, Ivy. Ramsey let me in. I hope you don’t mind the early hour. Sleep well?”

“Actually, yeah,” I say, unclenching a bit, surprising myself with the truth of it. “I feel different. Like everything’s sharper somehow, more real.”

She nods as if this is exactly what she expected, moving into the room as I let her pass with that graceful efficiency I’ve always envied. “The chaos magick is settling into your system. Now that you’ve acknowledged it, it’s becoming more integrated with your natural abilities. It’s quite fascinating to watch, actually.”

“So how come losing Mum and Dad didn’t give this to me?” I blurt out and then chew my lip as I wait for the answer.

She sighs. “I’m not sure. I was waiting for it. But it never came. Maybe grief isn’t your trigger. Or even anger. Betrayal seems to be the ticket.”

“I felt betrayed by them leaving me.”

“Did you, though? I don’t think you felt betrayed, Ivy. You were sad and angry, but not betrayed. Not really.”

I lower my gaze, taking that in. I suppose she’s right. In light of recent events, it makes sense.

She moves to the window and stares out over the campus. “Vex has left for MistHallow. He will return shortly.”

“Okay. Do you think he will find anything?”

“Professor Blackthorn is a remarkable creature. If he doesn’t have the answers, he will find them.”

“That’s nice to know. I wish we had the same here at Thornfield. Instead, we get insidious Professor Swann and a Headmaster whose name I don’t even know, let alone see his face. Why is that?”

“Hmm, about Swann?—”

“Oh, fuck off,” I growl. “Are you telling me he is part of your organisation as well?”

“Hmm.”

I roll my eyes. “What are you even called, anyway?” I huff and sit on my bed, pulling my feet up to rest on the edge and wrapping my arms around them.

“The Resistance.”

“How original.”

She snorts. “Like The Syndicate is so unique.”

Well, okay, she has me there.

“Speaking of unique, besides a cosmic glitch, what am I? Because right now, I feel like a walking Tesla coil.”

She smiles, but it’s tinged with sadness and something deeper, something that makes me think she knows more than she’s telling. “You’re something entirely new, Ivy. A being with the potential to become Death who rejected that destiny while still forming. The chaos magick is a result of that rejection. It’s pure potential energy with no predetermined purpose. Think of it like a river that suddenly changes course. All that power has to go somewhere.”

“So I can use it however I want?”

“In theory, yes. But it’s dangerous. Without proper control, like I said yesterday, it could tear you apart from the inside out. Think of that river. If you try to contain it completely, it’ll just find another way out, usually destructively.”

I think about how easily I brought the guys to me last night, how natural it felt to tap into that power. It had been like breathing, like my body knew exactly what to do, even if my mind was still catching up. “It feels strange. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“I can imagine, but you need to act quickly, Ivy. Time is not on our side with this ultimatum. Death won’t wait forever for you to make your choice. But first, let’s see what you can do instinctively.”

She moves to the centre of my room, gesturing for me to join her. “Close your eyes. Feel the power inside you. Don’t try to direct it yet, just let it flow naturally.”

I do as she says and focus inward. The chaos magick responds immediately, surging through me like a tidal wave. Pink light fills the room, casting strange shadows on the walls.

“Good,” Cathy murmurs. “Now, try to manifest something simple. A ball of light, perhaps.”

I concentrate, trying to shape the wild energy into something contained. Instead, the entire room fills with floating orbs of pink light, each one pulsing with its own rhythm.

“Interesting,” Cathy says. “Your power seems to want to expand rather than contract. Let’s try something else. Think about protection.”

The lights vanish instantly, replaced by a network of poisonous vines that crawl across the walls and ceiling, creating a natural fortress around us. The vines shimmer with that same pink energy, looking both beautiful and deadly.

“Oh!” I say, staring at them in awe. “Oh.”

“What?” Cathy asks.

“The vines. I’ve shifted with them recently. My arms became the vines. My Professor said it was rare.”

“Yes, I know. Josh told me.”

“Of course,” I mutter, but shake it off. “So, was that part of this magick?”

“Not necessarily. I think these,” she gestures to the vines, “are an extension of your natural shifting ability, which includes what you described.”

“So it takes what I have and makes it better?”

She nods. “I think so. Although, we have no case studies, so…” She shrugs. “But it appears that your natural shifter abilities are clearly influencing how the chaos magick manifests. The connection to plants, particularly defensive or poisonous ones, seems especially strong.”

I wave my hand, and the vines recede, leaving no trace they were ever there. It feels natural, like breathing. “This is wild. But how do I make it do specific things? Last night, I accidentally brought Tate here when I was just thinking about the guys.”

“That’s actually a perfect example of how chaos magick works,” Cathy says. “You had a clear intention, and the power found the most direct way to make that happen. The trick is learning to be more specific with your intentions while still allowing the magick to find its own path.”

She demonstrates by holding out her hand. A small flame appears, dancing on her palm. “Normal magick is like this - contained, directed, purposeful. Chaos magick...” She waves her other hand, and the flame explodes into a swirling vortex of fire that fills the room before vanishing completely. “It’s wild, unpredictable, but infinitely more powerful.”

I stare at the space where the fire had been, my heart racing with excitement rather than fear. The chaos magick inside me responds to my enthusiasm, making the air crackle with electricity. “How do you know, though, when you have no reference?” I ask a question that suddenly seems important.

“It’s a good question, and really, we are flying blind. That wasn’t something we should admit, but you need to know. This is all guesswork based on what little we do know. All magick is about feeling the energy, letting it flow naturally while gently nudging it in the direction you want it to go. But think of this like riding a wave,” she explains as I try to manifest the power again. “You don’t control the ocean, but you can work with it, use its power to take you where you want to go.”

I nod, focusing on the buzzing energy under my skin. Instead of trying to force it into shape, I let it rise naturally, feeling it swirl around me. Pink light fills the room as the chaos magick responds to my call.

“Good,” Cathy 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 about protection and keeping my guys safe from Death. The magick surges, stronger this time, and suddenly, the room is filled with thorny vines again, but these are different. They pulse with a toxic-looking pink glow, dripping with some kind of luminescent sap.

“Those look nasty.”

Cathy nods approvingly, careful not to touch the vines. “Very. The magick appears to respond to your subconscious desires and natural affinities. Your connection to plants, particularly poisonous ones, is clearly strong. It’s as if the power knows exactly what you are, both Ivy and Poison, merged into something new.”

I wave my hand, and the vines recede like the last ones, leaving no trace they were ever there. But I can still feel them, like they’re just beneath the surface of reality, waiting to be called forth again. “It’s getting easier each time.”

“That’s good, but also potentially dangerous,” Cathy warns. “The easier it becomes, the more tempting it will be to use it for everything. You need to learn restraint as well as control. Now, let’s try something more challenging. I want you to?—”

A knock at the door interrupts us. Ramsey pokes his head in, his face all healed up from my attack last night. His eyes widen at the pink energy still crackling around me. “Sorry to interrupt, but Josh thinks he’s found something interesting in the old texts. Also, your hair is floating.”

I quickly pat down my levitating locks and follow them down to the kitchen, where Josh has several ancient-looking books spread across the table. Josh’s usually cheerful face is serious as he points to a particular passage.

“Where did you get this from?” I ask with a frown at the decidedly spooky-looking books.

“Your Dark Fae,” he replies. “Seems this power may be tied to the ancient Fae somehow, as he had these in his family library.”

“Which is?”

“In the Dark Fae Kingdom.”

I press my lips together. “Where is he?”

“Catching some winks. Look, we can talk all you want about the hottie later, right now, this, please.” He jabs the book emphatically.

“Yeah, sorry,” I mutter. Priorities.

“It’s an account of another Death candidate who rejected the position.”

“Oh? Who? When? What happened to them?” Not so unique after all, then. Boo.

I lean in to examine the faded text, written in a language so archaic that it gives me a headache just looking at it.

“They became Death.”

I blink as Cathy draws in a raspy breath.

Ramsey has his arms folded tightly as he stands beside Josh, his gaze on me.

“I see. So, there is no way out for me. I either die or become Death.”

“Both,” Josh says. “From what I can gather, and bear in mind the Fae talk in riddles, when you die, you become Death. You aren’t the reject, Ivy. You are the chosen one.”

My heart thumps at that. “But that makes no sense. Why would Death want to take my soul if he knows I become Death when I die?”

He shrugs. “Who knows?”

“Well, that’s cheerful,” I mutter, but internally, I’m filing this information away. “What if I fight it?”

“You will inevitably be torn apart by it.”

“How long until that happens?”

“A few weeks-ish. It’s hard to read, but what I do know is, according to this, their power grew exponentially in the days following their awakening. They became increasingly unstable until...”

“Until they went boom and became Death as we know it? So what was Death, I mean the title, not the creature who became it, before?”

“Another good question. Current Death has been around for a while. Vex is at MistHallow looking for more information, but in the meantime, you need to step up. The texts suggest that the first week is crucial. Either you learn to work with the power, or it starts working against you.”

“Are we going to assume that this creature was Fae then, if they have this information?”

“It’s a solid theory.”

“I have no Fae in me,” I point out, hoping this matters.

“Except when you’re fucking Bram,” Ramsey pipes up with a grin at me, and then it fades when Cathy clears her throat and shoots him a menacing glare. I hide my smile, glad we are okay again.

Josh sidesteps neatly. “I don’t think species matters. Or maybe it does. Again, who knows? We need Vex.”

“Ugh, don’t ever say that out loud to him. His ego is already monumental.”

“What’s the plan with regard to the ultimatum?” Cathy asks, watching me carefully.

“I’m going to play his game, but by my rules. He’s going to learn that poison can be just as deadly to Death as it is to everyone else.”

“That’s all very dramatic,” Josh says dryly, “but what does it actually mean in practical terms?”

“It means I need to figure out Death’s weaknesses and what his end game is, and it means I need to find a way to protect my guys while doing it.”

“And how exactly do you plan to do all that?” Ramsey asks.

“By finding out what he wants. Until we do that, all of this is pointless.”

“Well,” Cathy says after a moment, “I think that’s enough theory for now. We need to keep up with practice until we have some definitive answers.”

Death might think he has me cornered, but he’s about to learn what happens when you back a poisonous vine into a corner.

It grows.

It spreads.

And eventually, it kills everything in its path.

The question is, can I accept the fate I’ve been handed and shoved neatly under the mental mat for now?