Page 32 of Torn Ivy
The final pages of the chapter are ominous:
“As Chaos grows, so too must the anchor. But beware - there is a tipping point. A moment when the scales tip irrevocably towards destruction. When that time comes, only sacrifice can restore balance.”
As I close the grimoire, the words hang heavy in the air, my mind reeling. Lightning flashes again before thunder crashes overhead.
Sacrifice.The word echoes in my head, filling me with dread. What kind of sacrifice? Who would have to make it? Ivy? Me? Someone else?
I think of the raw power that flows through Ivy and how natural it feels when our magick intertwines.
I pour another glass of whiskey, needing something to steady my nerves. The alcohol burns going down, but it does little to calm the storm of thoughts in my head.
How do I explain this to Ivy, and to everyone, that our connection might be more than just attraction or fate, but a cosmic balancing act with dire consequences?
I don’t have any answers. Not yet, anyway.
14
BRAM
Something’s shiftedin the magickal atmosphere tonight.
But it’s not that which draws me to pause in the rain. It’s the echo of Ivy’s chaos magick, still lingering in the air from earlier. There’s something about her energy that calls to my true nature, something I’ve been trying to understand ever since I first tasted it. Wild raspberries.
I move down the rain-slicked street as the shadows bend around me. The Court would be appalled at the carelessness which I have shown lately, but then, they’ve always been appalled by my choices.
Ivy’s house is just ahead, lights still on despite the late hour. I can feel this new magick in the air, but beneath it, there’s something else. Something older. Something wild that responds to my presence in a way that magick from this realm never does. My steps slow as I near her home. I can see her staring out of her bedroom window at the top of the house, a soft glow of light behind her. She is still in Poison’s guise. I stop to look at her, knowing she doesn’t know I’m here.
The rain around me starts falling upward, just slightly, responding to my distracted state. I quickly restore my control,but not before Ivy glances down as if her gaze was drawn to me. Our eyes meet through the darkness, and for a moment, her chaos magick reaches out, tangling with the ancient power in my blood like it’s found something familiar.
What does this mean? That she is part Fae? Or is it the magick that is Fae? That would make more sense.I seem to have been the only one to hear about this kind of magick and have text on it. The Ancient Fae were a strange bunch. They weren’t divided as we are now, but one group that went their separate ways several centuries ago.
Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles but still we stare at each other, neither of us moving.
My power feels unsettled tonight, responding to her proximity.
Drawing my attention away from her, I see Tate appear at the end of the street, a book tucked under his arm. He spots me immediately.
“Lurking?” he asks.
“Always. What’s that?”
“Vex’s offerings.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh? Care to share?”
He gestures with his head towards Ivy’s house. “Do you know where Torin is?”
I shake my head and follow him up Ivy’s garden path. She opens the door before he can knock, Torin is standing behind her.
“Hey guys,” she says. “Come in.”
We enter, dripping wet, but a bit of magick sorts that out quickly.
“Come upstairs,” she murmurs and takes them two at a time as we follow.
Once inside her room, I feel the atmosphere shift to something more seductive.
“I need to not think for a while. Can you help me?” she murmurs, stripping off her clothes and standing naked before us. She shifts back to Ivy, and it sends a pang of longing straight to my cock. In a flash, I’m in front of her, slamming her up against the wall. “Shift back,” I murmur. “I want this to be rough, hard, painful. I want to fuck you until you beg me to stop. I want to see tears in those blue eyes, Poison.”
