Page 56 of Torn Ivy
It’s about understanding.
About balance.
About finding the path between extremes.
And for the first time since my power awakened, I feel truly ready to walk that path.
No matter where it leads.
No matter if it tears me apart.
26
IVY
The peaceful momentof understanding shatters as reality ripples again - but this time, it’s not from my chaos magick. Three figures materialise in the room, their bodies reforming from shadow in a way that puts me on the defensive until I see who it is.
“Oh good, more drama,” Torin mutters, but I notice he moves protectively closer to me anyway.
Josh waves, but his usual smile is absent. “We have a problem.”
“When don’t we?” I reply. “What’s happened?”
“The Syndicate,” a female says, her silver eyes gleaming with urgency. “They’re going after Cathy tonight.”
“And you are?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“This is Eva,” Josh says hastily.
“How did you know about Cathy?”
“You pissed them off in a big way, Ivy. It threw them to know what you can do now, and they have targeted your aunt.”
“They had before,” I murmur. “I thought it was over.”
He shakes his head.
Reality ripples around us in response to my anger. Tate grabs my hand, his anchor power struggling to stabilise the chaos that threatens to explode outward.
“When?” I demand.
Josh shrugs. “We don’t know for sure. It’s rumbles.”
“Fuck.”
“Actually, there’s more,” the third Resistance member—another woman I don’t recognise—says. “That’s why we’re here. The Syndicate’s not acting on their own anymore. They’re being influenced.”
“By who?”
“Good question.”
But I think I already know. Death is losing his grip on his little band of sideshow assassins, and Life is stepping up her game. This is not good. Life isn’t just trying to unmake death, she’s systematically eliminating anything that might help maintain balance.
“This had nothing to do with Death. The Wraiths. It was Life. She went after my aunt to get to me.”
“Huh?” Josh asks, scrunching up his nose. “Who the fuck is Life?”
I shake my head, and Torin goes into an explanation as my mind whirls with all that is going on.
