Page 98 of Torn Ivy
The icy chillcreeping through the room sends a shiver down my spine, which has nothing to do with post-orgasmic bliss. I sit up, wrapping the sheet around myself, and scan the darkened corners of my bedroom.
“Something’s not right,” I murmur, my senses on high alert.
The guys tense around me, on guard. Tate summons clothes onto all of us so we aren’t about to face down danger in the nude. Then he lights a small flame in his palm, casting flickering shadows across the walls.
“Show yourself,” Bram growls, black energy snaps at his fingertips. I can feel the malevolence from across the room and shudder.
For a moment, nothing happens. Then, a figure materialises near the foot of the bed. Tall, skeletal, draped in a black robe.
“Oh, it’s you,” I state with a huff. “What do you want?”
His hollow eye sockets seem to bore into me, if that is even possible. “I’ve come with a warning, Ivy Hammond, and an offer.”
Torin shifts closer to me protectively. “What kind of warning?”
“What kind of offer?” Tate snaps.
Death’s bony fingers curl as he looks around at all of us, clearly post-fuck, and by the expression on his face, if he had eyes, he’d roll them at us. “The scales have tipped too far. Life grows desperate. She will stop at nothing to reset the balance. Even if it means destroying everything in the process.”
“And the offer?” I ask warily.
“A chance to stop her. To preserve this reality and all the others connected to it.” Death pauses, his gaze sweeping over all of us. “But it will come with a heavy price.”
“Doesn’t it always?” I grit out. “I’ve been through hell and back, so give it to me. It can’t be any worse than what I’ve already been through.”
He chuckles ominously. “You sure about that?”
He clicks his fingers, and it echoes around the room.
The bare room in the middle of some dimension that definitely isn’t the supernatural realm. “Where are my guys?” I ask immediately.
“They are not here.”
“Well, duh,” I growl. “Did you hurt them?”
“No. They are inconsequential.”
“No, they aren’t! How dare you!”
“Oh, calm down. I mean for this decision. It is yours to make, and I don’t want them influencing you in any way, shape, or form.”
“What decision?” I ask, dread welling up for about the millionth time this month.
“This has all spun wildly out of control, dear girl. The chaos you hold inside you, the bonds you have with those men, Life deciding that you are more of a threat than she first anticipated. It’s all escalated to levels that were unprecedented. We need to act. Together.”
“Okay, I’m with you on that this has turned into a massive clusterfuck, but how do we end it?”
He considers my question for a moment. “You will recall that you are of my line?”
“Yeah, kind of hard to forget.”
“You subconsciously rejected my power.” He glares at me with his non-eyes.
I grimace. “Sorry?”
He snorts. “Bit late for that, child. You were chosen by me to be my protector against this, what did you call it?” He waves his bony hand around.
“Clusterfuck?” I offer up helpfully.
