Page 55 of Wild Ivy
I nod. “Yeah, but I don’t think we should assume that, right now. Let’s keep looking first.”
“Well then,” Ramsey straightens up, slipping into handler mode. “Let’s pool our resources. Between The Syndicate, The Resistance, and whatever new cosmic powers you four have going on, we’ll find her.”
“Or at least figure out what she might be planning,” Josh adds.
I look around at all of them - my best friend, his boyfriend, my three loves. Each powerful in their own right, each ready to help. Maybe we can’t track Life directly, but with all of us working together, we might find where she’s hiding.
Torin slides a plate of breakfast in front of me. “Eat first, save the world later.”
“Anyone else hungry?” he asks, looking around at Ramsey and Josh.
“Already ate,” Josh pats his stomach. “Though I wouldn’t say no to more tea.”
As Torin busies himself with the kettle, I dig into my breakfast, realising how famished I am.
“So,” Ramsey says, watching me devour my breakfast with amusement, “what exactly are we dealing with here? Besides the obvious cosmic makeover you four got. How powerful is this Life being?”
“Pretty powerful, but she is dying, so I’m guessing her power is dying as well.”
“Which means she’s got nothing left to lose,” Bram says.
Josh leans forward, elbows on the counter. “But what would she want? What’s her endgame?”
“Control,” Tate says immediately, his markings shifting. “It’s always been about control for her. The old system gave her that - she could manipulate life, create it, corrupt it. Now...”
“Now the playing field’s been levelled,” I nod. “Everything’s connected. Life, death, rebirth, it’s all part of one cycle. She can’t manipulate it anymore, at least not the way she used to.”
“Which makes her desperate,” Ramsey concludes. “And desperate immortal beings are never good news.”
“Assuming she’s still immortal,” Bram points out. “The rules have changed. We don’t know what she is anymore.”
I push my empty plate away, thinking. “We need to…”
My words trail off as a sudden surge of energy hits me. My vision blurs, replaced by flashes of something. Someone. A familiar presence, but twisted, wrong.
“Ivy?” Tate’s voice seems far away. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure,” I blink, trying to clear my head. “I felt her. Just for a moment. But different.”
“Can you trace it?” Josh asks, already pulling out his phone.
I shake my head. “It’s gone now. But it felt wrong. Like she’s trying to force her way back into the natural order, but she doesn’t fit anymore.”
“That can’t be good,” Ramsey mutters, pulling out his own phone. “I’ll alert our teams, tell them to be on high alert for any unusual energy signatures.”
I rub my temples, trying to make sense of the lingering sensation. “Wait! It wasn’t random. She was reaching for something specific. Someone...”
“Lila,” Bram says suddenly. “She’s trying to get back to Lila.”
Before anyone can respond, the air crackles with electricity, and Vex materialises in the middle of the kitchen, his usual smug face more concerned right now.
“Hey, Ivy, nice to see you again, little shifter. No time to really catch up. You need to come to MistHallow. Now. Lila’sgetting worse. Her body’s shutting down faster than we can heal it. We think Life is trying to get back inside her to possess her again.”
“That bitch!” I spit out the words like poison.
“She knows Lila’s vulnerable,” Torin grits out.
“We need to go,” I say, already reaching for my guys. “Now. Before she can?—”
