The large wooden door shut with a thud. The hallway we were in was under Fuchsia’s house. She had an elaborate maze of tunnels dug out from the earth and reinforced with stone. The dampness wouldn’t be great for Christy or Ivy long-term.
“Do you think it’s safe to leave Ivy alone with her?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t think we have much choice,” she whispered.
“I feel like I’ve already said too much to her about Ivy’s abilities.” I shook my head.
Christy shrugged. “You didn’t say much, Carter. I think Ivy’s abilities are coveted by so many that when a woman who’s spent her life trying to become someone like Ivy, it would be easy to recognize.”
I nodded, pacing as if my life depended on it.
“You really like her, don’t you?”
I stopped. “What kind of question is that?”
“An important one.”
“She’s beautiful. She’s intriguing, brilliant, caring.” I shrugged. “What’s not to like?”
“You know what I mean.” Christy stared at me. “By the way, for someone who doesn’t frequent Raven Ward much, I find it interesting that you knew about the tunnel to bring us here.”
It was true. In order to get from Juniper Ward to Raven Ward, there was an elaborate set of pathways and a series of caves to weave through, but it was worth the challenge in order to stay out of sight from the guardians of Raven Ward. This was the most heavily protected of Wards. The people appeared to be more paranoid than most, but they did trade in sin. So, I could understand their fear of being caught.
“I’ve been around a long time. There are very few secrets I don’t know.”
Christy flashed a devilish grin. “I know a few.”
I rolled my eyes. All I could think about was Ivy. The longer she stayed in that state, the harder it would be to get her out of it.
“With Violet already getting friendly with the locals and Fuchsia begrudgingly helping us, it’s only a matter of time before Lux sends his crew in.”
It was odd hearing Christy refer to the vampires as Lux’s crew. They’d been under me for so long it was hard to recognize that they would no longer fear me, listen to me, or answer to me.
I inhaled a deep breath and held it.
“Lux won’t find out from Fuchsia. I can guarantee that.”
Christy slid down the stone wall and sat, bringing her knees to her chin. It was easy to see her as a pixie with her delicate features, tiny bones, and agility.
“What makes you so sure?” Christy asked.
“Because there’s only one person in the world that Fuchsia hates more than me.”
“And it’s Lux?” I nodded.
The ground trembled, and I reached for the wall. Christy stood up, looking alarmed, and braced herself.
Christy’s eyes flamed red. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.”
As the ground continued to shake, we made our way closer to the room we’d just left.
Chanting echoed through the air as disgust rose from deep within me.
If I hadn’t run after that mortal woman, trying to save her, we wouldn’t be in this position.
And for what? The woman still died, only now, Christy had a bullseye on her back, as did the sisters.
I shook my head, hearing the chant growing louder as the ground shook more fiercely.
Ivy’s screams pierced the quiet air as the sound of low bellowing hummed right after.
The shaking stopped, and my gaze caught Christy’s.
I didn’t like this one bit.
“What if she’s doing something to her?” I whispered.
“Like what?” Christy asked.
“Like stealing her power or . . .”
Christy flashed a coy smile. “You do like her, and she can’t. You know that. Don’t get paranoid.”
Unfortunately, I knew I wasn’t paranoid. The darkest of magic flowed through a select few, and I had no way of knowing who held the evilest of powers close to their heart.
“I’m serious, Christy. I think we should go in.”
The ground shuddered again and then silence filled the air.
If Fuchsia did anything to Ivy, I would . . .
The door opened and Fuchsia stepped into the hallway.
“She’s waking up now.” She eyed me coolly. “Why didn’t you tell me everything about her?”
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know everything about her.”
“I see.” She motioned for us to step inside.
The room felt different, almost drained. The air felt thinner and the ground brittle, which made no sense.
My gaze flew to where I’d left Ivy, and she wasn’t there.
“What did you do with her?” I asked, charging toward Fuchsia.
“Ah, so she is your pet.”
I towered over the witch and glared at her. “Where is she?”
Fuchsia shook her head. “Cool off. Take a step back. She needed a minute alone. Needed a change of clothes.”
I spun around to a door that was closed and darted toward it.
“Ivy, are you okay?”
I touched the door, praying I could feel her behind it.
Ivy opened the door slowly but kept her gaze on the floor while she slid past me.
“I’ve been better, Carter.” Her voice quavered, and my chest tightened with worry.
What did Fuchsia do to her?
The moment her hand brushed against mine, I knew something had changed.
The pull to her was even greater. I no longer craved Ivy. I needed her to survive.
I watched her move slowly into the center of the room. The silver cloak she wore flowed behind her, caressing her curves. Her auburn hair cascaded past her shoulders.
She was like a goddess.
Christy walked toward her best friend and slowly brought her hand to her face. She brushed the hair away from Ivy’s face before a little gasp escaped her lips. Christy took a couple of steps back and brought her gaze to mine.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered, continuing to move backward until she bumped into the counter. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?” I asked. “What’s going on? Fuchsia? What happened?”
I started toward Ivy as she slowly turned to face me.
Her beauty silenced every thought buzzing through me.
As her eyes slowly moved to meet mine, my world stopped spinning.
Ivy’s gaze connected with mine, and her lips parted as if she’d wanted to say something.
“Ivy . . .”
Her eyes stayed locked on mine, and I didn’t understand what had happened to the woman in front of me.
Chapter Seventeen
Ivy
It felt like life had been ripped from my body, as if everything I knew about the world I’d lived in was gone.
I slipped on the stranger’s cloak and leaned against the sink, slowly bringing my gaze to the mirror.
Horror darted through me when I saw my face. I slowly raised my hands to my eyes. They were no longer blue.
They were lavender.
My throat clenched, and it felt like I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I braced myself against the sink as Carter’s voice greeted me on the other side of the door.
I didn’t know what to do.
What would he think?
What would Christy think?
I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, hoping it was only a hallucination.
Flicking my eyes open, I saw the lavender.
Carter’s lavender.
I unfastened the cloak, searching for bite marks.
There were none.
I felt for my pulse.
I had one.
I was human.
I fastened my cloak and let out a deep breath.
I opened the door and walked by Carter, not even glancing in his direction. “I’ve been better, Carter.”
Fear pummeled through
me. My heart raced with the unknown.
What had happened to me?
One minute, I was in Christy’s apartment on the verge of collapse. The next, I’m waking up in an underground lair with a woman practicing her craft on me.
I stood in the middle of the room. Christy started toward me.
If anyone were to see me first, I wanted it to be her.
She slowly brushed my hair away and tilted my chin up.
Christy couldn’t hide her surprise, but then it turned to fear. She whipped her hands away and started backing away.
She started muttering under her breath, and I had to fight to keep my tears inside as I turned slowly to see Carter.
When his eyes connected with mine, it felt like an eternity passed between us.
A lifetime.
Several lifetimes.
“Ivy . . .”
My hands ran up my cheeks, and I couldn’t keep the tears in.
Carter ran to me, pulling me into his arms.
I didn’t know what was happening.
I didn’t want anything to happen.
I liked my life.
I didn’t care what was inside me. I wanted to stay as I was, what I had been.
He pulled me tighter, his lips pressed against the top of my head as he whispered, “I’m so sorry,” over and over again.
Sorry for what?
Had he done this?
I shook my head, the tears still streaming down my face.
Christy walked over and hugged us both.
“I’m so sorry, Ivy. I didn’t mean for that to be my reaction. I just . . .” Christy went silent. “I just don’t know what to say.”
Carter kissed the top of my head, and I knew my life would never be the same again.
And I didn’t know why.
I took a step back and wiped away the tears as Carter and Christy waited quietly for me to speak.
But I didn’t have anything to say.
Carter cleared his throat. “Fuchsia, why did Ivy’s eyes change?”
The woman laughed. “I thought you’d know.”
He shook his head and stiffened. “Why would I know?”
She shook her head. “Well, you two brought her here. I assumed you’d know something about her background.”
“My background,” I muttered to myself, realizing how little I knew about anything.
“I’m surprised Agatha didn’t prepare you for this.” The woman’s thin smile only made me feel more isolated.
“Prepare me for what?” Anger sparked through my veins, and I suddenly felt faint.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned. “Your body’s been through a lot, and the transformation isn’t yet over.”
I shook my head, balling my fists. “What transformation?”
Christy turned to the woman. “Fuchsia, what are you talking about?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Fuchsia laughed, and the anger inside me roared to life.
The glass along the back wall began exploding into shards as each bottle and jar burst. The liquids spilled down the shelves as Fuchsia shouted for me to stop.
But I couldn’t.
The wood shelves splintered, the rock walls split, and my anger only grew.
“Fine,” Fuchsia screamed. “Stop. I’ll help to explain.”
I closed my eyes, and calm instantly touched my soul as my body began to sway.
Carter caught me as I was about to hit the floor.
He brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, “You may want to cool it, firecracker.”
I tried to laugh but didn’t have enough energy.
“It took me years to collect those.” Fuchsia glared in our direction.
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “But I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
“I can see that.” She turned around to look at the devastation I’d caused and sighed. “Let’s get you upstairs where we can talk about things in a civilized manner.”
“One piece of advice, Fuchsia.” Carter hugged me tighter. “Don’t provoke Ivy.”
Fuchsia nodded and walked past us. Christy followed her closely, but Carter and I stayed behind.
When I knew they couldn’t hear, I looked into Carter’s eyes and shook my head in confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
He brushed my cheek and nodded. “I know. I don’t either, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
When my eyes connected with Carter’s, it felt like a storm of history between us passed, and it scared me.
But I wanted more.
I drew a shaky breath and took a few steps back. “I’m ready to hear what she has to say.”
Carter laughed. “I’m not sure I am.”
“Can we trust her?” I asked.
“Only marginally.” Carter’s honesty dug deep.
Who could we trust, really?
Not even my sister.
“She knew my parents,” I told him.
“I know.”
We made our way out of the room and through the main corridor where we hit a spiral stone stairwell. Water dripped along the sides, pooling in places.
“It’s slippery,” Carter said, taking my hand. “Don’t slip. The last thing we need is for you to fall down the stairs.”
I chuckled. “At this point, nothing would surprise me.”
We reached the top of the stairs where the door was already open and went through.
Unlike the downstairs, the hallway leading away was painted a crisp white with espresso trim along the floorboards and around the window and front door. Several paintings with splashes of crimson and royal blue hung along the wall.
It wasn’t what I’d expected at all.
I pictured Fuchsia in a dark home with even darker, maybe burgundy, walls and low light. This was bordering on cheery.
Fuchsia didn’t strike me as cheery.
Her voice drifted down the hallway. “In here.”
“She must be in her sitting room,” Carter informed me, and my brows furrowed.
“You’ve been here before?”
He looked away quickly, and my scowl deepened.
I was afraid there was more to that story than I wanted to know.
We found Christy and Fuchsia sitting near the front bay window, both watching us as we came in together.
This room seemed more fitting for Fuchsia. Emerald green walls and overstuffed leather furniture had been placed along the wall. Dark shelves held rows of books, and a harsh war painting hung over her fireplace.
I took a seat on the leather couch facing Christy and Fuchsia. Carter sat next to me.
“What do you know about your family?” Fuchsia asked, folding her hands together and resting them on her knee.
“Not as much as I should, apparently.” I glanced at Christy, who smiled sympathetically.
“Grandmother Agatha raised us.” I cleared my throat. “My parents were killed in a car accident when my sister and I weren’t even a year old.”
Fuchsia twitched.
“What?”
“No, nothing. Continue.” She gave a quick flick of her wrists.
“Grammy focused on healing. She had a lot of patients who came from everywhere for her touch. She taught me a bit of gardening and passed down a few simple spells and incantations for simple fractures or scrapes. I can heal someone with chickenpox.”
“Heal or cure?”
I straightened in my chair. “I can heal their wounds. I don’t think I’m curing them, no.”
She nodded, pushing her head back so she stared down her tiny nose. “And your sister?”
“She paid even less attention than me.” I bit my lip. “Actually, it wasn’t that I didn’t pay attention. Grammy just never wanted to show me much. She always told me it was too soon.”
“So you spent your life away from magic.”
“I suppose I did. I gravitated toward the mundane world much easier than the magical one.” I glanced at the painting abov
e the fireplace.
It looked wretched. Swords speared through humans on a field near the sea. But a sorceress hovered in the distance.
I brought my gaze back to Fuchsia.
“It’s a travesty.”
I nodded in agreement. The painting really did look to be. So much so, I wasn’t sure why she’d hang it up.
“No, dear.” Fuchsia sighed. “Your lack of training. Your ambivalence toward the craft. I could go on.”
“It’s not her fault,” Carter jumped in.
“I don’t see it that way.” Fuchsia nodded. “She can play innocent all she wants, but she couldn’t have this kind of power and not know it was waiting to be nurtured.” She turned her gaze toward me. “It’s true, isn’t it? You knew.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I knew there was something inside me that I didn’t understand.” I shook my head. “But only recently. Only after Grammy died.”
Fuchsia sat back. “I can tell you that I have studied my craft endlessly, day in and day out for decades, and I don’t have a speck of the powers you do.”
Her words chilled me to the bones.
“In fact, it wasn’t my powers that brought you back. It was your own.” She glanced at Carter, and her eyes narrowed. “You were the one who made the earth beneath us tremble. You made the air scream.”
Fear buzzed through me. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” Fuchsia pressed her lips together and stood. “But I can help to train you.”
“I’d hoped you would do us this favor.” Carter let out a sigh of relief next to me, and I scowled at him.
How well did he know this woman?
She glared at Carter and shook her head. “Carter, had you come to ask me for help, I would have turned you down immediately.”
Christy stood. “Then why now?”
“There’s something going on that I don’t understand, and when the natural world calls to me, I listen.” She walked over to me and kneeled. “I can only help so much. The real work lies within you.”
I nodded, unsure of what she was talking about.
“And your sister? Does she need training?” I glanced at Christy, who shook her head. “I don’t think so. She doesn’t seem to have these issues.”
“She’s more obsessed with turning than anything,” Carter mumbled, and Fuchsia snapped her gaze to his.
“What do you mean?” she stood and crossed her arms over her chest, making her breasts spill out of her top.
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