I didn’t even need to guess what these runes were designed to mean. Their placement told me enough.
That was how Dante cut us off from her. How he made sure our bonds were gone.
And I had no idea if I could fix that.
I almost jumped when Ivy placed her hand in mine, her fingers icy cold. I dragged my eyes from her reflection, meeting her stare.
There was no hint of tears. She didn’t say anything as she stepped into the water slowly, hissing when her feet hit it, then her legs. As soon as the water hit her knees, the blood and dirt that covered her disappeared.
I helped her as far as I could before she let go of my hand and sank into the water. Behind me, the others moved to the edge of the bath, eyes locked on her, like if we let her out of oursight, she might disappear. That was how I felt, anyway. I had no doubt they were feeling the exact same way, though.
Ivy didn’t look back at us as she moved to the very end of the tub. Her arms went to the edge, and I watched silently as she rested her chin on her arms, eyes staring out over the field and storm beyond. The quiet of the bathroom almost became too much, too tense. I itched to strip and get in with her, to try and wash away the remnants of her time with Dante.
But I knew better than that. It would take more than a warm bath to get rid of him.
What she needed was a key to the collar around her throat, a remedy for the scars on her back.
I could give her those. I had to. I had the puzzle pieces. Now, I just had to put them together. If Dante could do it without an ounce of charm magic in his blood, then my years of rune study should help me.
The manor was fuckingeerie with the flashes of lightning illuminating unlit hallways. I could see where Black had prioritised his time, and where he hadn’t.
Like the creepy hallway I decided would make a good place to hide my research.
An entire wing of the manor that hadn’t been touched, clearly. It looked like it might have been guest housing for whoever owned it before, but it wasn’t necessary now. Though, with all the bodies here, I had a feeling taking some time to fix this space up might be worthwhile.
Mates plus three kids and two more on the way. I shook my head and stepped into one of the forgotten bedrooms. None of the furniture had been cleared from here. The window was broken, glass scattered across the floor. Wards around the building kept the rain from coming in, thankfully, but I used a spell to clean up the worst of the debris. A quick check of the old hardwood floors told me it wasn’t going to collapse beneath me as I walkedin.
An old bed, broken at the legs, had been pushed into a corner of the room. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the ones upstairs. I had to admit, he’d done good. And all of it on his own.
For now, though, I grabbed what looked like an old desk that still stood strong, and dragged it into the centre of the room. I’d find a chair later, because I didn’t trust the one in the corner by the bed that looked one breath away from toppling over. The cushion also had an odd brown stain on it.
So, table it was.
When it was in the middle of the room, I finally shrugged off my pack and set it down. In the corner of my eye, I watched the door open with a soft creak, stopping me before I could empty the contents of my bag into the surface.
I blew out a shaky breath, shaking my head as I pulled the research free. “What are you doing?”
The demon king ducked his head as he entered, followed close behind by the Primal and Adrian. “When you disappeared, I had a feeling you were going to sequester yourself away with those runes.”
As he said that, I spread everything out on the table, which wasn’t much. “You saw what he did to her,” I replied, barely looking at him. “She doesn’t need pity. Ivy is stronger than that. What she needs is that fucking collar off and those scars—” My throat tightened with emotion.
If only I’d worked harder at understanding my visions. If only I’d done more to stop this. If I’d just pushed myself to understand the runes, then maybe…
I sighed, the door creaking as it closed and they all came to stand around the table. “Look, it’s not much,” I stated, scrubbing a hand through my hair. “But if we could justtestwhat we have and the runes on Ivy, we might be able to figure out how to get the collar off. I just need to compile everything wedoknow, then…” I trailed off.
It felt futile.
“Maybe we can get the agents to go through the compound. I doubt Dante is going to stay there now that we know about it,” Adrian suggested.
“Whenever he moved her, he always added chains,” the Primal murmured, looking down at the notes. “They were always different to the ones he used on the shifters. The cage, too, was covered in runes.”
A shiver rolled down my spine as I looked at him. “How much did you see?”
“Enough,” he replied, meeting my stare. “Before he put me in a cage of my own, I had a chance to assess hers. Not the isolation room he had her in initially. He kept her there to make sure he could break the spell on her and undo the charms. You would need to speak to Hawk about that room, though I doubt he’ll remember much.”
Nash. Once again, he was at the scene of the crime. Of course, he’d been given access to her while she’d been trapped in a cell.
“I know you don’t like him,” the Primal said, “but he was completely under Dante’s control. I don’t know how, especially when I was not.”
