The male cocked his head, still wearing the flimsy cloth around his waist. We needed more supplies, especially for him, the Primal, and Hawk. All three were either underdressed or in the clothing Dante gave them, and I wanted anything related to the false king burned.
“Or a shower,” she offered, pointing towards the almost hidden alcove. “Then we can do something about that hair.”
It was clear he could understand what Ivy was saying. He tore his eyes from her and looked towards the shower stall, then at the bath she’d walked out of. His nostrils flared, almost out of frustration, like he wanted to ask something but couldn’t.
But almost like she could read his mind, Ivy stepped towards him and held out a hand. “I won’t leave your side.”
The male took her hand, and without a word, she led him to the edge of the tub. I couldn’t find it within myself to feel strangely about it.
Elias eyed them similarly. I could tell he was thinking along the same lines as me, though there was something else going on in his mind.
He’d recognised the male when we first found him. Known him. Elias never said it, but I’d seen it when we found Ivy on the island.
Had he been one of the children from Elias’s memories?
When I’d slipped into the memory with Elias, there’d been a young bear shifter, maybe a year or two older than Elias. Was this him?
Ivy helped take the cloth off Thor, baring him to us. I used that as my sign to look away, jaw clenching. As he moved into the water, I stalked back into the bedroom in search of the bag Adrian had put together of our clothes for Ivy.
The duffel had been left on the trunk at the end of the bed, but none of the other males were here. Rowan had been the first to leave, saying something about getting rid of his pack.
By the time I re-entered the bathroom, the bear shifter had fully submerged himself in the bath. Elias stood at the edge, arms crossed as he watched Ivy, who sat on the edge of the bath, legs dangling in the water.
Ivy looked up, lips pressed together, eyes darting to the duffel. “What’s in there?”
“Clothes for you,” I said, stopping near Elias. “Marked with our scent.”
She looked down at the water, at the male standing beside her. “And socks?” she asked softly, kicking her feet. Feet still bruised and torn apart from walking through the tunnel, on the beach and on the island.
“I believe so,” I replied, kneeling to riffle through it. “Adrian put the bag together for you. Said it would be comforting for you, to have clothes with our scents.”
Ivy blinked hard, barely nodding her head. “Where is he? And the others?”
“I don’t know, but I can go find them if you want.” I wished so badly to understand her emotions, but I wasn’t entirely sure she understood them, either. Ivy seemed to be drifting between different states of shock, relief, and sadness, and I couldn’t tell where she was now.
She might have been here physically, but how present was she mentally?
Ivy shook her head, clearing her throat. “No, it’s okay,” she said, meeting my eye again, this time with a tight smile. “I’m going to help Thor, and then I’ll change. If you two need to do something, I’ll be fine.”
“There is no place I’d rather be,” Elias replied. “I’m not leaving your side, Angel.”
“And they would be here, too,” I said, hoping to the Goddess she believed me for her own sake. “But you know Rowan. He is…”
“I know.” She dropped my stare, kicked her feet again, andsighed. “Could you bring me some shampoo? If you thought my knots were bad, I hate to think about his.”
That pulled a reaction from the male, a soft growl that had Ivy smiling. It was like a reassurance that he knew, even if he couldn’t communicate back with her, that he understood.
If only we could reassure her the same way. Because right now, I couldn’t tell if she trusted our ability to keep her safe or understand what she needed. And I was terrified that would push her away completely.
62
Ivy
Ithought the numbness would disappear, but it only seemed to grow. Having only blank walls to stare at, I’d gotten lost to the nothing feeling in my chest. The emptiness I’d blamed on losing my bonds—on losing Orion.
And yet, somehow, it’d been replaced by anger. By desperation and sadness. I’d snapped myself out of the empty darkness and found a small ember of strength again.
But now, I was barely hanging on, and I had no idea whether I felt safe enough to fall.
