If I give in, she'll know Ivy's importance to me, which puts a value on her head.
If I don't, she'll follow through on her threat just to test our connection.
If there is one thing I know to be true about her, it's that my mother is the queen of manipulation and ultimatums, and she always follows through on a threat.
My jaw grinds.
“Am I supposed to care?” I grunt, trying my luck, and she laughs, the sound haunting, as if she hoped that's what I would say.
“I’m sure we'll find out,” she promises, leaning in to press her crimson-stained lips against my cheek, right in the center of the burning spot that she marked me with.
My muscles clench with anger, but before I can breathe a single word, she releases me and disappears from sight.
I rub at my neck, the pain absent enough to make me question if it was ever there to begin with, while sighing with disappointment.
Cressida Lupis, my mother, and the most selfish person I’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of.
I sag back against the wall, wiping my hand down my face as I heave in a few deep breaths, when a cry rings out in the distance;a blood-curdling scream that makes me wince. I have no idea who the sound came from, but I know the harm has come from my mother and her pent up anger.
I shake my head and pinch my nose, focusing on my own issues.
Ivy.
Fuck.
I want to check on her, but first, I have to follow protocol and check the water’s edge.
Dragging a hand through my hair, I straighten, willing my chest to ease as I take off across campus once more.
It's impossible to avoid the Fire Protectors’ building this time, and I gape at it longingly as I hurry away.
Despite the strong desire to turn back and forget my obligations, I push on.
My mind is twisted in thoughts wrapped around my mother, her threats, and her demands until I reach the clifftop, spotting a few of the Water Protectors up ahead. As I draw closer, I’m knocked back mid-air, landing on my back with a thud, only to gape up at the Water Protector leader, who suddenly appears, his magic vanishing to reveal his frame above me.
My nostrils flare with even more tension as I push him away and pounce to my feet, staring off with him, amped up and ready to brawl, while silently hating his ability to be invisible. I could have used that skill earlier when my mother was nearby.
“You're no use if you're showing up when we're fucking done,” Rogan grunts, and despite the tension that ripples through me, I lift my hands in surrender.
It’s a tight rope, a real fucking thin one that I’m balancing on, but I’m aware enough to know that my anger isn’t at him, but my mother and myself.
Mostly myself.
“My bad, man,” I grunt, hoping to play it off without getting too into it, especially when I’ve got other matters to handle.
I feel like I wouldn't have been much longer if I had walked Ivy back, without my mother’s interjection, but that's beside the point.
The way his lip curls tells me there’s something else going unsaid here, but I don't have time to figure that out either.
“You're damn right it's your bad. We're a fucking team. None of this is?—”
“Is protocol done?” I interrupt, and his eyes narrow while I note the droplets of water dripping from the hem of his t-shirt.
“I wouldn't be complaining if it wasn’t,” he snaps back, and I nod, spinning on the spot and taking off without a backward glance.
“If you're gonna lecture me, I'm sure you can do it later too,” I holler, but no reply comes.
Right now, I want eyes on Ivy, just to make sure my mother is nowhere nearby and that Dorian actually did what I needed him to do.
