I expect him to push back, but to my surprise, he nods.
“Calm down, and I’ll get the medical staff to sign you out.” It’s a promise. I can see the truth in his eyes.
I nod, but he pauses at the door. “Can you not cause any chaos while I’m gone? I’ll be two minutes.”
My nostrils flare as I shrug. “No promises.”
The corner of his mouth curls up. “That’s my Vee,” he mumbles before disappearing through the door. He doesn’t even close it, but it’s as if I’m being suffocated as my four hated mates blink at me.
Teddy clears his throat first, but he doesn’t dare attempt to take a step toward me. “Princess, we can talk about this.”
“No, we can’t.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Baron grunts, and I scoff.
“Says the guy who hates me and has spent days in that chair.”
“Maybe that should show you how much we care,” Archer says calmly from his spot on the bed, and I shake my head.
“Or maybe he’s trying to figure out how to be rid of me once and for all. Especially since he was happy to let me fall from the top of the cliff. Maybe he encouraged Odesa to off me too. Was my father an unfortunate coincidence or a relief for you? Until it didn’t work, of course.”
Baron’s eyes bore into mine as Sax clears his throat. “Ivy, you don’t mean any of that. It’s the emotional spike taking over again. Just relax, okay? You?—”
“Don’t baby her,” Baron grunts, dragging a hand down his face as if he has something to say, but before he can part his lips, Hugo returns.
He glares around the room, sensing the energy as he runs his tongue over his teeth. “Vee, let’s go.”
I don’t hesitate as I cut across the room, linking my arm through his, but before I can run, Archer’s voice carries through the air, freezing me in place.
“You can leave this room, Angel, but that doesn’t mean you can avoid us forever. There are things we must discuss, considerations to take into account now that your magic has revealed itself.”
Hugo stiffens beside me, his hand landing on my arm, but he doesn’t breathe a word.
Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes narrow on the Fire Protector who lay beside me, lying, knowing how much I hated him, but did it anyway.
“I am no concern of yours,” I promise, and he scoffs.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You may not like our presence, but we’re connected whether you like it or not. The quicker you get over it, the safer you will be.”
Disbelief floods my veins. “The quicker I get over what? The fact that you all rejected me and don’t regret it?” I start, recalling Teddy’s truth when I quizzed him with the help of Archer’s abilities. “Or do you want me to get over the fact that you snowballed my wedding day and?—”
“You’re welcome.” Sax’s words linger in the air as my eyes almost bug out of my head. Sensing my incredulity, he shrugs. “You didn’t want that life. I know it, you know it, weallknow it. And the fact that your father literally put a bullet through yourskull, a memory I didn’t have the luxury of forgetting, even if only for a few days, only confirms it.”
My stomach twists at his words, nausea churning the bile there as I shake my head. “Stay away from me.”
“No can do, Angel,” Archer declares. “Your safety is paramount. You can leave with Hugo now, but know that you are under the protection of your fated mates on this campus. If that means I have to walk that sweet ass to every class, every lunch, every fencing lesson, then you better believe I will. Because phoenix or not, I won’t survive you dying again.”
6
BARON
The chair creaks beneath me as I extend my legs, the silence pulsing in my ears as I stare around the empty room. It feels weird being in here alone; it feels even stranger with the bed across from me completely bare. But there’s something tethering me here, as if going would mean leaving a piece of me behind.
I should be relieved that Ivy is no longer here. I should be thankful that I can go back to my dorm and pretend she doesn’t exist.
Ishould, but I can’t.
Dragging a hand down my face, I tilt my head to glance out the window.
