Chapter 13:

Ivy's POV-

Carefully placing the bomb in the crate with a large black pillow inside, the thing is old magic so it can be of help to me in the future. Walking back toward the woman who had passed out due to the pain, I ignored the intense looks being thrown my way.

"I've seen you before... haven't I?" He thought out loud and I wanted to ignore it but I've been around Vivian for a long time now, no longer have we had to visit each other's dreams. Or have to use magic to watch over her, unable to help her until she was alone.

Now I'm around her rash actions and that crude way of speaking has rubbed off on me. I can no longer ignore certain comments or keep myself from speaking the first thing that comes to mind.

"Is that supposed to be one of those cheesy pick-up lines? Give me a second so I can swoon," I mumbled my response while taking the scalpel and taking it to her temple to make a small incision.

"I'm being serious, Ivy, I'd like to have a serious conversation with you," Leomaris looked confused as to how to handle me but just as I used a bit of magic to push it through the new wound I created, I noticed him stepping back.

I didn't bother telling him the dangerous part was over. Instead, I waited a moment as the magic began making the woman's skull glow from the inside out.

"Okay well, I've never met a man like you before, Leomaris. That first time in the cafe was the second time I'd ever seen a dragon, a sane one at least," I responded to him, trying not to be annoying but I'm irritated with Cole and his men.

They're all bullheaded men who think their word is the law.

"You've met a rogue dragon before? How'd you survive?" This is an attempt at a conversation, I had almost just ignored him until I came to the realization.

Goddess, I've been away from socializing with others for so long I tend to forget that even though I dislike talking, it's a normal thing.

His question made me wonder if he didn't know who the Lady of the Red River is.

It's better that way.

"I'm a threat within the world of magic, my knowledge exceeds that of many witches these days and my magic is just as potent. The dragon stood no chance... unfortunately it didn't end in just death. The witch council pestered me until they could have the corpse, I hadn't been old enough to make the decision so my mom did it. It was the first dragon carcass they'd seen in hundreds of years," I explained to him, remembering the snowy night I had been forced to kill the red dragon. It had been her or me.

There was no need to look at Leomaris as I could feel his distaste from here.

When the blue glow coming from beneath the witch's skull started to turn a pale pink-red so I gently took it out, placing it into a tiny jar and closing it shut.

"What is that?" Leomaris asked with pure curiosity in that divine voice of his.

"Her memories, or at least what hasn't been tampered with by magic," During the explanation, I placed the little jar on a table against the wall.

"What will you use them for?"

They should've taken him with them. Isn't he usually super quiet and brooding? He's doing neither. Instead, Leomaris is looking handsome while leaning against the wall. Unfortunately, those thick arms were covered in the sleeves of that grey shirt.

I looked at the man for a little, wondering what Leomaris wanted and why he was still even still in the cave.

"I'm going to use it to find out more about the witches... why are you still here Leomaris? You aren't taking the body, if that's what you're waiting for," The determined look on my face was anything but that in his eyes, as he gave me such a soft expression I couldn't help the butterflies forming in my belly.

With no hesitation, Leomaris was suddenly in front of me with a glint of curiosity in those blue eyes. Keeping my stance, I lifted my chin at him with a glare in an attempt to stand up for myself. Not that I needed to but there's no way I'm going to be intimidated by this man's confidence.

"I'm interested in you, Ivy. At first, I thought it was just sexual but it seems that I truly enjoy being in your presence... I'd like to get to know you more and I would also like you to do the same with me," Leomaris answered while slowly letting his eyes travel around my face, I almost felt shy.

"So... you don't want a one-night stand?" I frowned because I'd be up for a one-nighter but everything else? I'm not so interested in being in any sort of relationship with a hard-headed man that just does what he wants.

There would be nothing wrong with that if one of my best friends wasn't being kept around like a fucking pet. Because of her natural nature to feed herself... sure, she could've been a little lenient in letting a lot of them live. But still, you can't just expect a demon like her to just go against instincts.

Elzrurron is trying to chain down who Vivian is, just like the world has done to be. Again, and again.

My entire life.

"I thought it would be a good idea too but then after some long thinking, I don't think I'll be satisfied with one night,"

"You're talking like it's going to happen," I huffed, completely surprised with how assured he was sounding.

"Hmm..." That was all he said while taking a few steps back, giving me space to finish working.

Warily looking at him while that intense look made me feel like I was being undressed, I decided it was best not to stare at him.

Returning my attention to the witch, I tried my best to get rid of Leomaris's face from my mind.

Business. Business.

Walking toward the opened door to leave the room, if it wasn't for my instincts I wouldn't have been able to sense Leomaris following after me.

"What happens to her now?" He asked me and I was beginning to wonder what these dragons thought witches do to their enemies. By the cautious way, Cole and Leomaris were moving in the caves, I could tell they were waiting for me to do something that would make them question their morals.

"She wakes up the woman she had once been before the bomb was placed inside of her. I'll give her supplies and let her use the Ark to send her to either a safe shelter away from the witch council or wherever the lady would feel safest," I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see it.

Maybe I'm just overthinking things and Leomaris isn't expecting me to overstep my boundaries. But I know Valence is exactly like that, he had to have learned it from someone and the only people I've seen constantly around the kid are Cole and the man walking behind me.

"Wait, so the council just places bombs in random witches to keep them under their control?" They do far worse than that.

But it isn't something Leomaris or the other dragons need to know.

"They place them in children to ensure loyalty to the council and no, it isn't at random. It's a list of names that appear on a magical piece of paper, witches who have magic strong enough to change the world the witch council has built for us. Their goal is to collect those witches and force them to do their bidding or kill them," By the time I was finished answering his question we were already in the other room where I was throwing two shirts, pants, panties along with some snacks and water into a black bag.

Turning around to exit the room, it was the angry look on his face that had me raising an eyebrow.

"Being angry won't help with anything," I sighed while moving past him, bringing us back into the room with the sleeping witch.

"There's nothing to be done? Are you to live a life running away from them for all of eternity?" That question had me pause before tossing the supply bag on the couch.

Does he think I haven't tried everything? Or that I'm so powerful and talented but decided to just pussy out and run?

"There are witches all over the world, Leomaris, millions of them, and most are under the control of the council. It's me versus everyone else so yes, it looks like the future is going to be a shit stain," I scoffed with a roll of my eyes to him, wishing it was as simple as just taking down the witch council.

But... I'm broken.

Nothing will be easy until I find a way to fix myself.

Hiding is all I can do for now.

"I didn't mean anything by it, Ivy, I had just been curious..." He said gently, making me feel bad about feeling some type of way because Leomaris was right.

I'm snapping at him when it's myself I'm upset with.

"It isn't you, I'm just irritated," I waved him off just as I took note of the witch's finger twitching.

There's too much I need to do after she wakes up and none of it has to do with Valentino or the witch council.

'Where... where am I? This isn't my dorm... or the witch council'

"No, this is neither your room nor the council room, give it a second and you'll catch up to it," Was all I said, taking a seat on the other side of the room on the couch.

Just because she's not under the control of the other witches doesn't mean the woman doesn't agree with their methods.

'Oh, goddess... what have I... what did they...' She started having a breakdown as the stone went silent, meaning that instead of words the witch was replaying memories.

After giving her some time, I stood up and went toward the mini-fridge right beneath the shelf of glowing stones. Taking out a small glass tube filled with a milky liquid, I uncorked it and put it underneath the woman's nose for her to smell it.

"Do you want it or not?" I asked her in a harsh voice, keeping this relationship between us farther from acquaintances as possible.

'Please...'

"This will hurt but deal with the pain," It was encouraging enough.

Leomaris surprised me by walking around to the other side of the metal bed with a gentle expression on his face.

"You can do it, after everything you've been through," His words somehow hit me somewhere but I pushed it away as the tears fell down the face of what had once been our enemy. She nodded her head as best as possible and the moment I took off the first stone is when the screams started.

The next burst of thoughts were echos of pain that I ignored while gently feeding drop to drop to the woman. After she drank half of it, I corked the tube and put it on the little tray beside her.

"So you have two options: take this bag to go to a safe place or you can go somewhere else you have in mind. All I know is, you won't be leaving here with any memory of how you got here," I told her in a cold voice as the cells within her body began to repair themselves. Slowly, she was starting to heal.

Leomaris gave me confused look as to why I'm being mean but all I did was raise an eyebrow at him.

The witch might be innocent but at the end of the day she isn't welcome here.

At all.

No witch that has been under the control of the witch council for centuries will be allowed to stay here. I won't let anyone endanger us more than we already are.

"I-I have s-somewhere to go..." The witch spoke her first words in a broken voice, trying to be hard.

"Good. Once you're healed, you'll need to leave. I have a pack of supplies for you, if you portion the snacks right it should last you at least 4 days. You have enough money to stay in a hotel for a few nights but use it wisely,"

After 15 minutes passed the woman was standing up and stretching the strained muscle that will feel sore for at least three days.

"Alright, I'm ready,"

I led the woman deeper into the cave, ignoring the other doors until we were in the center of it. There was a large empty space with a giant dark blue energy floating in the middle of the room.

"What's its name?" The witch asked in amazement, looking at it as if she'd never seen one before.

Letting me know just how far up she ranked in the council. Clearly not important enough.

"The Ark, now go on. I have a lot of things to do, I wish you luck on your journey," I said with a small swoop toward the ball of magic that began to move when as it read the witch's mind.

Without hesitation, she walked through the portal and right out of my life. Letting out a sigh of relief, I started walking toward the exit of the cave with Leomaris behind me.

"Did you have to be so mean to her? This is the first time in who knows how long she's been of clear mind," Again, there was the gut-punching feeling as Leomaris spoke the truth.

Gods, will people ever stop judging or questioning everything I'm doing? I'm not anyone's teacher for a reason.

"That witch was under the influence of the witch council for longer than a 100 years, her staying here any longer outside of their control will only bring trouble to my doors. I'm not a kind or generous person, Leomaris. I will not hide another under my roof, never will you catch me tossing out the safety of my coven for others. If you wished for me to be otherwise, I suggest you go follow another woman around like a puppy," Yes, I had wanted to insult him on purpose. The intention was to push him away but I also grew curious as to his reaction.

Before I could get to the large heavy door, Leomaris was there opening it up for me. I frowned at the gentle smile sent my way.

"This puppy will let you know if he's ever lost his interest," Leomaris's laugh made me falter on the way out and his words left me at a loss for words.

We walked to the house and I couldn't help but feel less burdened by my magic than I usually do. Though I did have the opportunity to use a nice amount of energy today so my body felt lighter.

Maybe if I just give him enough time to get use to the idea of magic, he'll leave me alone.

A lot of people have a natural curiosity towards it as it's not usually a part of everyone's everyday life.

"You should sleep," Leomaris broke the silence just as the house came into view from behind several trees.

"I would love to do that but I have to heal Oriness while she's asleep, then I have to do what I can to track down any witches nearby that are connected to the witch council,"

There hasn't been too much time to talk to Vivian but when I tried healing her the first time, it was like Oriness's body wasn't accepting of my healing magic. It was strange but not worrisome as she only has a few cuts and bruises.

In the future, it can be a problem if the wounds are more severe...

"I can give you a list of the witches that have permission to seek shelter here. Of course, after Cole and Vivian ran into one of Valentino's generals before the sun ever rose today, you should try to get as much rest as possible. There are vampires with the protection of magic hiding in the city,"

When we got to the house and I opened the door, I turned around to give him a smile that he seemed to take a curious note of.

"Thank you and you're right, I'll need to get sleep. Best be prepared for what's to come... goodnight, Leomaris," Not wanting to dwell on how gentle the last of my words were, I closed the door. I wish I could go and lay down in bed but I can't.

Sleep isn't an option right now.

Preparing for a war is.