Page 64 of A Soul’s Awakening

My thoughts and intentions changed the pattern. The veil was beyond complete repair now. But I could change the fundamental structure of how it functioned to prevent further damage.

Alex reacted fast, understanding without needing explanation. His magic pressed into mine, not shaping the array, but locking its rhythm in place. Holding it steady long enough that it couldn’t drift into divergence again.

“That’s it,” he said through gritted teeth. “Keep it there.”

The unraveling veil responded, each piece of the fraying thread looping on repeat to stitch itself together. Above us, the chaos of silver and white faltered. The sound of battle dulled.

Alex’s grip finally eased, just slightly. “It’s stable.”

My hands slapped the concrete harder than I wanted them to, my breaths coming in heavy pants. Stable didn’t mean it was whole. It wasn’t completely safe, but it would react to threats and adapt, and that had to be enough.

“Theo, you did it.” Ren caught me in his arms as I let exhaustion claim me. The bright lights of magic dulled around me as the array completed its purpose and faded.

“We can’t stick around here too long,” Markus reminded us. “The ward I put up around that door won’t hold forever.”

I clutched Ren’s shirt and winced as the pain surged back through me. It settled deep into my muscles, heavy and unrelenting, my wounds throbbing with every breath I took.

Ren’s magic washed over me like a quiet tide, softening the pain until it no longer cut so sharply, my body finally beginning to relax.

“Wait.” Ivy stepped toward Alistair. He was bruised and bloodied, white flower petals clinging to him as he tried to crawl away. He was still conscious, but barely. No one had bothered tying him up, since he wasn’t in any condition to go anywhere.

She grabbed the front of his suit, hoisted him closer, and punched him square in the face. Blood gushed from his nose and mouth. “That’s for hurting my friends. Asshole.”

For a moment, nobody spoke. Ivy lowered let go of her grip, glaring down at him as he smacked against the floor. Her usually gentle expression was hardened by anger.

Beside her stood a creature I had never seen her summon before. It wasn't large or imposing like one would expect from a creature summoned to attack. In fact, it was unsettlingly small, its thin frame wrapped in dark, mottled skin stretched tightly over sharp bones. Too many joints bent at unnatural angles, and its long fingers ended in needle-like claws that scraped softly against the floor. Its hollow eyes locked onto Alistair without blinking.

“I think you remember Orren?” She smirked. “My new friend wants to play.”

It was the same creature that had attacked me and Jacob, the same creature born from corrupted magic and twisted into something unnatural. Somehow, Ivy had formed a contract with it, binding the creature to her will.

Orren's hollow gaze settled on Alistair. The creature wasn't here to protect us. It was here for revenge. I looked away as Orren lunged and Alistair screamed when jagged teeth bit into his arm.

“You go, girl!” Jacob cheered from behind her. “Wait, Ivy, I’m still here. I think you powered up! You summoned two contracts at a time!”

“Celebrate later. Time to go.” Ren scooped me up in his arms, strong and steady despite his obvious nervousness that I was barely holding on. We rushed toward Jacob, but there were too many of us to transport at the same time.

I buried my face in Ren’s chest. I knew he could transport, but with his inability to pinpoint location very well, he wouldn’t risk traveling with me being so injured. He wouldn’t give me up, either, though. His grip on me tightened.

“Someone needs to stay with me,” Markus called out from beside the array. “I can use a transportation array to get out of here, but I need someone to stay behind while I completely destroy this array in case I get unwanted visitors.”

Stella sighed. “Fine. Jordan, Alex … let’s stay here and make sure no one else attacks Merlin over here.”

As Ren stepped beside Jacob, a white mist surrounded us. It was cold and damp, every breath like pins and needles, but being held in Ren’s arms was the most comforting thing I had felt in weeks.

28

“Stella,” I said firmly. Having been confined to my bed for nearly three weeks, it was difficult for me to grab some time alone with her. I had a feeling she was doing it on purpose, but Ivy was currently working. Alex, Jordan, and Markus were checking up on the veil, and Ren had stepped out for a minute to meet with Nick about something.

“What?” she snapped back at me. She lazily placed a bottle of water and some soup beside the bed.

“You know what.” My gaze narrowed. “What the hell was that magic? And why were you so hostile toward Alistair? You were acting like you knew him.”

Stella leaned against the desk, arms crossed defensively. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You haven’t seen everything I can do with my magic, and I was just really pissed off at Alistair for doing what he did. I needed an outlet to unleash my anger.”

I sighed, realizing I wasn’t going to get any answers. I remembered back when we first met, she had been cursed, living as my pet parakeet for over a year. She never did give me the details about how that actually happened. At the time, I had a hunch she was hiding something from me, but had since forgotten about it with everything else going on. I trusted her, so her past didn’t seem important. But now? If she had a past with the Syndicate, a history with Alistair, then I needed to know.

Stella left before I could pry anything out of her and I lay there in bed until Ren returned.