Chapter 47: The Bloodline Awakens

Ivy stood frozen in place, her breath caught in her throat. The woman who stood before her wasn’t just any stranger. No. This was the one person Ivy never expected to see again—the one person she thought she had lost forever.

Her mother.

But as Ivy looked closer, the realization hit her like a wave. This woman wasn’t just her mother in name alone. She was the same woman who had disappeared from Ivy’s life so many years ago—only this version of her seemed different. Her mother’s face was serene, but there was something unsettling in her calmness. Her eyes—those dark eyes, once warm and loving—now seemed cold, calculating, as if she were someone else entirely.

Ivy’s knees buckled slightly, and she caught herself, her hand braced against the stone wall beside her. "You—"

"Ivy," the woman repeated, her voice low and almost too calm for Ivy’s frayed nerves. "It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?"

Ivy shook her head. She could hardly process the sight before her, let alone the weight of her mother's words. “You can’t be—"

“I am,” her mother interrupted. "I never wanted to be part of your life, not after everything that happened. But it’s time you learned the truth.”

Ivy recoiled, every fiber of her being screaming at her to run. The memory of her mother’s sudden disappearance flooded her thoughts—the day she had vanished, leaving Ivy in the hands of strangers. The love Ivy had felt for her was real, but what if it had been nothing more than a lie?

The woman before her was not the mother she had known. This woman, Ivy could feel it in her bones, had secrets she couldn’t even begin to fathom.

“Where have you been all these years?” Ivy demanded, her voice trembling with emotion. “Why did you leave me?”

The woman—her mother, though Ivy had a hard time believing it—took a step forward. She didn’t reach for Ivy; she didn’t offer comfort. Instead, she stood as if waiting for Ivy to come to her.

“I was trying to protect you, Ivy,” she said softly, the words thick with sorrow. “But it wasn’t safe for you. Not with your bloodline.”

“Bloodline?” Ivy repeated the word with confusion. “What does that mean? What do you mean, my bloodline?”

Her mother’s face hardened, as if she had expected this. “It’s time, Ivy. Time to face who you really are. Time to face the truth about your origins.”

Ivy took a step back, shaking her head, but her mother’s voice stopped her cold.

“The Arkanis bloodline is ancient. You’ve always felt it, haven’t you? That pull to something dark, something powerful. That was me trying to keep you from it, trying to hide it.”

“Hide it from me?” Ivy whispered. “From me? You never gave me a choice.”

“Because there wasn’t one,” her mother said, her voice growing sharper. “There is no choice anymore. It’s coming for you, Ivy.”

The ground beneath Ivy’s feet seemed to shift. It was as if the earth itself was pulling away from her, leaving her hanging in the balance of truth and lies. Her mind whirled with confusion.

“What’s coming for me?” Ivy’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the fear was undeniable.

Her mother stepped closer, and Ivy could almost feel the weight of her words pressing against her chest.

“The darkness,” her mother said softly. “The very thing you’ve tried to bury. The curse of the Arkanis bloodline—your curse. It will follow you no matter where you go. No matter what you do.”

Ivy’s stomach twisted, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. “No… this isn’t real. I’m not a monster.”

Her mother reached for her, and this time, Ivy didn’t pull away. But as her mother’s cold hands settled on her shoulders, Ivy felt a strange, almost magnetic pull toward her—a connection she couldn’t deny.

“Ivy, you’re not a monster,” her mother said, her voice calm now. “But the power inside you is. And it will consume you unless you learn to control it.”

Asher stepped from the shadows, his figure now clearly visible. He had been watching silently from the edge of the garden, but his gaze never left Ivy. He stepped closer, his eyes dark with unreadable emotion.

“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Asher said, his voice low, his tone almost apologetic.

“You knew about this?” Ivy’s voice rose in disbelief, the weight of the situation finally settling on her shoulders.

“I knew. I tried to protect you. But there are things you need to understand—about your mother, about the Arkanis lineage.”

Her mother turned her gaze to Asher, her lips pressing into a thin line. "You shouldn’t be here."

Asher ignored her, his eyes never leaving Ivy’s. “You deserve to know the truth, Ivy. You deserve to understand the full extent of the legacy you carry.”

Ivy shook her head, trying to clear the fog in her mind. “No. I don’t want this. I don’t want any of it.”

But deep down, she knew that the truth had already been set in motion. The curse—the one her mother had tried to protect her from, the one that ran through her veins—was real. And it was undeniable.

“You can’t run from it anymore, Ivy,” Asher said softly. “You are the last of the Arkanis bloodline. Your power is awakening, and you have no choice but to face it.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. “What does that mean? What am I supposed to do with this power?”

“You must learn to control it,” her mother answered, her voice almost pleading. “Before it controls you.”

A chill ran through Ivy. The last time she had been faced with a power she couldn’t control, it had nearly destroyed her. Could she really take on something even darker than the curse she already carried?

But there was more. Ivy could feel it. Asher’s presence—his constant watching, his hidden motives—something was off.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “And you? What’s your role in all of this? Why are you still here?”

Asher smiled grimly. “Because, Ivy, you’re not the only one with a bloodline that’s connected to the darkness.”

Her mother stiffened. “You’re not involved in this, Asher.”

“I am,” Asher replied, his voice low and dangerous. “I always have been.”

The air between them crackled with tension. Ivy’s mind spun, the walls she had built around herself beginning to crumble. Her mother had returned—she had resurfaced with secrets that threatened to destroy everything Ivy had thought was real. Asher was hiding something. And the truth about her bloodline—it was worse than anything Ivy had imagined.

Ivy stepped back, her breath shallow. She could feel the power growing inside her. It wasn’t a rush of magic, like she had always known it to be—it was a cold, suffocating weight, pressing against her chest.

And then, she felt it.

A sharp pain coursed through her veins, as though something inside her was awakening. The curse. The bloodline. It was all coming to the surface.

“Ivy,” her mother whispered, reaching out to her once more, but Ivy instinctively pulled away. The power inside her was rising, her control slipping.

And in that moment, Ivy heard a voice—her own voice, echoing through her mind.

“The darkness is yours to command.”

Her body tensed, every muscle straining as the darkness took hold of her.

“No,” Ivy whispered, but the power wasn’t listening. It was inside her, coursing through her like fire.

“Ivy!” Asher shouted. “Fight it!”

But the darkness was already here, and there was no turning back.