Oliver was quiet for a few moments and then, he chirped, and the lost moved accordingly. I watched as they surrounded the boys. I pulled away, but Oliver yanked me back, tutting lowly against my jaw as he pressed a kiss to the exposed skin. I barely paid any attention to it, though, watching as the lost restrained the boys. Marko and David were both able to get a few punches in before they were pulled to the ground. Dwayne went willingly, not wanting to put up a fight yet; they just pulled his arms behind his back. He met my eyes and gave me a reassuring nod. Paul didn't take his eyes off of my neck, watching as Oliver pressed kisses to the column of my throat, so he didn't put up much of a fight when they tied his hands behind his back.
"Goddamnit," I heard Marko yell out, "get off of her!"
Oliver laughed. "Pathetic. And you're in love with them?"
I let out a deep breath. 'How do we win, boys? How do we kill him? Do we even know, or are we fighting a lost cause?'
Oliver's tongue ran up my neck. I wanted to throw up. Doubt was setting in along with fear. What would happen if we lost? What would he do? How could I make it without my boys?
Marko was the first to respond. 'You have to get him in the fire. The same fire that turns you into one of them can kill them forever.'
'Are you actually restrained, or is that a disguise?'
Oliver cut my thought process by knocking out my knees from underneath me. God, I was tired of falling to the ground. I was on my knees, and his hand clutched my hair roughly.
David spoke. 'It's a guise, Ivy. We're not weak enough to not fend off a few of these idiots. The only real challenge is Oliver. The others barely know their powers from what we can tell.'
Oliver crouched down to my level. "You're talking to them, aren't you?" He kicked my back, throwing me fully to the ground. "I should know. Your eyes gloss over when there's someone in your head- I've done it enough times to tell." He pushed his nose into my hair and sniffed loudly. "You smell so nice. I'm going to miss that when you're dead." He pulled my head off the ground and pointed it so I was facing Marko whose head was also pulled up to face me. "Might as well say your goodbyes before you throw them in. I'm sure he'll miss this pretty, little face."
Marko's face was alight with anger. He was shaking; I could see it from here. I didn't even know what to say even though I knew Oliver wanted me to speak.
"Aw," Oliver cooed, "nothing? No goodbye's or tragic 'I love you's? I was really looking forward to something to laugh at, but if you won't make a move," he trailed off, chirped, and David was pulled up and towards me. "Might as well start with the head dog, right?" He pulled me to my feet, making it to where David and I were face to face with each other. His eyes were cold, trying to not let any of his plans show through. At least, I hoped he had plans. I surely didn't.
I didn't, and then I did. 'David,' I whispered, 'you can kill them quickly, right?'
'In only a few seconds, Ivy.'
'Okay, don't look, please.'
His eyes turned questioning, but I refused to look for long because I turned to Oliver and whispered his name. He smiled at me softly, humming a question. "Ready to comply?"
I nodded, and then, I did what I really did not want to do. I leaned forward and kissed him.
Oliver froze completely, his face curling in confusion before he kissed back feverishly. His hands gripped my waist harshly, kissing me sloppily, a rough, open-mouthed kiss. It was disgusting, but it distracted him enough for David to throw the others into the fire. I heard their screams after only a few seconds, and Oliver pulled away in response, confused. "Wha-"
David grabbed the back of his shirt, pulled him off of me, and threw him to the ground. Oliver grunted at the action and stared up at him, eyes wide and breath heavy. He turned to see his minions, trying to figure out where they were, but he was met with the sight of my boys knocking them off and down. Marko chucked one of the lost that was holding him down half-way across the field into the fire. It sent a shiver of excitement down my spine. How had I ever doubted them?
Oliver turned to the other side, this time desperate, but the others were already fleeing, not even looking back when he let out a loud bird call to them. Then, he looked up at David and began shaking his head from side to side, trying to crawl away. David stopped him by pushing his foot onto his chest and holding him down.
Off to the side, the boys took turns throwing the members of the lost into the fire. Paul and Marko were both laughing while doing so, stress rolling off of them in waves.
I watched as Oliver clutched David's boot with both hands, trying to push him off. "What the fuck-" he questioned, gulping loudly. "What the fuck?" His tone was desperate.
David knocked on his boots. "It's crazy how easy it is to line your soles with silver around here. While I might not be able to touch iron, silver makes your powers completely useless. Right?"
Oliver breathed loudly, shaking his head. "How did you know that? There's no information about us anywhere. How did you-" He cut himself off with a sob, crocodile tears falling down his face.
"I wouldn't say anywhere," David teased. "Dwayne does enjoy collecting quite the rare kinds of books."
Oliver tried pushing away again. "No. No. No. NO. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. This wasn't how this was supposed to go!"
"Surprise, surprise," Paul piped up. He walked around David and me so he was by Oliver's head and then bent down and wrapped a chain around his throat, a stupid grin on his face the entire time. Once It was locked, David pulled his foot off.
Oliver immediately tried backing away. He dug his hands into the earth and pushed, crawling backwards, but he was stopped by Paul who kicked him in the side.
"Oh, oh," Marko yelled, jumping towards us, his outfit clanging loudly, "Can I hit him? Can I hit him?"
David glanced over and nodded. Marko yelled out of excitement and bounced over. He dropped to his knees over him and threw multiple hits, laughing at the satisfying crunch of bones breaking.
When he finally pulled back, he took a deep breath, a grin etched across his face. "I feel like I've waited for years to do that."
Paul laughed and pulled him over into a hug. Oliver was still sobbing loudly, but now he was also in pain and clutching his face with both hands. David rolled his eyes and turned to me who was still standing behind him, Dwayne standing beside me, both not exactly sure what to do.
"Ivy," he said. I met his eyes, waiting for him to continue. "Would you like to do the honors?"
I stared down at Oliver, and he stared up at me between his fingers, tears still falling. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it."
David bent down and pulled him up, dragging him over to the fire. Oliver began yelling out. "Please! Please! I swear I'll leave you alone! I won't ever come back! Just let me live! I swear I'll never come back! You can live a happy life without my interference!"
"Jesus Christ, do you ever shut up?" Paul groaned from behind me.
Oliver gasped for air and met my eyes. "Please, please, please, please, Wendy."
I grabbed his collar and shook my head. "How many times do I have to tell you that my name is not fucking Wendy? I'm Ivarella Saint!"
Oliver's eyes widened, and he tried to grab my arms, but I threw him forward and groaned as he screamed in pain as he was burned alive yet again. The fire licked up at the addition and then fell into nothingness, disappearing faster than it had appeared.
It was silent for a few moments, and then, Paul and Marko let out loud whoops, and I turned to see them jump and bump chests in excitement. Then, they sprinted towards me. Paul grabbed me first, pulling me into a hug that Marko joined after a few seconds, both of them were laughing loudly, but when they sobered up, they fell into silence. Then, they were both crying, gripping me tightly with both arms. I wrapped one of my arms around Paul since I was facing him, and rubbed at Marko's wrist with my other.
"You're okay. You're safe. You're okay. You're safe, now," Paul was mumbling the words over and over again into my shoulder. Marko was silent, just holding me. "You're okay, right, Ivarella?"
I nodded. "Of course. We're all good now, baby."
Paul let out a sob and nodded against me. "I'm sorry we let you get taken. I'm sorry we let you get hurt. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
I sighed and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "Come on, Paul. Let's celebrate. We killed him! We don't have to worry anymore. I'm safe, and you're safe, and they're safe. We're all okay now. For real."
He sniffled quietly and nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm happy, I promise. It's just so relieving, knowing he can't hurt you again." He pulled away, but Marko didn't. His arms stayed wrapped around me tightly, just holding me.
"Thank you guys for helping me."
He chuckled, wiping his face. "You say that like we wouldn't have from the start. We love you, doll. I love you so much that it's unreal. You make me so happy to wake up in the night, and I can't wait to spend forever with you." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips. "And this time without Oliver getting in the way."
Marko pressed a kiss to my cheek and grinned when I leaned back and did the same to him. Then, he let go, and Dwayne replaced him. "I haven't seen you in a minute," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Was giving you your moment." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and gave me a soft smile. "Are you really okay?"
I nodded. "I just want a shower- or bath since y'all can't get in running water. Something like that. I feel disgusting." I shimmied a bit and huffed. "Kissing him was gross. I can't believe I did that."
Dwayne shook his head. "I would rather not think about that right now."
"Yeah, that's understandable."
He pulled away, and David took his spot. "Does this mean it's my turn?" He mused, taking me into his arms. "I haven't hugged you in ages."
I relaxed fully into his arms, nuzzling against him. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Ivy." He was quiet for a few moments, and I closed my eyes. He was never one for too much affection, but when he was, it was always nice. "Do you want to go back to the cave? We can all fall asleep together after you wash off. I don't want to leave you alone ever again."
I chuckled. "That would be nice. I would love it. I just want to be around y'all, no matter the circumstance."
"Then, let's head home."