The mansion was finally quiet. The celebration had ended hours ago, but Ivory still felt like she was surrounded by ghosts of the evening.
Her family. Her siblings. The people who had known about her before she ever knew about them. And the people who never had made it to survive Blue and his crazy life.
For years, she had wondered if she belonged anywhere. Now, she had discovered she belonged to something much larger than she had ever imagined. The Blue Dragons, The Seraphyne, a human hybrid ruler who was obsessed with power, control, destruction and recreation, and superiority.
That was the part that frightened her.
Blue stood near the window, looking over the city below.
Ivory watched him. Even after everything he had shown her, he was still the same. He was always looking ahead, calculated, and always ten steps beyond everyone else with immense cruelty.
Ivory was under the covers, exhausted from the day. She got comfortable and was ready to close her eyes, but Blue stopped her.
"I knew this would happen," he turned to face her. "The party, your family, our child, human resistance and surrender: everything."
Blue looked out the window. "It's not all done yet."
Ivory nodded, because she knew what he had meant.
Blue met her gaze again. "People's lives are affected by decisions whether they acknowledge it or not," Blue replied. "Everyone who is here is meant to be, because they made smart decisions. Everyone's a puzzle piece to my puzzle."
Blue walked closer and sat at Ivory's feet. " "You saw them tonight. Your family. Don't be fooled by their smiles and greetings; some like Elias, genuinely believe that The Serapyhne are superior and that qualified humans are our equals, that humans can make our rule a better place. Then there are other that follow me out of fear and hatred. Remember to be careful and always have your guard up."
Ivory nodded.
"Not everyone will agree with the future that we have created and built," Blue continued. "Remember how I said we need six children?"
Ivory nodded.
There are seven continents. Six of them will have a ruler. one child for each continent. The seventh will not belong to an heir. "
Ivory's expression changed.
"Why?"
"It belongs to advancement. Africa will become the center of Seraphyne research: Science, medicine, evolution, and experiments."
The way he said it was almost reverent. He believed in power and reverence.
"The future cannot depend only on rulers. It needs discovery."
Ivory was quiet.
Even when Blue frightened her, she couldn't deny that he saw things differently.
He wasn't only thinking about crowns, but about centuries.
"You already planned our children's lives."
"Yes."
"Even before they exist."
"Yes."
For a moment, there was something almost familiar between them.
Not the ruler. Not the dynasty. Just Blue.
The person she had known before everything became complicated.
"You don't need to be afraid," Blue said softly.
"I am." Ivory looked at him.
"Why?" Blue moved closer.
"Because every time you reveal another part of your plan, I realize how much of my life has already been decided."
"But not everything," His expression remained calm. "You still choose what kind of person you become."
The answer surprised her.
Because that was the closest thing to freedom Blue had ever offered.
Not freedom from the future. Freedom within it.
"I already know what type of person you are, Ivory," Blue began. "It's why I chose you. You were genetically and physically more capable than most humans, and your immense loyalty to me proves that you are one with the dragons. Your only flaw was having a good and naive heart; that was expected because you were an orphan. You didn't know anything about the outside world because you weren't meant for it. Ms. Campbell made sure you were exactly where you needed to be."
Blue held onto her face. "Now, here you are, continuing my legacy for even hundreds of years to come."
Ivory's eyes widened. "Hundreds?"
"Do you remember what the Seraphyne Codex said?"
"Well, I .... I don't know how old you are, actually."
"I'm young. Old to you, but young for a dragon," Blue replied.
Ivory nodded. She didn't want to know.
The silence between them stretched.
The anger was still there. The grief, memories, her parents, Hawks, Viper, Swindle H, her assignments, secrets. None of it disappeared, but neither did the history between them.
When Blue reached for her, Ivory hesitated.
She hated the hesitation. She hated that some part of her still trusted him.
She hated that she could remember the person he had been before she understood what he was capable of. She hated that she felt this physical attraction to a monster. Blue was handsome, she always thought that, but she hated that she felt that way about him.
"You're nervous," Blue began. Ivory looked down. "You don't need to be; we've done this before. And I wouldn't do it with you if I were repulsed by you."
Ivory looked up at him and followed his body as he walked near the desk. There was a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. He poured vodka into the glasses and brought them over to the bed. He sat in front of her and handed her a glass.
"Take this. It's strong. It'll help you relax."
Ivory took the shot and struggled to take down the vodka. It was disgusting. Blue took their shot glasses and set them on the nightstand. His arms wrapped under her and he shifted them in the middle of the bed.
Ivory knew what would happen next.
"Now?" she asked.
"We need another child soon," Blue replied. "Trust me."
Ivory's heard pounded then started to settle as the Vodka set in. It was her firs time having a shot. Her nerves were pretty much gone.
The connection that still existed despite everything was deepening. Blue was a man that took away any chance of freedom that Ivory could have had. Though, he was a man that gave her whatever she wanted as long as she stayed.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Blue kissed her.
Ivory froze. Not because she didn't remember him, because she did. And that was the problem. She hated how he made her body feel. Her mind fought against it.
Every reason she should pull away came rushing forward. Hawks, the file, her parents, the secrets, the psychotic assignments, murders, and a total dictatorship.
Blue had destroyed many people, cities, history, lives, and culture to create his world. But beneath all of that was something older.
She hated the conflict inside herself. She hated that her heart could remember tenderness from someone her mind wanted to condemn.
The kiss deepened, and Ivory closed her eyes as Blue's larger frame dominated her much smaller one. Before she could take a breath, they were already creating their second child. And Ivory hated how much her body valued and loved Blue.
Not everything was forgiven, nor did she suddenly trusted him. The space between them had always been complicated.
They were not strangers. They were two people carrying years of love, betrayal, power, and loss. And that was their life now, and forever. Ivory was one of the chosen ones, and she couldn't back down.
...
Later, the room was quiet.
Ivory lay awake beside him, staring into the darkness.
Blue was awake too.
Neither spoke.
The silence felt heavier than words.
She thought about Hawks. Her first love. The person who had made her feel free, seen, valued, appreciated, and who seen her without needing her to become anything. He was her ride or die and always protected her. The one time when Blue had held her down in his bed, Hawks jumped on Blue and attacked him to protect her.
Hawks was a loyal friend, lover, and protector.
Then she thought about Blue, the man beside her.
The man who had taken that future away, and who still had a hold on her heart that she wished he didn't. He was the one that controlled her destiny, had given her survival, food, clothing, a safe place to call home, and he could take that all away in a second if he even speculated that she wanted to escape.
She hated that she could feel safe and trapped at the same time.
She hated that understanding him made everything harder.
Because before, she could only see the monster. Now she saw the person underneath. And somehow that was worse. She didn't love what Blue was when she first met him or who he had become. But she couldn't pretend that Hawks, the boy she still loved had disappeared completely.
The future Blue had planned was just beginning. Ivory and Blue didn't even touch the surface of what they will create.
Blue shifted and pulled her closer to him. He wrapped the blanket around them and held Ivory close to his body. As Ivory shifted to get comfortable, she felt his eyes staring at her in the dark room. Ivory turned her body to face him and laid close to him.
Suddenly, Blue pulled her to his chest, and just like that, they had slowly started to fall asleep.
Here, Ivory was creating a second child with the man who still made her feel things she wished she didn't. The future terrified her, because for the first time, she understood the truth. She was not just part of Blue's dynasty. She was the beginning of it. And she wasn't even sure there would be an end.
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End of IV Dominion Part 1