All that Ivory saw was blackness; she walked around in a spaceless area, no concept of time, no idea where she was. She kept walking into a black abyss of nothing. Slowly, she moved and didn't stop until she felt compelled to.
Suddenly, she made out a brown door, then a hallway with Viper's back turned to her; Ivory felt tension in her body and slowly took a step toward her former best friend.
Viper faced her yet remained silent for a few moments.
"How does it feel to be his wife?" Viper walked around her. "How does it feel to have just given brith and to carry on his legacy?"
Ivory shook her head. "You don't get it."
"I do get it; you always got everything."
"You think I wanted to be married to some psychopath? He ripped my diploma, Viper. I don't have anything else coming for me. I'm stuck."
Viper started to cry and Ivory moved back in shock. "He and his pals tortured me in that room for 8 months; I was kicked, punched, shocked, assaulted, forced to do inexplainable acts to everyone he had down here, including himself."
"I don't get why you blame me for that!"
"Why didn't you help me?" Viper whispered.
"I didn't realize he kept you down there until that one day when he and Harley brought me to you," Ivory said.
"You'll never understand what Blue did to me."
"What did he do?"
Viper was silent. "I can't tell you now; he's coming."
Ivory looked around and didn't see him.
"I mean he's coming into the room soon. You need to wake up."
Ivory just walked past her former childhood best friend angrily.
"Ivory ---" Viper began. Ivory paused yet didn't turn to face Viper. "He has more secrets than him being an alien."
Ivory faced Viper, "You knew?"
"I did a lot of digging on him. He's worse than you realize; he wants ultimate control, and soon, he will get what he really wants."
"The heir, I know that."
Viper shook her head. "No, it's more than that. It's one of the reasons why he killed me. I wasn't strong enough for him; not pretty enough, not smart enough; he eradicates humans that his kind cannot procreate with, use, and control."
"Viper --- you mentioned other people. Did he have aliens in there with him?"
Viper began to cry. "I can't explain it all here, Ivory. I'm sorry; this is all my fault. I should have listened to you, and I didn't. I died due to my own stubbornness."
There was a thump and Ivory jumped in shock while Viper stayed in place; her ghostly form floating in the air. Ivory saw bright blue eyes behind Viper, and Ivory gasped, fearing who or what they eyes belonged too. Two dark blue dragons appeared; their faces in the dim light, and their heads began to tower over Viper, who stared sadly at Ivory. Ivory backed up, fearing the dragons.
"Wake up," Viper said.
Then, Ivory ran away back into the darkness, the hallway and Viper disappeared, though the dragon heads popped up two more times before she saw a flash in front of her eyes.
Ivory's right leg jolted and she woke up in the hospital room, in the bed with her daughter fast asleep in the bassinet. Ivory took deep breaths after the terrifying encounter she had with Viper. Ivory knew in due time, she'd figure out what Viper was talking about -- once she read the book, her questions would be answered.
Ivory peered into the bassinet to see the baby's eyes dart open to peer into Ivory's, and it felt like her child was staring into her soul.
"Lyra," Ivory smiled, "your name is Lyra."
"That's a pretty name," said a familiar voice.
Ivory turned to see Blue sitting in a chair by the bed. Ivory sent him a small smile and turned her attention back to her baby.
"I told the chef to make your favorite dishes."
Ivory smiled, risotto and a salmon avocado roll with truffle sauce and salmon roe on top.
The room was quiet except for the faint hum of air and the blue light reflecting off the polished floors. Blue then sat at the edge of the bed and placed her feet in his lap. He then faced her.
"Are you tired?"
"A little, though that's just because I'm hungry."
Ivory shifted and gasped out in pain due to the stitches. She felt the diaper, pads, and the cream all at once; post pregnancy was definitely not exciting. She hoped that she and Blue were only going to have one child. She didn't want to redo this entire process again.
"You want answers," he says, voice low. "Ask them."
Ivory didn't know where to start. She took a minute to gather her thoughts and then started with the first question that popped into her mind.
"How do you know Ms. Campbell?"
"Ms. Campbell at one point was losing her business. She and I met at a bar in the city where I told that that she will get 10% profit for every foster care child that she recruits into my gang. She isn't the only one, there are other foster homes that work under me. I had my team write great reviews about her foster home to make parents consider her company."
Ivory swallowed and lifted her chin. "Lucky once said that you had Hawks spying on me outside of the home. Why me? Out of everyone on this planet… why me?"
He stopped and studied her for a long moment his hands hovered just above her ankles. Finally, his hands gently touched her ankles.
"Your family line," he began, "has always produced strength. Not reckless power, not chaotic energy — but calculated, loyal, capable of violence without losing control. That is why they were one of the most feared mobster gangs in the world. Then, your father met your mother, who created a lot of problems and tried to snitch on your father.
Once that happened, I reached out to him with a deal. This happened right as you were born and your father worried about his standing with the police. I told him to place you with Ms. Campbell and I would take you when you turned 18. Now, I had to decide what purpose you would serve in my gang, and when Ms. Campbell sent me photos of you, I knew that you'd be my wife."
"And you watched the others at the orphanage?" Ivory asked, incredulous.
He nodded once. "Not all of them survived the test. Not all of them matched my criteria. But you… you were different."
Ivory's stomach twisted. "Criteria for what?"
Blue knelt in front of her, his hands rested lightly on her foot. "For continuity. For survival. For what was and is still coming."
Her eyes narrowed. "Continuity? Survival? You mean… selection."
"Yes." His tone was flat. "Not every human is suitable. The book will tell you more about my race and why we work with humans. The Seraphyne did not look like human hybrids; at one point we were pure dragons in form. To advance our kind, we started to breed with humans thousands of years ago," Ivory's eyes widened.
"It was complicated. At the beginning, many humans died during childbirth or were not mentally or emotionally strong enough to meet the demands of the Seraphyne. Many could not be controlled. Many would break. Many lacked… compatibility, many were not physically capable. But your mind—your instincts, your resilience, your ability to observe and calculate, and your beauty — made you perfect."
She shivered, unease and awe mixing in her chest. "So, you chose me because I'm… useful?"
He leaned closer, his forehead brushing hers. "Because you can survive me. You can carry what others could never do. Our child, Lyra," he looked over at her, "would inherit what was necessary: the strengths of a beautifully crafted human who bred with a dragon-human hybrid. A very powerful one at that."
His hands traced her jaw, deliberate, reverent. "The Seraphyne were ancient. Our fore dragons engineered humans long before Earth's governments and gangs rose. Dragons were not myths—they were the architects of life, shaping matter, blood, consciousness. Dragons were strong, powerful, intuitive, psychic, beyond intelligent, and ambitious. My people merged with humans to survive, to breed, to control."
Her throat tightened. "So you're saying… I was chosen?"
"Yes. Selected ---- Genetically, mentally, spiritually. Only a fraction of humans had ever been suitable. You were one of them."
Ivory swallowed, breathing unevenly. Then she asked the question she had dreaded. "Blue… are you… a psychopath?"
His gaze did not waver. "If your definition is someone who feels no guilt, no empathy for weakness, who lacks a conscience, someone who manipulates and controls for long-term goals… then yes. I am what your human language calls a psychopath."
He leaned closer, almost pressing against her, heat radiating, intent impossible to ignore. " You and I, together, were always part of this plan. You will love Lyra, you will protect her, and I will ensure you're both protected and given everything you want and need. We are the center of this world. We are the Seraphyne family with the most power."
"What do you mean?"
"My father and grandfathers ran the gang. It was founded by an ancestor who worked for the Seraphyne government; an ancestor who wanted to advance the lineage of my kind. Humanity has The Kennedy family, The Seraphyne have my family --- The Gravesend. And you are continuing the linage on with Lyra."
He got up and walked over to Ivory and traced a finger over the line of her jaw, down to her throat.
She trembled, and he noticed. He did not move away. He leaned in, pressing a long, deliberate kiss to her forehead, then her temple. "You are stronger than you know," he whispered. And for the first time, Ivory felt the weight of the truth— selected, chosen, marked by her lineage, by her instincts, by his obsession. and She knew she was both trapped and indispensable.