Before Ivory could blink an eye, 2 months flew by. 2 months since the birth of her daughter and 2 months of constant crying, feeding, vomiting, and being a caregiver to a child. Lyra wasn't exceptionally large for a 2 month old; she was about the size of an average baby.
Ivory read more on Seraphyne babies and how the sixth month mark was when significant changes would partake; taller, full on sentences, and being steady on their legs and feet. The Serpahyne were extremely advanced in comparison to the average human.
Ivory was holding a sleeping Lyra in her hands by the chair in the corner of the room as the midwife laid down on the futon. The two were silent as they glanced between Lyra and each other. Neither knew what to say to each other, nor did they want to risk waking up Lyra. They were highly alert for when she'd finally wake up and want to eat or need a diaper changing.
Suddenly, the midwife read a text on her phone and walked over to the door and opened it.
"You guys can see her; she's fully vaccinated and healthy," she heard Blue's voice.
Ivory's mouth dropped open at the familiar faces: The Blue Dragons gang members.
"You guys can see her; she's fully vaccinated and healthy," she heard Blue's voice.
They all quietly said hello and took turns holding Lyra, who slept soundly.
Ivory remained quiet as she stared at everyone's hyper attention on her daughter. She noticed that even Harley seemed content with the baby, even though Harley didn't hold her, which didn't surprise Ivory. Lucky one said Harley was the female version of Blue, and after the double homicide, Lucky's comment rang in her ears whenever she saw sight of the demented woman.
Ivory was glad to see everyone again as it was strange being isolated from the only people she spent so much of her time with, though she also felt extremely tired and wanted to sleep.
Blue then held onto Lyra, who remained asleep in his arms.
"She's a good sleeper," Blue replied. "Sometimes she gets cranky, though, nothing out or the ordinary," Blue turned to Ivory, "You look tired. Get some rest; I'll take Lyra."
Ivory nodded and everyone except Lily waved or sent a quiet goodbye to Ivory before following after Blue.
"She looks like Ivory," Spike replied.
"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Red agreed.
Then, their voices became muffled and Ivory noticed how the room went from immediate chatter to complete silence, where she was left with her thoughts.
Ivory climbed into bed and decided that sleep was what she needed; she was the one who spent all of her time with Lyra; Blue didn't lie about her new role; he simply told her what her new job was and he could not have been more accurate about her job description.
She heard the door silently creep open and looked up to see Lily sneaking into the room; she looked down the hallway to make sure no one had noticed she went missing. Lily closed the door behind her carefully, then leaned against it, arms folded. Her face looked the way it always did when she was serious — sharp, focused, and stripped of humor and joy.
"You okay?" Lily asked quietly.
Ivory nodded once. "As okay as I can be. I'm just tired."
Lily's body softened for half a second, then looked away for a few moments before she pulled a chair toward Ivory and sat, lowering her voice.
"You need to know something," Lily said. "About Blue."
Ivory didn't respond right away. She just watched Lily, waited. Ivory was ready for more gossip on Blue; the more she knew, the better; the more she could use to destroy him.
"He's not just… what he says he is," Lily continued. "He can make people like him. Not fully a not Seraphyne — but close."
"He mentioned the human breeding part."
"Did you finish reading the book?"
Ivory shook her head.
Lily leaned a little closer. "He can alter them --- you know --- change their biology, their strength, their longevity, and their perception. He can alter them enough to make them useful. Soon, I think he will do it to you. You're now his wife, and he isn't going to make it easy to lose you. Whatever he must do to always ensure you're with him, he will do, and if it means making you live longer or be stronger, then he will do so. I tried coming sooner and even texting you, though Harley stopped me; she wanted me to let you be and to take time with taking care of your baby. Though, I couldn't keep this secret in anymore."
Ivory's jaw tightened, shocked at the revelation. "So why hasn't he done it to the gang?"
Lily exhaled through her nose. "Well, obviously, none of us are aliens, well, no one in the inner circle. We're all still flesh and blood filled with raw emotion and desire. So, he intentionally lets humans work with him — with a price. Humans are easier to control when they think they're getting power instead of becoming something else," Lily said flatly. "Money. Status. Protection. That's what we want. No one in the immediate gang wants to stop being human; they just want access to the bigger parts of life, the dark side, the top secrets, and have easy access to wealth. Blue knows that everyone else in the gang will do anything for power, so he uses them."
Ivory's fingers curled slightly around the blanket.
"And Blue lets his human workers think they're close enough to remain loyal," Lily went on, "and far enough to stay disposable. The ones that died, Hawks, Lucky, Swindle H, and Roxie realized that his gang is about loyalty to him, not the other way around; they realized his audacious intentions and wanted nothing to do with his plans. Anyone who is aware of gang culture knows what happens to those who decide to leave gang and start over. "
Ivory felt the truth settle heavy in her chest.
Lily leaned in. "I've been watching Blue for a while. The meetings. The disappearances. The way people come back… different."
Ivory's voice was low. "He knows you watch him. That's why Harley didn't want you to message me. She is watching too."
"Yeah," Lily said as she looked at the floor. "Which is why I haven't moved—"
Silence.
"Until now," Lily leered at Ivory, and smirked.
Ivory looked at her sharply. This was the Lily she knew well and loved. "What are you planning?"
"There's a rival operation that's as old as Blue's. There another alien gang that don't like that They Seraphyne exist; they hate the fact that dragons meddled with humans: The Stryx. They're as ancient as the dragons and think humans are the weaker species and are not capable of bigger ideas and greatness. They don't answer to Blue or his order. When his mission is done—"
"What mission?" Ivory cut in. "That explains why he has been having private meetings in his office."
Lily shook her head. "That's the problem. Harley and Blue haven't been telling me everything. They've shut me out. They have meetings I'm not invited to; I only hear about the meeting afterwards. Rover gave me some information though has been lying low, too. He only mentioned a Secret Order meeting. I don't know what he's planning."
Ivory's stomach tightened. "That's not an accident. It has to be about The Seraphyne or my daughter! I have to protect her!"
"I know," Lily said. "But when it's finished, when he's distracted, vulnerable… that's when we move."
Ivory sat up straighter. "Move how?"
"Remove him," Lily said plainly.
The phrase landed hard.
Ivory's gaze flicked instinctively to the door, to the walls, to the quiet hum of the room. "You can't send anyone," she said immediately. "Not the gang. Not outsiders."
Lily frowned. "Ivory—"
"He'll know," Ivory said. Her voice didn't shake. "Not eventually. Immediately. This place, these people — he feels shifts and intentions. You send someone after him, he'll feel it before they even decide to act. I bet he'll know you're in here; and he's already suspicious of you and isolating the gang from you, your own sister is now against you. They're watching," Ivory whispered the last part. "Don't be stupid, Lily. That got the others killed."
Lily's jaw tightened. "So what, we do nothing?"
"No," Ivory said, eyes dark. "We wait. And we don't move pieces he didn't already account for."
Lily studied her. "You're changing."
Ivory looked at Lyra's newborn photo on her nightstand. — too still, too aware, tiny fingers curling like they were listening. "I have to." She knew her daughter felt her words.
"You're not the nervous, naive Ivory who came into this gang. Now, you really see that the world is all about status, money, beauty, and survival of the fittest."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Lily said, quieter now, "If I disappear… you'll know why."
Ivory met her gaze. "Don't. I can't lose you too, Lily. I won't!"
Lily stood, smoothing her jacket. "I won't be reckless. But I won't be loyal to a monster either." At the door, she paused. "Whatever he is… he didn't count on you thinking like this."
Only then did Ivory whisper, barely audible, "Neither did I."
Lily stayed silent.
"I never thought I'd be this strong .... or have to be."
Silence cut the air like a knife.
"Lily, I had a weird dream about Viper," Ivory changed the subject. She felt that it was important to share, because Viper vaguely mentioned the same truth as Lily: Blue alters human DNA. "She told me that she had Blue figured out, that that's why he got rid of her. She wasn't strong enough. That he --- it's kinda fuzzy --- something about testing her out to see if she was good enough for his gang."
"Viper wasn't strong enough for Blue. She wasn't pretty enough, calculated enough, loyal enough. Blue thinks having too much emotion is a weakness, that's his biology. He can't have people who are too 'emotional' around because he finds that they cannot handle him; it's part of his control. Anyone who stands up to him threatens his agenda; he wants people that follow along with what he requests. He also thinks lowly of most humans, that they don't offer much to his kind.
You just got unlucky, Ivory, because you're an orphan, and your life was already laid out for you when you were a baby. You never stood a chance; Ms. Campbell would have made sure you went with Blue no matter what. You have nowhere else to go, which is an advantage for him. He gets what he wants. Just keep playing along."
"I wouldn't have chosen to live this way," Ivory said. "I would have wanted it to be with Hawks, though I am not really sure that he liked me."
"Hawks did. Hawks was trying to protect you."
Ivory smiled quietly to herself.
"Blue doesn't forgive mistakes," Lily had said flatly. "Or anyone who threatens his plan, even unknowingly. Hawks and Viper got too close: too human, too emotional. That kiss told Blue one thing: Hawks could interfere with the future, and Blue could not risk interference.
Viper running to the police told him that she wasn't strong enough to work under him, or follow his commands. She was too involved in her immaturity and her jealousy over you, that she never once thought about how her actions affected you. Hawks and Viper were expendable. You… you are not."
Ivory exhaled shakily, the room suddenly too small, the weight of Lyra in her arms heavier than any newborn should carry.
"And that's why you need to be careful," Lily said quietly. "Blue's obsession isn't soft. It's control, and it's survival. Anyone who even hints at taking you or your child from him…" She didn't finish the sentence. Ivory understood.
"I get it," Ivory whispered, her jaw tight. "No one moves. No one does anything."
"Exactly," Lily said. "Except maybe us, when the time is right. But we wait. Always wait."
Ivory laid on her side of the bed and both girls remained silent. Ivory grabbed Lyra's picture and stared into it, and hoped that her daughter wasn't destined for the life forced onto her. She'd do whatever it took to see what Blue's next steps were, and she'd absolutely protect her daughter at all costs, because that's part of being a caregiver.
Ivory knew that sooner or later, Blue would regret what he asked from Ivory -- to protect and prepare her daughter for life's dangers and uncertainties, and to do that, she had to shield her from Blue and expose Lyra to the truths of her father. When the time came, Blue's world would crumble, and it'd be up to Lily and Ivory to decide how, where, and when.