Page 99 of Midnight Waters

Adrian Everhart loomed over me, the ceiling light above silhouetting him. He laid his hand on the kitchen counter next to him, where a selection of fancy knives stood in a collective holder just inches away.

My stomach rolled, and it was all I could do to hold back the nausea.

Footsteps hurried into the room behind me and I jerked around. If Ben was among them, I stood a chance at getting out of here alive.

But no such luck. Both his parents, his aunt, two uncles, and his grandfather crowded in through the door together.

“What in the name of the thirteen…” Samuel Everhart, Ben’s father, trailed off as our gazes met. “We’re being invaded! Maggie, call the police!”

“No!” I threw my hands up in surrender. “This isn’t an invasion, it’s just me!”

“Good. That should make arresting you much easier.” Margaret snatched her phone out of her blazer pocket and dialed.

“Wait.” Brenda grabbed the phone off her and put it on the kitchen counter. “This is no matter for the police. This is personal.”

I swore under my breath. Who would know if they killed me, cut me up into little pieces, and hid me under the floorboards?

“Listen, I’m here because I need to talk to Ben about something urgent,” I said.

Samuel scoffed. “This is clearly some trick. Ben would never speak with an Arrowood.”

“Wouldn’t he?” I turned to Adrian. “You saw us talking, didn’t you?”

“I saw you following him and trying to attack him down an alley,” Adrian said. “I wouldn’t call that talking.”

Ugh. That was not what happened, and he knew it.

“This is a matter of life or death,” I said. “Please?—”

My words died in my throat as Adrian seized my top and yanked me partway off the floor. The potion bottles in my pocket clinked against my keys and he froze.

Apparently, Adrian knew that sound as well as I did.

“So you came here prepared to attack,” Adrian said. “What do we do with her, Mum?”

“In the basement for now,” Margaret said. “We need to have a long talk about what to do with her.”

“What in the name of the thirteen is going on?”

Adrian dropped me and my lower back smacked against the tiles, leaving a nasty stinging sensation. I rolled over onto my stomach.

Ben pushed his way through his relatives, his eyes widening as he caught sight of me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.

“It’s an emergency,” I said. I tried to get up, but Adrian plowed his fist into my back and I hit the floor again, my ribs stinging.

“Stop that!” Ben marched forward and shoved Adrian in the chest with both hands.

“What?” Adrian held his hands up in surrender. “She’s an Arrowood, and she broke into our house.”

Ben offered his hand to me. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet.

Our bodies bumped against each other as I steadied myself, and his hand shot to my elbow to help me.

Heat flared across my skin, and I took a smart step back before the feeling could escalate.

“What’s so important that you had to break in at night?” he asked.

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