Page 136 of A Debt of Darkness

“You’re perfect, Ivy. Nothing’s changed. If anything, I love you more.”

She smiles and slips away, sleeping peacefully in my arms. Ivy’s comfortable and at ease, content and reassured. I pull her closer, holding her against my chest as I stare up at the ceiling, forcing myself to be calm as I bite back the anger rising inside of me.

Ivy’s father deserves my attention and he’ll be feeling the extent of my wrath as soon as I’ve finished dealing with these meddlesome priests. Ivy might not understand why her father abandoned her and she doesn’t realize the extent of the damage he’s done, but I do, and I refuse to let him live when he’s hurt my wife so fucking badly.

37

THE ALTERNATIVE IS WORSE

IVY

Henry’s office isn’t as intimidating as it used to be, and I admire the curves and lines of the painting on the wall, wondering how to ask Henry to have it moved. I sink my weight into the armchair, growing more comfortable with every passing second and ignoring the voices washing over me.

“Ivy.”

Henry’s tone is sharp and it commands my attention.

“Were you listening to anything Emmanuel said?”

I shake my head, ignoring the heat spreading over my cheeks. Henry glares, staring at me like I’m a misbehaving child. Ryan and Matt cross their arms, telling Emmanuel to repeat himself.

“Ivy, some of us believe you and Henry fulfill a prophecy,” he says, irritated he’s having to explain this again. “If it’s true,then you’re going to change the fate of vampires in ways we can’t imagine.”

Henry shifts his weight and he knows more than he’s letting on. His eyes narrow and their blue is cold, clinical and calculated, determined to get through this conversation. We’ll be having another one after this is done. One about telling me the goddamn truth about whatever the fuck is going on.

“Why does it have to be so complicated?”

“It’s not.” Emmanuel leans in, making Henry growl. “There’s some concern you’ll be the end of the Brotherhood. It’s a fundamental change to thousands of years of order, and that’s a threat, my dear. People don’t respond well to change. Priests like it even less, in my experience.”

He laces his long, bony fingers together and raises his hands, leaning his elbows on the arms of his chair as he stares at me. His eyes wander over me, examining every movement of my muscles as he searches for signs of weakness. For anything that gives him an insight into what I’m thinking or feeling. The Deacon of the Brotherhood I might be about to destroy stares at me with curiosity, unsure what to make of the girl sitting before him.

“I don’t understand.” I pout, ignoring the hardening stares from Matt and Ryan. “We’d get it over and done with faster if you told me what’s going to happen.”

Emmanuel shrugs.

Henry slides his hand into mine and squeezes. “Prophecies don’t work like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because they wouldn’t be prophecies otherwise,” Ryan says, arching his eyebrow. “The gods make prophecies come true. Usually while having some fun at the expense of those involved.”

I flick my eyes toward the priest, who nods knowingly, as if this explanation is so damn obvious it doesn’t warrant further explanation. Emmanuel’s eyes darken and he looks away, sighing loudly. Too loudly. The lines cutting across his brow seem deeper and those streaking over his cheek are sharper, and when he finally turns back to face me, I wish he hadn’t.

“There’s a little more to this, Ivy.”

Henry growls, and everyone takes a fucking deep breath as his rage pours into the room. My heart flutters as I focus on the dark brown eyes staring at me, determined to ensure Emmanuel doesn’t hold anything back.

“We know there’s a child who will change the fate of the vampires. We just don’t know how.” He pauses. “We might have known if we had the second half of the prophecy, but a series of unfortunate events caused it to be lost and no one in the Brotherhood knows what that part contained.”

Emmanuel tilts his head and our eyes remain locked, still engaged in some vicious battle I don’t understand. He’s searching for something in me while I’m determined to find the truth in him. Both of us ignore the shaking furniture caused by the enraged motion of the vampires in the room.

Ryan’s pacing and Matt’s about to murder someone, and I’m damn sure he’s got the head of the Brotherhood in his sights. Even out of the corner of my eye, I can see his muscles rippling with fury as he readies for action and when he takes a step forward Ryan steps in, grabbing his arm and pulling his partner away, intervening before this disagreement turns physical.

“You lost it?” I ask before anyone says something stupid.

“I wouldn’t say we lost it. Not exactly.”

I groan quietly, aware the tension is rising despite my efforts to calm the situation. “Then what would you say?” Mytone is as pointed as my question and Emmanuel’s eyebrow arches.

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