Page 95 of A Debt of Darkness

This is a war footing and I’m not taking chances again.

My orders are clear and my intentions are unequivocal.

We’re going to tackle Rowan head on and we’ll need to increase our numbers. Fighting is an unpleasant business and they have numbers. We can build fast, but I’d rather be a little discerning, especially given how vampires turned in haste or error tend to come back to bite you in the ass.

Ryan and I destroyed our sire in the end, and I won’t exchange one enemy for another.

Ivy sighs and moves, adjusting herself against the pillow. Damn, she’s awake and I’m not there. The doctor saved her life but he was wrong about her recovery and now she’ll wake to see Matt at her side.

“GET. OUT.”

Vampires race out of my office, departing with their instructions. They know better than to cross me when I’m riled and my anger inflames as Matt moves closer to Ivy. I flick my eyes to his partner, who’s resting uncomfortably against the wall. Ryan’s suffering and I don’t give a single shit.

Ivy smiles at Matt, and he has the decency to look flustered.

“Rough night?” she asks, jokingly.

Matt doesn’t smile. He looks awful. His hair’s ruffled and his eyes are sunken. There are no wounds or bruises, but he’s cut up inside and Ryan’s situation is killing him. Silver is an apt punishment, and the constant burning will remind Ryan to never forget who and what Ivy is to me.

“How bad?” she asks.

“Henry will be here in seconds. He’s fucking furious. With Ryan. He’s my partner, Ivy. You might not understand what happened, but I’m begging you. Please. If there’s anything you can do for him…”

I snarl, irritated by Matt’s pleading with my wife. I gave him specific instructions and he’s disregarding them asflagrantly as Ryan. Matt’s hands are shaking and he’s staring at Ivy like she has the power to save him. He wears the look of a man begging for his life and after yesterday, I understand the emotion ripping through him.

I simply don’t care.

It's the morning after the night before, and we’ll have quite the reckoning by the time I’m finished.

Ivy whimpers and I’ve heard enough. I race through the castle, and everyone has the sense to get the fuck out of my way. Seconds later, I’m flying into my bedroom, racing across it as I head for my bed.

Her head lifts and she looks at me. Eyes wide. Eyes bright.

Thank fuck.

Damn. I should have been here. For her. It’s another mistake that’s cost me and I’ve got to stop making them.

“I’m sorry, lea. I had to deal with something. For you. To keep you safe. I wouldn’t have left your side otherwise.”

I’m here now, and it’s a dream and nightmare rolled into one. She’s beautiful and terrifying, soft and hard around the edges. Throughout the night I prayed for this outcome and now we’re here, I’m terrified I’m imagining it.

My hands tremble as I reach for her, patting her arms as another sense tells me she’s alive. Awake. Still here. With me. She looks down and gasps, noticing the bandages for the first time. A plaster covers where the drip was, but there’s a large one wrapped around her wrist, concealing a much nastier wound.

The one Ryan says she gave herself.

Ivy runs her fingertips over it, tentatively touching it, and she’s afraid. She remembers last night and she doesn’t understand much of it. Not fully. The confusion and doubt will make it hurt more.

My fingers wrap around her forearm and I try to reassure her. She ought to find my touch calming, and I’m relieved when she sighs and settles. Ivy isn’t the only one needing closeness right now.

“The doctor said you’d sleep today,” I mutter. “He assured me you’d need at least a day, despite the transfusions.”

Her eyebrows move and she sinks back into the bed, moving over so I can sit next to her. I stare down at her, waiting for her to say something. Anything. Gods, anything other than this agonizing silence.

“Are you okay?” she asks, quietly.

I snort as I catch my breath. Fuck, she’s surprising.

“I’m fine. I’m not the one who almost got themselves killed.”

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