Page 155 of A Debt of Darkness

It’s tempting. Almost too tempting.

“Am I going to tell them, Deacon, or will you?”

Damon’s voice is a challenge to Emmanuel’s authority and he fails to meet it. He shakes his head feebly, swallowing dry air as his fingers whiten to alabaster as they cling to the armrest of his chair. He’s crumbling in front of us and his weakness is the reason why the Brotherhood needs rebuilding, brick by brick. Priest by priest. Under someone else’s leadership.

“I assume he at least told you about the prophecy?”

Henry nods and sits forward. “I don’t enjoy these games, Damon. Get the fuck on with it before I slit your fucking throat and bleed you like a stuck pig.”

The talk of blood must be making my head unusually light, and I sway, distracted by the thought of feeding until my senses heighten and my body sings with pleasure. My thoughts run wild and my mouth moves without instruction, remembering the words Henry and I have recited a thousand times as we tried to understand what they meant for us. For our future.

“A mortal and a vampire will have a child who’ll change everything.” I’m mumbling.

Damon nods. “I assume you think you’re the mortal heart?”

I nod back.

“You’re not, Ivy.” He pauses as my face falls, panicking Henry is disappointed with me. “You’re the child.”

The silence speaks louder than any storm and the one swirling inside me threatens to devastate my soul. A hurricane breezes through me and nothing makes sense anymore and my emotions hurtle around a center I’m struggling to contain.

Henry growls and pulls me against him, threatened by Damon’s interference. He’s determined to keep me safe and his violence might be as vicious as the gales threatening to carry me away, but he’ll never let me come to harm. Henry will consume me, but he won’t destroy me. He’ll mold me, but he won’t change me. He’ll grow with me as we move through our seasons and we’ll find our balance, always in equilibrium even though we’re always shifting.

“I think by now you know your father wasn’t your father, Ivy.” Damon waits until I’m steady and his head tilts to the left. “And I think it’s somewhat obvious I’m not a normal mortal.” He leans forward as he demands the attention of the whole room, and everyone’s eyes lock on the man who holds us hostage with his silence. “I was a priest. A powerful one. Until I chose a different path. I left to serve your father and ensure this prophecy was fulfilled. I’ve watched over you for years, kept you safe, kept you secret. Guided you without you realizing it.”

I swallow and try to find the courage to ask the question everyone’s waiting for me to ask. The one that might be more than I can bear to know the answer to. The one that’s going to change the way I think about myself and might change how Henry sees me.

“It won’t change a fucking thing,” Henry says, staringdown at me in adoration. “It doesn’t matter who your father is, Ivy. My love is unconditional and it is unbreakable. It has no limits and knows no boundaries. It is a madness I will never allow to end, and it will only grow and deepen with every passing day. There’s no you and me, lea, only us, and my love is not a fragile thing that could ever be broken, let alone by this.”

I blush, and he smiles, resting his forehead on mine.

He’s perfectly imperfect for me and my doubts evaporate as my anxiety eases. His warmth heats my core and I find a peace I’ve rarely known, calming in his stillness as his soul shelters me from the whirlwind of my emotions.

“Do you wish to know?” Damon asks.

I nod and Henry’s chest tenses.

“Your father is Matt’s sire,” he says and time stands still. “It’s why you connect with him and why he understands you. It’s why the four of you balance each other and find an equilibrium. Henry with Ryan, Matt with you.”

We stare at Damon and then at each other. My eyes dart between Henry, Matt, and Ryan, looking for a reaction. Any reaction. Anything that’ll reassure me this isn’t a complete disaster. That we’re going to make it through this and it won’t take centuries to fix.

I’ve endured more than I thought possible and formed bonds I barely understand. They run deep, but they’re complicated, weaving our souls together in a tapestry with an intricate pattern I can’t divine. I don’t want to lose them, and the thought of being parted makes my soul scream in pain. We’ve fought too hard and become too close to let things fall apart, but the implications of this are more than I understand and this could shatter everything.

I’m standing on the beach, watching the tidal wave recede, praying I’m mistaken and it won’t drown me when it hits. It’s an agony that hurts as much as any torture and I wait,expecting the executioner's blade to fall on our relationships.

“You’re my partner and I’ll be damned if I let you leave,” Ryan says, pulling Matt toward him.

Matt wraps his arms around Ryan, and their bodies say more than their words ever could. There’s absolute trust and complete loyalty, a connection they’ll fight for until their time runs out, and even then I pity the idiot who tries to take it from them.

Their connection is as strong as ours and their heads turn in unison, smiling as they stare at us with the same determination.

“I’m not leaving her alone with you,” Ryan adds. “You’re a fucking idiot and someone has to knock some fucking sense into you.”

Henry growls and I fail to avoid smirking.

“Ryan’s right. She’s far too good for you and you’ll only fuck it up without the pair of us around to make sure you don’t.”

I giggle and Henry has the grace to let the moment be, allowing his pride to be wounded for the sake of our friends. Ryan and Matt grin as they adjust their positions, sitting as intimately as we are, and the tension in the room eases away.

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