Page 68 of A Debt of Darkness

Fuck, this is a train wreck.

Fuck, I’m still not ready.

Fuck, I’m going to lose her.

“This is where you tell me you’re not who I think you are,isn’t it?” she says very carefully. Too carefully.

I nod and pray she has the courage to do what needs to be done.

“It’s where you tell me you’re not a nice person.”

“To others, no. But I’ll always protect you, always keep you safe, Ivy. You shouldn’t fear me.”

Please don’t.

The little girl who’s sitting in my lap sweeps aside my confidence and experience, rendering me as helpless as a child. She’s everything. She’s all I want. She’s all I need. She’s home.

“You’re running some sort of criminal organization, aren’t you?”

My mouth falls open and tears flood her eyes.

I’m speechless.

I’m numb.

I’m reeling.

She’s fucking continuing before I can stop her.

“It’s why the castle is away from everywhere else, why those strange men live here with you. It’s why you have so much money and the goddamn paintings, Henry. It’s why you leave for hours and won’t tell me what you’re doing.”

Damn, it’s logical, but it’s completely wrong.

“It isn’t.”

She stiffens.

“Ivy, the world isn’t the way you think it is. It’s not pleasant. It’s full of people making their way through life, completely oblivious to what’s going on around them. To the reality hidden from them.”

She swallows.

“Not everyone is who or what they appear. There are somany things to tell you, so many things to show you. So much I wish I could protect you from.”

She sobs.

“Ivy, maybe it’s easier if I show you.”

Her fingernails dig into me and her lip trembles.

“I’m still the same, Ivy. I still adore you. I haven’t changed. You’re just seeing what’s underneath. What’s always been there.”

She nods.

I let my fangs extend and my face shifts. The features elongate and become harsher, sharper. More feline, like a panther. Beautiful, intoxicating, lethal. My nails turn into claws and the blue of my irises will have changed to reflect how well-fed I am. Right now, I’ve made sure I’m fed—and they’ll be as red as the ruby on her finger.

Ivy freezes, going into a flight or fight response. Her eyes lock onto me as she struggles against what she’s seeing. She’s confused, panicked and terrified. Her heart’s pounding and she reeks of terror. Of the unadulterated, primeval horror she’s experiencing as she realizes she’s sitting on the lap of a vicious predator.

“Henry?”

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