Page 87 of A Debt of Darkness

Fucking serious.

Henry tightens his hand into a fist as he ends the call. Our relaxing day has ended abruptly and now there's only tension. Only stress. Henry's furious about whatever news he received and he's failing to hide it from me.

“I'm sorry, lea. I have to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Is something wrong?” I ask, hesitantly.

He smiles. “Nothing I can't handle. Behave while I'm away and I'll bring you a present.”

I try to hide my anxiety in my smile as Henry leaves. His attempts to protect me are all very well, but at some point, he's going to need to tell me everything.

And I mean everything.

I know some of it will be unpleasant. I know most of it will be shocking. Some will be frightening. But it's worse not knowing. It's got to be worse not knowing.

I stare at the door and minutes later, Matt walks in. He smiles pleasantly and I ignore it, staring at him like I've had enough of all this bullshit.

“Someone’s pissed.” Matt sits and waits for me to ask the question we both know is coming.

“What the fuck is going on, Matt?”

He sighs and sits. “Henry doesn't want you to know,” he says, hesitating between following his instructions and answering my question. “Rowan's causing problems. Henry's dealing with them. Don't tell him I said anything.”

I nod. “How bad?”

His teeth grind. “It's not great. But Henry's invariably good at this dealing with this kind of crap.”

He passes me a book and I open it, resigned to spending an afternoon nervously waiting.

“You're here for a reason, aren't you?” I ask, ignoring the temptation to look up from my book.

“Other than keeping you company?” He laughs. “Obviously, Ivy. We both know why I'm here.”

Because Henry's making sure I'm safe.

I don't know what's going on, but there's enough danger for him to send Matt to protect me. It’s got to threaten the coven or the castle for Matt to be here, but it’s impossible to work out what the threat is. I don’t have the knowledge orexperience to guess what’s wrong and Matt won’t tell me. He’s deflecting every question I ask and we settle into a pattern of ignoring each other as we pretend the afternoon isn’t happening and try to pass the time.

“Did you want dinner?” he asks as the light creeping through the shutters fades.

I shake my head and stare at the door, wondering how much longer Henry will be.

“He'll be fine,” Matt says. “He's capable of taking care of himself.”

I groan and sink into the sofa, still trying to focus on the boring book I'm reading. A small sharp bang catches my attention and when I glance back at Matt, my heart starts racing. He's noticed too and he's paying attention. He's worried and doing a terrible job of hiding it.

Another louder bang disrupts the ominous silence, and all my calm disappears. Muffled shouting shatters any remaining doubt that the trouble Henry’s worried about has arrived. Matt's on his feet in seconds and he's moving quickly, efficiently locking all the shutters and checking the room. He locks the door and positions himself between me and it, readying himself for whatever the hell might come through it.

My heart's pounding and my hands are shaking. I'm sweating and the adrenaline coursing through me tastes bitter and makes me want to hurl.

“You going to tell me now?” I ask.

He growls and looks back over his shoulder. “Rowan and Henry go back a very long way. Rowan's been looking for a way to destroy Henry and his coven. You're his weakness, Ivy. Our weakness. Rowan's been using you to lure Henry out, and now he's attacking you directly.”

Fuck.

“Whatever happens, you stay in this room. I don't care what shit happens outside, Ivy.”

Matt's eyes are as red as Henry's and he isn't fucking around. The shouting and banging grow louder and it doesn't sound good. It sounds like fighting. It's vicious. It's brutal and getting closer, and Matt's preparing for it to reach our door.

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