Page 59 of House of Royals

I’m shaking and trembling. I can hear Micah upstairs throwing a tantrum. Crashing sounds, hissing roars of frustration. Jasmine speaks quietly to Markov, but I can’t hear anything anymore.

“Let’s go.” Elle grabs my wrist and starts leading me off the veranda. I stumble along after her numbly. Through the trees and the swamp, back toward her car.

Ian just went and ruined everything.

THE ENTIRE DRIVE HOME, ELLE tries to call Ian. He doesn’t answer her calls. He doesn’t answer mine. So we head straight back to the Ward property.

And we both sigh a big breath of relief when we find Ian’s van parked next to the cabin. We pile out of the car and barge through the front door.

Ian looks up at us from a duffle bag he’s packing. For a moment, he seems surprised to see us together. But then his eyes are cold and hard.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I blurt. I take five aggressive steps to close the distance between us and shove him in the chest. Hard.

He stumbles back two steps and clenches his teeth, his lips pursed. His fingers ball into fists, his nostrils flare as he lets out a hard breath. For a second, I think he’s going to hit me.

“We saw you tonight. Your sister, whoyou’resupposed to be protecting,” I poke him in the chest, “and I, we, followed you to the House tonight. We saw you acting like an idiot. We saw Micah attack you.” My voice cracks. Suddenly, tears have welled up in my eyes and my throat feels tight. And that makes me angry.

I don’t want to care this much.

I don’t want to be this scared for someone else.

“You can’t do stuff like that, Ian,” Elle says quietly. I look over at her. There are no tears in her eyes, but she’s pale and scared. “They hate you already. Don’t give them a reason to kill you.”

“I can’t just sit by and do nothing,” Ian hisses. His fingers flex and clench harder. “You know who got attacked last night? The mayor’s wife. That’s right, Dotty Jackson was attacked. Her husband called 911 because she was lying there like she was in a coma. And just as we got there, she woke up, bit her husband, and took off. I couldn’t catch her. And now she’s out there in Silent Bend, rabid and wild and out of control, with a Debt to a faceless enemy. Someone is trying to take our town down. And I’m not going to just sit by and let this happen. If the House isn’t going to do anything about it, then I will.”

He opens a cupboard, grabs a shotgun, and throws it into his bag.

“But you can’t go running around pissing Jasmine and the House off,” I say, my fire dimming, being smothered out by my fear. “Especially Micah. He will do anything for Jasmine. And Markov is just plain psychotic. He’ll kill you for fun and do it with a smile on his face.”

“Ian, please listen to her,” Elle whispers.

He stalks across the room and pulls the cushions off the couch to retrieve a huge handful of stakes.

“I’m going to find this terrorist, and I’m going to stop them.” Ian zips up the bag and slings it over his shoulder. He shoves his way between Elle and I and opens the door.

“Ian, please.” I grab his wrist and make him stop.

He hesitates. His eyes shift to me, and for just a moment, they soften. For just a second, I think I’ve convinced him to stay. To not go run out into the night with a death wish.

He leans down, presses a soft, lingering kiss to my lips. And then he walks out the door.

“Ian!” I yell frantically. But he doesn’t turn back.

Elle and I watch him back down the driveway. He doesn’t look at either of us.

“You know there’s no stopping him, right?” Elle says softly. She reaches out and takes my hand.

“I know.” Because I do.

ELLE DRIVES ME HOME, AND it’s nearly eleven by the time I walk through the front doors. I would have asked her to stay with me tonight, to try and protect her. But she has Lula, and since Ian is out trying to get himself killed, it’s now up to Elle to protect her. And there’s no way I could have convinced Lula to come to my house.

I don’t know what to do. I want to ask Rath for help, but once Ian sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him. Rath couldn’t force Ian to go into hiding. That’s just not Ian.

I want to go to Jasmine, beg for her not to hurt Ian. To tell Micah to let it go. But I can’t do that. I can’t protect Ian. I can’t protect this town.

To combat the feeling of helplessness, I sit on the front porch with a crossbow. I’ve got a box full of arrows. And a glass of sweet tea on the other side of me. It’s freezing out here. My toes are numb and my fingers are stiff.

Knowing what Ian is out doing, the night feels dark and dense. It feels like it hides things. Demons lurk in the shadows, stare at me with hidden eyes. It’s a night that feels like anything terrible and horrifying could happen.

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