When my fingers brush against something coarse around her wrists, I pause. It’s a rope and it’s binding her hands together. As if things could get any worse, they have her tied up here like a wild animal.
With shaky hands, I try to get her attention again. “Haven… Haven, please. Wake up. Please.”
She moves slightly in my arms but doesn’t respond.
“Haven… It’s me. Avrum. You’re safe now. I’m here.”
Her eyes flutter open, and she stares up at me blankly, her gaze struggling to focus on my face.
“W-Who did this to you?” I ask.
I have to get her away from here and cared for. I need to tell Henri what’s happened.
Footsteps vibrate the floor underneath me, telling me someone is about to enter the room. I pray it’s Henri.
To my relief, when the door opens he’s the one who steps through, fiddling with the cuff of his ivory-bib shirt. His coal-black hair is slicked back from his face, curling up at the end, and he strolls across the room. When spots me, a smile breaks across his face.
“My dear boy!” he says, with his arms out like he’s about to embrace me. “You’ve come to me.”
I glance at Haven, who’s still barely conscious in my arms. He’s obviously seen her, so where’s the outrage? The questions?
“My-My lord, I—”
He turns to the standup mirror beside his study’s door. His reflection watches me with careful eyes as he fixes his other cuff. “I didn’t want to have to wake you, Avrum, but this news couldn’t wait.”
I’m stunned silent by his lack of reaction. I can’t wrap my head around what’s happening. He’s standing there, looking me in the eye, and blatantly ignoring Haven’s sickly state right in front of him.
“I have thought a lot about all you have done for me,” Henri says as he does up the buttons up his shirt. “And I am eternally grateful. You are truly a friend in my eyes.”
“My lord…” My mouth is drier than the desert. “Have—”
“I wanted to find some way to thank you,” he goes on. “And so, I’m making you my second-in-command.”
The words float in the space between us, not fully reaching me or sinking in. In another circumstance, I would’ve been thrilled. Honored. Thankful beyond belief. Being second to the lord means I’d have authority over everyone in the coven, power Henri had never given out before. But I don’t know how to respond.
In my silence, Henri’s eyes narrow. “You don’t seem too pleased about this.”
“No, no, my lord, forgive me. I’m very thankful, but—”
“What is the problem then?” His voice gains volume, anger flashing across his face. “And stand up, will you? You know better than to address me this way.”
Peering down at Haven’s pale face, I frown. Gently, I lay her against the wall, like I’d found her, and stand on wobbly legs. My mind is a torrent of conflict and confusion.
“Do you not accept my offer?” Henri asks.
“I apologize, my lord,” I start. “I accept, of course, and would be honored, but…”
“Good,” Henri snaps, cutting me short. Walking over to the door, he knocks on it twice, waits for it to open, and for Keagan and Cornelius to come inside before he continues, “As my second, I will be expecting only more from you. This is not a position I give lightly. I’ve been running this coven for decades by myself for a reason. I hope you won’t prove this decision a mistake and disappoint me.”
“Of… course…”
Cornelius and Keagan shove past me. With a pleased gleam in his eyes, Keagan smiles at me as they move to the other side of the bed where Haven lies.
My stomach twists into knots.
Henri moves back to the mirror. Bored. “Many might try to test your loyalty, but I don’t think I will have to worry about you wandering from me.” His reflection’s stare bores into mine, testing me. “Right, Avrum?”
I swallow roughly, the reality of what is actually going on here finally sinking in. I couldn’t deny it any longer. Henri had been the one to do this to Haven. He must have. Her burning hatred for him and her need to run away all make sense now. And he’s challenging me and where I stand with it. He wants to know if I’ll fall in line, like Keagan and Cornelius.
