Chapter 49:
Damian’s POV
The house was too quiet.
That was the first thing I noticed when I stepped inside. The usual low hum of movement, footsteps in the halls, murmured voices, the crackle of fire from the main hearth, was gone. Silence stretched through the air, thick and expectant.
I frowned, shutting the door behind me. My instincts prickled immediately. Silence in a packhouse was never good. It meant something had either gone wrong… or someone was up to something.
“Ivy?” I called, my voice echoing faintly through the entryway.
No answer.
I set down the folder I’d been carrying and started down the corridor, boots clicking against the floorboards. The scent of tea drifted faintly through the air, lavender and some kind of spice. Not hers. Someone else’s. I followed it, brow fu
