Page 65 of Waltzing With Witches

The wall shivers under my touch.

“I’m serious,” I snap. “I managed to shove my thirst down for a long time. But if we open those floodgates…” I glance around the room. “It’s been a long time for me, Ben. Please.”

The door swings open and shut once: a yes.

“Thank you,” I murmur. “I’m counting on you to have her best interests at heart.”

Ben doesn’t answer, but I feel a little more confident that he can control me.

I wish I had that much confidence in myself.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MORGAN

“Wait a second,” Thea says. “He’s dying?!”

I wipe a rag over one of the chairs in the town hall auditorium. I’m determined to get this place cleaned up. “Apparently.” I keep moving along the row of chairs. Wren and Lou are seated in the front row, watching me in silence.

Thea sputters and sinks down into the chair next to Wren. “Okay, but…shit. I don’t know what to say about this.” She glances at Wren, her face a mask of distress.

Lou clears her throat, lifting her eyes to mine. “This is all very interesting.”

“Interesting?” Wren turns in her seat and glares at Lou. “Nothing is interesting about Morgan’s soulmate being sick.”

Lou shakes her head, looking bashful. “Of course not. You three have been through so much. This is a terrible blow. I mean if it should have killed him long ago, then Moira must be right—his bond to Morgan is sustaining him somehow. Who’s to say that couldn’t go on for a really long time?”

I fall into a seat in the row behind the girls, my energy for cleaning zapped.

A knocking sound behind us has me whipping around.

A beautiful centaur woman stands in the doorway, her palm pressed flat to the wood. She beams at us. “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you ladies, but the Keeper told me I could find you here. I wanted to introduce myself; I’m Hana.”

Hana. Hana. Why does that sound familiar?

“Oh! The other Keeper’s mate, right?” I stand and exit the row of chairs, walking up the middle toward her. My sisters and Lou follow.

Hana clip-clops toward us, reaching out a hand once we’re close. Black lips part into a stunning smile as she takes my hand and shakes it vigorously.

“That’s right! You must be Morgan.” Green eyes flick over my shoulder. “Thea, Wren, and possibly Lou, your aunt?”

“You’re good,” Thea says.

Hana laughs, the sound echoing around the room. “Since you’re all registered with the Hearth, it was easy to do a little research before we arrived.” Her smile falls a little. “I know the circumstances for Arkan and me coming here are awkward at best, so I thought it might be nice to know a little about you to show you how much he and I care for Ever.”

“How does that work, exactly?” Wren lifts her coffee to her lips and takes a soft sip. “You just got here.”

“The protective bond between a Keeper and their haven, even just temporary, slips into place the moment a keeping contract is signed,” Lou states.

Wren, Thea, and I turn as one to look at her.

She chuckles. “I lived in Rainbow for a while, remember? The Keeper there taught me a lot about the haven system. He was very cool.”

“Ah, yes,” Hana laughs. “He is most unusual. Although I think Arkan takes after him a bit. They’re perhaps a little more cheerful than your average Keeper. I’ve often wondered if they started changing the training a little after—” She pauses, green eyes moving back to me.

“After my Keeper?” The question slips out of me in a whisper.

She nods. “We all knew the circumstances around him becoming a Keeper weren’t good. The transition was hard for him. It’s been hard for others too.” She gives me a look. “Most of the newer Keepers since yours seem to have retained a little more of their original personality.”

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