Page 115 of The Harbinger

I nestled deeper into his embrace, drawing comfort from the warmth of his body against mine.

“Mia, come to me.” The deep masculine voice sent a ripple of dread through my body as it seeped through the closed bedroom door, causing my languid muscles to tighten and my bones to shift.

Drip. Drip

“Mia.”

Heat licked up my spine as I glanced over my shoulder. Sacha lay on the pillow with his eyes closed, his bare chest rising and falling with heavy, deep breaths.

A sense of unease settled in the pit of my stomach, twisting and churning like a living thing. My skin prickled with goosebumps, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

“I’m waiting.”

My heart pounded as I snapped my head back to the hall just beyond the door, searching for any sign of movement.

Drip. Drip.

I turned in Sacha’s arms and gripped his shoulder, shaking him. “Sasha, wake up. Someone’s out there.” He remained motionless, his eyes closed, his chest steady. “Sacha.” I shook him again.

“Mia.”

The door cracked open with a sinister rasp, and I froze, rooted to my space in the bed. My breath caught in my throat, my pulse thumping in my eardrums as the door opened, revealing only darkness that stretched on forever.

Cover yourself. Hide under the covers. But my hands remained on his shoulder, my fingertips digging into his flesh, and a trail of blood dribbled down, soaking into the bandage on his chest.

My gut lurched, and I yanked my hand away from him, my nails crimson.

Drip. Drip.

I jerked my gaze back to the door as an inky shadow rushed down the hall. The blackened sheer material tangled around the shadow like a macabre shroud.

Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I stood, my toes curling from the chilled marbled floors, then walked through the door.

“Mia.”

The door behind me slammed shut, and I jumped, my hand clutching my nightgown at my chest, then twirled around, searching for the ominous figure.

“Hello? Who’s there?”

My feet slapped against the marble, the sound reverberating through the hallway like a drumbeat, my pulse ebbing and flowing with each step, like the tide of some unseen ocean.

The hall stretched out before me with a labyrinth of darkened corners and empty rooms. Shadows danced on the walls, twisting and turning like malevolent spirits as I gripped the banister, and took my first step down the stairs.

Buzz.

A fly darted towards my face, its wings beating with furious energy as it buzzed around me. Its body was black as night, a tiny harbinger of darkness and decay. I swiped at the incessant little insect, my head jerking back and forth as I evaded its relentless assault. And with a lucky swipe, I knocked it from the air with the back of my hand.

Drip. Drip.

“Mia.”

A cloud of vapor billowed from my lips, forming an ominous translucent white pillow before me. I took a few more steps, my hands rubbing up and down my arms as the chill in the air tightened my skin and created violent shakes down my legs.

The sheer nightgown clung to my body, molding to every curve as if it was custom-made just for me. But it did nothing to abate the frost biting at my lips.

A bolt of lightning cracked through the cathedral window, illuminating the space in a blinding flash. The shadows of the banister loomed behind me, stretching like ghostly fingers along the wall down below.

How long would the storm rage on?

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