Page 179 of The Harbinger

“That’d be perfect. Thank you.”

Catherine pulled out a cup from the cupboard.

“You speak English very well, as does Katya. Did you learn in school?”

“No.” She turned from the counter and faced me. “My mother was Australian and fell in love with a Russian man. Then they had me. She insisted I learned both.”

“And Katya.”

“Much the same,” she snipped. “Why don’t you go upstairs, and I’ll bring it to you.”

I smiled and shook my head. “You don’t have to do that. I’ve been cooped up all day. It’s nice to be out.”

This time, she shook her head with a deep furrow between her brows. “If he were to come home and see that I’ve allowed you to sit here with me…” Her voice trailed off, leaving an unspoken threat hanging in the air.

“I understand.” I nodded, the weight of her words settling in my stomach like a cold stone.

I forced a smile as I exited the kitchen, my eyes darting to the front door with a desperate hope in my chest.Where was he?

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on my door. Catherine entered, carrying a tray of steaming tea. She placed it on the side table beside me, the tinkling porcelain filling the silence. “There you are.”

“Thank you.” I spoke in a hushed tone, the tension between us like a taut wire ready to snap.

Catherine walked out the door without another word as I grabbed the teakettle.

The amber liquid poured into the porcelain cup like a slow-moving river, steaming clouds of vapor rising from its depths and filling the air with a warm, musky aroma—a scent more potent and alluring cut through the air like a knife, slicing the comforting thought of tea in two.

“God. That smells horrible.”

I brought the tea to my lips, but the whiff of it caused me to grimace and my body to shake with shivers.

Thunk

My gaze shot towards the bathroom.

What was that?

My tea sloshed over the rim as I rushed to put it down, then clamored to my feet and ran to the closet.

My feet nearly skid out from beneath me as I turned the corner, then darted straight to the back where I’d heard the sounds weeks ago.

Whatever it was, it wouldn’t get away. I worked recklessly, pulling off the clothes from their hangers one by one until it exposed the back wall.

Nothing.

There was nothing there but a plain yellow wall to match all the others. I slumped to my hands and knees, my heart pumping adrenaline to every nook and cranny of my body.

There has to be something here.

I looked from one section to the next, scanning for any indication of a secret mechanism, my hands skimming over the surface of the wall. I pushed and prodded each inch, but no matter how hard I tried, the walls remained solid, refusing to give up their secrets.

My jaw clenched as I wiped the sweat from my forehead, the frustration mounting with each fruitless attempt. I had come up empty-handed once again. I sat back on my haunches, my mind racing with unanswered possibilities when my bedroom door opened. A slight breeze hit my face as the bedroom door clicked shut, its source emanating from the wall.

“Mia?”

Sacha’s voice echoed through the darkness like a bolt of lightning, jolting me out of my stupor. My stomach lurched as I leaned forward, my fingers probing the minuscule crevice in the wall that had somehow gone unnoticed.

“I’m in here.”

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