Page 58 of His to Haunt

But, this is the only way it makes sense—no, I need out. Out of here.

Eyes open, I shoot up in bed. The candle is still burning, and Zand is asleep beside me.

I climb from the bed, finding my clothes. I must leave this place while I can.

I barely remember walking back. When I close the door, locking it, I think of Zand. I feel a tug toward him, a connection as if in the physical distance between us, I’m missing something.What have you done to me?

The same as you’ve done to me, Leena. Come back.

Bound

Leena

Who was the woman in the dream, Zand?

Z: My sister.

No, I am not hearing your voice in my head. Not possible.

Z: But it is, Leena. I know you have more questions.

Where is that place where my sister was hurting?

Z: We call it the Lodge. It belongs to the coven.

Is she alive?

Z: Not technically, no. The sister you knew is gone.

How is this possible? How can I hear your voice in my mind?

Z: I have created a bond between us.

Why did you kill your father?

Z: Oh, he isn’t quite dead. But dead enough. Turns out the old local legends about a phantom of Moonvine have come true. My father’s spirit lingers.

Zand, my sister said she tried to…connect the spirit to the body…that the body—no, forget it! It’s madness.

I open my eyes, shooting up in a bed that is not mine. Oh, God, I’m still here with Zand. He is on his side, looking at me.

“But I left!”

He smiles softly. “Only in your mind. Yes, Leena, your sister tried and failed. It is heresy. The coven would not allow it. The coven seeks to raise the ancient elder from slumber. The Prophesy of the Nine must be adhered to.?

“Three to rule a coven. Six to make it. Eight to keep a coven. Nine to break it,” I mutter, repeating the words from my nightmare.

He nods at me. “You see, a coven is beholden to two leaders. The old leader, the one in the ground, which represents tradition, and the new leader, the one above ground—modern and therefore progressive. There is always debate over the old and new ways. So, it will ever be.?

“What does this have to do with Rachel?”

“To awaken a 9th member of a coven is a serious matter and could lead to war. But sometimes, it is necessary. My father, Diavol, had to be destroyed, leaving space for an ancient elder to rise. But the ancient needs the right kind of blood: RH-N. This is what we have been searching for. In the case of Rachel… she defied us by trying to reincarnate Diavol.”

I sit up in the bed, groggy and dizzy, as I pull the blanket up over my naked body.

“I think I’m going to puke.”

Instantly Zand is gone and back with a glass of red fluid in his hand. He is stark naked and…a perfect male specimen.

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