She envisioned a quiet search for the bones. A silent rebellion that would be over as quickly as it began, and then I could come home after claiming what was mine.
She’d loved my father, even if he never cared for her.
I rested my head against the back of the tub, my hands playing with the surface of the water softly. Bubbles ran over my skin, the tingling, popping feeling of them nearly enough to distract me from the feeling of someone watching me as my eyes drifted closed.
My gaze darted open immediately, and I sat up straight in the tub. There was no sign of anyone in the bath with me, and I swallowed as I sank lower into the water once more.
Willloooowwwwwww.
I sat up straight all over again, water sloshing as I grabbed the edge of the tub. Branches scraped against the window outside, startling me as I spun to glance at it. Silence reigned, claiming the bathroom as I held perfectly still.
Willllooowwwwww.
I swallowed, raising a hand to clutch at my mother’s amulet. The voice continued, a slow, drawn-out murmur that barely resonated with words. There was something serpentine about it, something slow and slithering as it sank inside me. It started at my toes, tingling over me like a lover’s caress.
I reached into the water with my free hand, panicking as I felt my legs and tried to find the source of the touch. But I was alone, the tub empty save for my body and the bubbles on the surface.
Come to me, witchhhhh.
I pinched my eyes closed, leaning back against the tub as the force of that voice hit my belly. It crawled over me, and I could have sworn if I’d allowed my eyes to open, I’d stare into the face of a monster.
My other hand covered my amulet, focusing my will on the crystal that protected me from compulsion. That protected me from the call of whatever creature tried to summon me from my bath.
“It’s not real,” I said, trying to reassure myself as I clutched that amulet.
The voice stopped, giving me a reprieve of silence. I waited several moments for it to return, for it to sink into my head all over again.
Nothing came.
I opened one eye slowly, peering out cautiously. The bathroom remained empty, and my lungs heaved with relief as my other eye opened. I sat in the stillness of the bath, wondering if I’d imagined the entire thing. If my exhaustion had taken a new life or if it was just the school itself.
If the ghosts of Hollow’s Grove had come to take me to the grave.
I swallowed, gathering my bar of soap into my hands and working it into a lather. I whispered words in Latin, warming the lavender within the bar to help soothe the chill that had covered my skin in goosebumps in spite of the hot water.
The door to the bathroom burst open, Gray’s frantic face filling my vision as I shrieked. I plunged myself beneath the surface of the water, keeping only my head above it.
“What is wrong with you?!”
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his relieved sigh making my fingers twitch.
“I’m just sore from earlier,” I said, my brow furrowing. I didn’t want to think about what had sent him rushing into my room at this time of night. “What’s wrong?”
“Get out,” he said, grabbing the towel off the rack beside the tub. He dropped it onto the sink vanity, reached into the tub, and grabbed me beneath my arms when I didn’t move quickly enough.
“Gray!” I protested, smacking his hands away when he set me on my feet on the floor. He paused, glancing down my body and taking in what he hadn’t seen. He’d seen it in bits and pieces, particularly the prime real estate, but I refused to cower or hide as his gaze swept over my body.
“Fuck,” he grunted, shaking his head and reaching for the towel as he gave me one for my hair.
I worked to dry the length of it, shaking it and wincing at the mess it would be the next day with such harsh treatment.
He ran the towel over my shoulders with rushed strokes, dragging it lower over the rest of my body as I tried not to focus on the fact that I was naked with him.
Naked, and we weren’t…
I swallowed. “What’s going on?”
“There’s been another murder,” Gray answered, catching my gaze as the towel froze on my skin. My heart throbbed, pulsing in my chest as I thought about the voice I’d heard.
Calling to me.
“Gray,” I whispered, catching his arm as he turned away. My mouth dropped open silently, the words getting caught in my throat. I couldn’t risk telling him about the voice. What if it had something to do with my bloodline?
He pulled away when I said nothing more, heading for the door to my bedroom. I wrapped the towel around my body and followed, tugging on the pajama shorts and t-shirt that he set out for me.