“Everything all right?” Trent asked.
“Yeah.” I smiled at him. “Everything’s great.”
I was going to have to thank him later, and I was going to have to tell Abby even more stuff—I had no idea how she wasn’t completely overwhelmed yet.
“I can give you something that will help you heal faster,” Isach said. “If you want.”
I raised a brow, surprised by his offer. “Really? That would be great. I do not want to be forced to rest for six weeks. I have too much to do.”
“I’ll get it for you once you’re home.” Isach smiled, but it was forced. A war waged behind his green eyes.
“Guess there are some benefits to having a witchy best friend,” Colt said.
I glared at him, and he grinned in response. It was no secret that vampires and witches didn’t exactly get along, but Colt’s sarcastic comments were uncalled for.
“Let’s get back on topic.” Whitney’s tone was fierce, and she crossed her arms. “Felicity. She’s a rogue witch. From what coven? And why is she after Chloe?” Whitney wasn’t wasting any time.
Isach dragged his hand through his hair again. “My coven.”
I closed my eyes, willing the sudden and thick nausea to stay away.
“She’s a rogue Zoya?” Trent asked, and the calmness that had been in his tone disappeared, replaced with pure fear.
“Yes.” Isach nodded. “She used to be a very high-ranking witch, but she started to question certain things, and she caused a divide within the coven. Rector wouldn’t allow that, so he cast her out for betraying him.”
“She’s also the same witch that Dante was messing around with,” Colt said. He crossed his arms, his gaze severe. “I have no idea why or what they were doing, but it can’t be a coincidence she’s here now.”
Trent muttered a string of curses. “So, if she’s here, then Dante probably isn’t too far behind.”
“Probably not,” Colt said.
My gaze lingered on Karina, who was as white as the hospital sheet draped across my legs. “You said there was no way for Dante to trace you to the Halsteads,” I said to Colt.
“I didn’t think he could, but if he’s working with a rogue witch…” Colt shrugged.
“Not just any rogue witch. A Zoya. And I’m pretty sure Rector was having an affair with her, too.” Isach paced at the foot of the bed. “For a while after she was cast out, she just disappeared. At least, that’s what the coven had been told. Personally, I think Rector was watching her, but who knows.”
Something nagged at the back of my mind, a thought I couldn’t quite grasp, but it swirled around, just out of reach. I sighed with frustration, and Trent was immediately on the edge of the bed again.
“Everything okay?” Trent asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded at Isach to continue.
Isach took a deep breath. “A little over ten years ago, she suddenly resurfaced and begged to return to the coven. She was refused, and then she swore she’d find a way back in, that she’d prove her allegiance to Rector.”
All at once, the pieces clicked into place. Isach said witches aged very slowly and could live for a few hundred years. How old was Isach? I’d never once thought to ask him. Had he told Abby? Then, another thought slammed into me with all the weight of a freight train.
“Is Rector still alive?” I asked.
Everything and everyone in the room seemed to stop, and time stood still for several moments. No one spoke, and my heart raced, the sound of the monitor rising with each erratic beat.
“Is he?” I demanded.
“He’s my father,” Isach said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Sins of the Father
“YOUR FATHER?” I SHOUTED, WHICH CAUSED another stab of pain. I cringed and shifted ever so slightly, just enough to ease the throbbing. “Did you know about this?” I asked Trent.
He averted his gaze and dragged his hand through his hair. “Yes,” he finally said.
My jaw dropped. “How could you not tell me?” I whispered, horrified. I knew Isach was a Zoya, but I never once realized he was Rector’s son. That changed everything!
“This is why you never trust a witch,” Colt said, shaking his head with disgust.
“Shut up, Colt,” I snapped, then turned my attention back to Trent and Isach. “Well? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Does it matter?” Trent asked. “It doesn’t change anything.”
“He’s right,” Isach said, standing near the window, arms crossed. “I still want out of my coven, and I have no intention of going back on any of the promises I’ve made. To any of you.” He pinned Abby with a desperate stare, and she gave him a small smile in return.
Sweat beaded on my brow, and the room began to spin. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. How could they act like this wasn’t a big deal? If Rector was so unforgiving and cruel to a high-ranking witch in his coven, what would he do to his own son?
Worry wiggled its way through my veins. Everything Isach had been doing was risky before, but now, it was suicide.
“We stick to the plan,” Isach said, his voice unnaturally calm. “You and Trent get married, have a baby, and then you break the curse. With the Rose Coven’s help, we can stop the Zoya once and for all.”
I’d been scared to death when I thought we had to face the Zoya Coven, but now that I knew we had to face Rector, too? Even if the curse was broken and Rector was weakened, he had centuries of magic at his disposal. He’d invoked the magic and anger of his ancestors once before. What would stop him from doing so again?
And Trent and I were planning to have a baby? He’d been right—it was selfish and dangerous to bring an innocent child into the middle of this. What had I been thinking? I pressed the heels of my hands against my
