“Chloe, honey.” Trent eased onto the bed and carefully wrapped an arm around me. “It’s going to be okay.”
I wanted nothing more than to curl up to his side, to rest my head on his chest and bask in the comfort he so willingly offered, but I couldn’t physically do that right now. So, I stayed still, fighting hard against the sobs that wanted to break free. For once, Trent was wrong. Nothing was okay.
“What about Felicity?” I asked, my throat raw.
Facing Rector and the entire Zoya Coven would be hard enough without some rogue witch wreaking havoc and trying to kill me.
“I have no idea why she’s back. She’s either trying to do something to win back Rector’s favor, or…” Isach sighed.
“Or she has nothing to do with Rector and the Zoya, and she’s here because of Dante,” Colt said.
“Or she’s completely lost her mind and is just harming people because she thinks it’s fun,” Isach said, shooting Colt a dirty look.
“Or maybe she’s working with Rector,” Whitney said, her tone icy. She sliced a look at me, then Trent before returning her attention to Isach. “Maybe he told her to follow you, to see what you’ve been up to. Or, maybe you’re working with both of them. For all we know, you’ve gotten close to us so you can spy for your father.”
“Whitney!” Trent snapped. “Knock it off.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “He”—she jabbed her finger in Isach’s direction—”has spent his life with Rector and the Zoya. They’ve trained him to hate you and your family, Trent. He tried to kill Chloe for God’s sake, and then he suddenly decides to help you save her. Why would he do that?”
My eyes darted to Abby, whose mouth was wide open, her face pale. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of what Isach had done.
“Go easy, Whitney,” I said, pleading with my eyes. She didn’t need to make Abby feel any worse about things, and I wasn’t thrilled with how she was accusing Isach of being a traitor.
“Seriously, Whitney. You don’t really believe Isach is playing all of us, do you?” Abby asked, her tone much calmer than I expected.
“I don’t know. It’s all very suspicious, don’t you think?” Whitney said, her tone just as cool as it had been before.
“That’s enough,” I said.
Granted, her arguments were logically sound, but my gut was telling me they weren’t true. Isach wasn’t a bad guy, not anymore, and I’d trust him with my life. I was trusting him with my life.
Besides, the Zoya hadn’t made a single move against me or Trent, which led me to believe they still had no idea I even existed. If anything, Colt’s theory made more sense than Isach betraying all of us.
“Look, I know what my father has done, but I’m not him. Don’t blame me for my father’s actions. I’ve never had a say in them,” Isach said vehemently. “Besides, if I was still loyal to my coven, I never would’ve helped Trent rescue Chloe from Ivy. I would’ve just found her on my own and killed her.”
My body tensed. There was something disturbing about how Isach talked about killing me as if it were no big deal. Then again, he had tried to do exactly that once before.
“And Felicity? You’re not working with her?” Trent asked, though his tone wasn’t anywhere near as accusatory as Whitney’s.
“No,” Isach said, giving a firm shake of his head. “But maybe we should consider it.”
“What?” I laughed incredulously, then cringed in pain. “You’re joking, right? You told us her magic is weakened, and that she’s crazy. Why would we want to work with her?”
Isach shrugged. “Because we’re going to need all the help we can get, and if she joins Ivy’s coven, her magic can be restored.”
“It’s not a bad idea.” Trent stroked my hair. “Revenge is a strong motivator. She might want to get even with Rector more than she wants to get back into his coven.”
“Absolutely not.” Whitney shook her head. “We can’t trust her. What if she agrees to help us and then decides to run back to Rector and tell him everything?”
“I’m with Whitney on this one,” Colt said. “Especially knowing Felicity’s been involved with Dante. Trying to work with her is just plain stupid.”
“So, what’re we going to do about her, then?” Trent asked.
Colt shrugged. “No idea, but as long as she’s lurking, it’s not safe here for me and Karina. We’re going to have to leave.” He frowned.
“No,” Trent said with a hard shake of his head. “You just came back. There’s no way you’re leaving again.”
“Yeah?” Colt raised a brow, his tone level, but there was a hint of something sinister. “Would you stick around if it were Chloe in danger?”
“I am in danger,” I said. Seemed like I was always in danger nowadays.
“You’re safer here. With us,” Trent said. “We can help protect you and Karina. There’s always strength in numbers.” His tone bordered on panic.
As jealous as I had been lately, I didn’t want Colt to leave. Losing him again would crush Trent, and I didn’t want that for him. I didn’t want it for Jax or Sean, either. And I liked Karina. She and I were building a solid friendship—I didn’t want to lose that.
“He’s right,” Whitney said softly. “At least stay until we figure out what’s going on with Felicity.”
“They’re right,” Karina said. “We should stay.” She placed her hand on Colt’s arm, and his posture relaxed. He gave a small nod.
I closed my eyes again, the pain in my temples increasing with every word they spoke. “My head is killing me. Can we please talk about this later?” I couldn’t think straight, and this wasn’t a conversation I could have right now.
“Oh, Chloe.” Aunt Beth rushed into the room, Uncle Dean on her heels. She stopped short of hugging me, though, thankfully. “How are you?”
“Sore and tired,” I said.
Trent moved from
