Bruja
First Published by Ink Monster, LLC in 2015
Ink Monster, LLC
34 Chandler Place
Newton, MA 02464
www.inkmonster.net
ISBN 9780990635215
Copyright © 2015 by Ink Monster LLC
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Also by Aileen Erin
The Alpha Girl Series
Becoming Alpha
Avoiding Alpha
Alpha Divided
Bruja
The Shadow Ravens Series
Cipher
For Annabelle Sunshine Latcham.
Mama misses you every day.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter One
“Cloud. Wake up!”
My brother’s voice called from beyond the haze, yanking me from my dreams.
“Cloud! You’re having a nightmare. Wake up. Now.” He shook my shoulder.
A sharp inhale rang out. I didn’t realize it was me until a second gasp wracked my chest. This has to stop. I swallowed down the fear and panic that were drowning me.
“Claudia?” He finally used my real name, worry thick in his voice.
I blinked as the dream faded and reality set in. “I’m fine.” I didn’t dare tell him that my body felt like lead, and I was more than a little nauseated. I swallowed and took a deep, steadying breath. It was dark and the floor was cold under my feet. “Where am I?”
“The hallway. I was up reading and heard you crying.”
I wiped my face and felt the tears wetting my cheeks. I’d been crying?
“Come on. This way.”
He turned me around, and I followed clumsily. My body wasn’t reacting right.
Luciana. Just thinking her name caused goose bumps to break out over my skin. The oath I’d taken still bound us together. The other members of the coven had each taken one too, but Luciana had threatened my family—my mother—until I agreed to a more invasive one. It allowed her to draw on my ability to strengthen others’ magic. Any time she wanted, she could suck me dry for a power boost. Even though I’d left, the oath was still there, and I had to focus—and be awake—in order to stop her from using it.
I stumbled into my temporary room—one of the guest rooms reserved for visiting wolves on the floor above St. Ailbe’s infirmary. My vision blurred as I tried to imagine what Luciana had been doing with my power just then. How tainted was my soul now?
I sank down on my bed before I could faint. Since I left the coven three days ago, Luciana took control of me every time I fell asleep. She no longer cared about getting my consent before using me for her black magic—not that I’d given much consent to begin with. But now…