“I’m not sure. What do you say to your mother after she tries to sacrifice you?”

“Good point.”

The cottage is basically in the middle of nowhere. It’s a bumpy ride as the Jeep handles the gravel driveway. It’s desolate, and it’s honestly a great place to hide. I have no idea why she hired Ryan to be her realtor. Not that she took much of an interest in my life, or that we spoke often, she at least had to be privy to the fact that we were dating.

This driveway has to be at least three miles long before we reach the cottage. It looks unkempt and decrepit. If you walked past it or stumbled upon it during a hike, you would think no one lives here. Her car isn’t out front and since it’s daytime, I can’t tell if there are any lights on in the house.

I sigh as I park the car, and both Stevie and I get out.

“Do you sense anything?” she asks and I shake my head. I would have assumed she would have put wards up around the home. At least something.

We walk up the porch of the cottage, curving my hands to look in the windows and not seeing anything. The plank porch creaks as I reach the front door.

Chancing my luck, I turn the knob and see if it’s locked. It’s not, the cool metal of the gold feels daunting on my palm as I turn it. The door creaks eerily as I open it all the way. The inside is completely polished, looking nothing like the exterior. It’s simple and not high end, but it’s clean and modern enough.

The foyer is small. There are rain boots and a single jacket hanging on the hook. Straight ahead is an open concept living room, dining room, kitchen combo. There’s a TV on mute with the captions playing and a small purple couch in the living room. The dining room space has nothing and the plain wooden kitchen is spotless.

There are three doors to the back of the cabin. I would imagine two bedrooms and a bathroom.

“Let’s stick together,” Stevie says, grabbing my wrist. I don’t want to sound like a scared little bitch right now, but something feels off. Ominous, almost. My mother might be a raging bitch, but she’s the High Priestess. Seemingly the most powerful in the coven. She wouldn’t leave her home open like this. She would have at least had wards up. At a bare minimum, the door would have been locked. Josie is a lot of things and paranoid sits pretty high on the list.

A low thump makes both Stevie and I jump. We hear it again. Thump. Thump. Thump. The noise is rhythmic and almost like someone is knocking on a door.