We were so close to catching Mona alone, we couldn’t afford to be noticed by the maid now.

“You’re right,” I muttered, shifting on my feet for what felt like the hundredth time.

I bent down and looked through the keyhole.

The room was dark now.

Night had fallen.

I straightened again, praying that Mona wouldn’t be gone much longer.

“I wonder who that warlock is… Coen,” I said.

Erik didn’t respond.

I reached out and touched his shoulder.

“I’m sorry about your brother.” He gulped.

“Yeah… We just have to get him back.” As I withdrew my hand, I realized that I could see it.

I pushed aside the gowns covering Erik.

I could see his tense face too, his chestnut-brown eyes wide.

“The spell is gone!” I gasped.

He grimaced.

“We’re lucky we got inside this closet first.” “Do you… do you think this means something has happened to Patricia?” “I don’t know.” Come on, Mona.

Hurry up.

I looked through the keyhole once again as though doing so would somehow hasten her return.

The room was still empty.

We stood in silence for the next hour, and I tried to stop looking through the keyhole.

It was only making the wait worse.

When the front door finally clicked open, both Erik and I let out a deep sigh of relief.

I bent down to look through the keyhole while Erik remained standing and pressed his ear against the door.

Warm lights flickered on in the bedroom as Mona walked in, followed by Coen, who was holding her hand.

Judging by the way they were staggering slightly, they’d both had a little too much to drink.

“Well, Coen,” she said.

“Thanks for this evening.” He raised her hand to his lips and placed a kiss over it.

“Any time,” he murmured.

They remained standing, just staring at each other for several moments before Coen reached out slowly and slid his hands around Mona’s waist.

He drew himself closer to her and began placing kisses on her skin, working his way from the base of her throat up toward her cheeks.

I was glad Erik wasn’t watching this—it would have only made him feel worse about his brother.

While Mona didn’t seem to be returning Coen’s affections, she wasn’t resisting them either.

It was only when his lips neared her mouth that she detached his hands from her and took a step back.

Her eyes downcast, she shook her head.

“I… I can’t.” “I’m sorry.” Coen backed away apologetically.

“I understand.

I’m not sure what I was thinking.

I-I’ll leave.” She gave him a faint smile.

“That’s all right.

Good night, Coen.” “Good night.” As he vanished from the room, Mona heaved a sigh.

Removing her earrings, she placed them inside a box on her dressing table and headed straight for the bathroom.

Water gushed as she took a shower.

“As soon as she comes out, we’ll step out.” Barely had I finished my sentence when the maid walked into the bedroom with a tray containing an ornate silver jug and a matching goblet.

She placed it on Mona’s bedside table before proceeding to straighten the bedsheets.

Damn maid.

When Mona finally stepped out of the bathroom wearing a nightgown, her hair wrapped up in a turban, the maid was still fussing about in the bedroom.

My heart hammered each time the maid looked in our direction.

I was terrified that she might come over to the closet.

Finally, the maid dimmed the lights as Mona slipped into bed and nestled her head against the silk pillows.

“Mona’s in bed,” I breathed to Erik.

“The maid can’t hang around much longer…” But I was wrong.

Bizarrely, as Mona settled into slumber, the maid pulled up a chair in a shadowy corner of the room, directly opposite the closet we were standing in, yet hidden from Mona’s bed.

“What is she doing?” I whispered.

I thought perhaps the maid had made it a habit to sleep in here with Mona, but she was showing no signs of drifting off.

She sat bolt upright in the chair and her eyes were open—seemingly fixed on the dressing table at the foot of Mona’s queen-sized bed.

“Maybe we should just risk stepping out.” “No,” Erik said.

“We’ve waited this long to get Mona alone.

For all we know, the moment that maid lays eyes on us she could vanish us away, just as they did to my brother.” I supposed he was right, though I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay in this closet before my patience was entirely spent.

The maid was still staring at the dressing table.

I wasn’t sure what she found so interesting about it.

Perhaps it was just a comfortable place to rest her eyes on.

It was only once Mona’s breathing became heavier that I realized.

A pale smoke-like substance billowed out from the small jewelry box resting in front of the mirror, and as it rose higher toward the ceiling, to my horror, the smoke began to take shape—the shape of the most ghastly creature I’d ever seen in my life.

It was a ghostly form with long, skeletal limbs, sharp teeth and pointed black nails.

Its glowing amber eyes sent shivers down my spine.

This must be the ghoul.

I had to stifle a scream as it hovered over Mona’s bed and reached down toward her head.