Trial by Fire

Lily watched as Rowan smiled sweetly at the girl, tucked the bottle under his arm to free up a hand, and pried her off of him. Lily turned to Tristan, an eyebrow cocked. “Seriously?” she asked.

“It gets worse,” Tristan said, leaning back. “She was just a crucible. She’s got no shot. Wait till a witch finds out he’s here.”

Lily tamped down a surge of jealousy while she watched Rowan run a gauntlet of girls who all reached out to touch him, trying to catch his attention or just feel him up for all Lily could tell. “But why? He’s good-looking, but so are you.”

“Because he’s special. Gifted. He could take even an average witch and make her very powerful.” Tristan smiled at her. “And thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Lily said, and flashed a smile back at him.

Rowan finally made it to the booth and sat down. “Moonshine?” he asked looking between Lily and Tristan. He didn’t wait for a response before starting to pour.

A bare leg and a whirl of gauzy material flashed over Rowan as a woman took a seat astride him. She was in her mid twenties, beautiful, and she had long, light brown hair. Lily hated her instantly. Rowan didn’t seem too surprised to have a witch in his lap, and Lily supposed sitting on a guy was the way witches shook hands at a bonfire.

“Hello, dearest. Come to let me claim you?” the woman asked.

“Hello, Nina,” Rowan replied pleasantly.

Without any more chat, Nina leaned forward and kissed him. Lily felt Tristan take her hand under the table, stopping her, and realized that she’d leaned forward to stand up. She wanted to launch herself across the table at both of them, but then she noticed that Rowan wasn’t returning the kiss. He was simply tolerating the witch, like he didn’t have a choice. Nina tightened her thighs on his hips and ran her right hand up his chest, searching for his willstone. She wasn’t wearing a glove on that hand. Rowan grabbed her wrists hard, and she pulled away.

“Don’t touch,” he said. Rowan’s smile was polite, but his eyes had knives in them. He released her wrists and sat back, looking at her lazily.

“Romantic Rowan. You have to be more realistic,” she cooed condescendingly. “I know Lillian set you up handsomely, but eventually you’re going to need another witch to look after you. And you know I’m not only talking about money.” She smiled and ran her fingers over his face. Lily wanted to slap her, and not just because she was jealous. She wanted to slap her for treating Rowan like a piece of meat. “Everyone knows that after Lillian, I’m the strongest witch in all the thirteen Covens. And with you as my head mechanic, I could be just as strong as she ever was.”

Rowan jerked his head away, dodging her touch. “Nina? You’re delusional.”

“Am I?” she asked acidly. “Come on, Rowan. You must miss it. You must be dying for it. Unless Gideon’s right and some new, unknown, and unbelievably powerful witch has claimed you?” She meant it as a joke, but when she saw Rowan’s willstone flash, her smile quickly faded. Her eyes darted down to Rowan’s stone, and her face hardened. “Who is she? What Coven is she from?”

Rowan stood up, taking Nina with him. He unwrapped her legs from around his waist and placed her back down on her feet—hard. “I belong to myself, Nina. And I intend to keep it that way.”

Rowan sat down and turned away from her, leaving Nina to fume at his back. Belatedly, she noticed Tristan and Lily, sitting on the other side of the booth. Tristan still had his arm around Lily’s shoulder, and she felt it tighten when Nina began to scrutinize her. Nina’s eyes dropped to Lily’s willstone. Confusion clouded her eyes.

“Rose?” she mumbled to herself. She looked at Tristan’s affectionate posture, down at his stone, and then dismissed all three of them with a flick of her long hair as she turned and stormed away.