“No, you’re not.” Rory held up a finger and pointed it at Elias. “That honor is going to be mine considering that ass just put his hands on me.”

  “I wasn’t trying anything.” Tucker held up his hands. “I offered you a chair.”

  Aston stepped up behind the male and called the wind to him. Using the air around him like his own hands, Aston forced Tucker to his feet. He pulled the man’s arms straight out beside him and made sure the force of the air kept him still. Then Aston walked over to Rory. Her eyes shifted from Tucker to Aston and back. “Elias wait,” Aston said. Then focused on his female.

  “He can’t move, sweets.” Aston reached up and cupped her cheek. He expected her to shove his hand away, but she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Aston wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Aston took a step closer and saw Rory’s eyes turn glassy. “My wild Rory. I should never have said those things.” He held her gaze, wanting her to hear and see his sincerity. “You’re mine. My soul bonded and I am yours, and I will never walk away from you again.”

  “Oy, what if she doesn’t want you? You’d be a stalker if you just kept following her around,” Liam called out. Aston heard a smack, and then Liam cursed. “What? I’m not telling him not to stalk her. I’d totally stalk you, babe.”

  “You totally did stalk me,” Gabby said. “Ignore him, Aston. Do your thing. We’ve got your back.”

  “I’m losing my patience,” Elias said.

  “Babe,” Tara’s voice was soft, “hold off a minute.”

  Aston ignored them. “Please don’t tell me you don’t want me,” he told Rory, his voice thick with the emotions that were nearly suffocating him. “I would stalk you, and it would get very awkward really fast.”

  “Who says I don’t like awkward?” Rory’s voice no longer sounded menacing. She was his Rory again, not the raging, dark fury that stormed from the house. “I’m sorry, too. I don’t know why I said those things.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not true. I know why I said them, and I’m terrified I’ll say them again or something worse.”

  “Because of the darkness in your soul?” he asked.

  Her brow dropped into a deep V. She nodded. “That’s what I thought at first. But honestly, Aston, I don’t think there’s enough left of my soul to say that there is darkness in it. I think the darkness has become a part of me. Like it’s in my cells, my tissue, the marrow of my bones.” She took a shaky breath and motioned with her hands, which were still held out in front of her. The lightning continued to crackle. “I want to kill him.” She nodded to Tucker. Rory blinked several times, and Aston could see the unshed tears. He could feel the anguish inside of her through their bond, and it gutted him. She swallowed hard and continued. “I want to kill him, and if I do, I will not lose any sleep over it.” Her voice got louder and louder with every word.

  “Don’t feel bad,” Tara called out. “I won’t lose any sleep over it if you kill him, either.”

  “I’ve been counting down the days to do it, luv,” Elias added. “I’ll throw a bloody party in honor of his demise.”

  Rory tilted her head to the side in order to see past Aston. He didn’t want her to look at his friends. He wanted her full attention on him. “Who is she?” Rory asked. “I like her already. And he sounds a tad off his rocker as well. These are my kind of people.”

  Aston’s lips turned up in a small smile. “She is Elias’s soul bonded, and the nutter is Elias. But that’s not important right now.”

  She moved closer to Aston and nuzzled her face into his hand, which still cupped her cheek. “What is important?”

  “Several things,” Aston said. “First, you said he put his hands on you. How and where?” He nodded back to where Tucker was paralyzed by Aston’s wind.

  “He tried to tie me to a chair.” A little of the anger returned to Rory’s voice. “He said he was bringing me to you, though I figured out pretty quickly he wasn’t.”

  “So what happened?” Aston shifted restlessly as he fought to keep his emotions in check.

  “I can’t open portals, and he can. I had no idea how I would find you, so I stayed with him until I could figure it out,” she explained. “He knows about the supernatural world, and about the Devil's Heart battle, so I figured one way or another he would lead me to you, or someone who knew how to find you.”

  Aston leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. He wanted to kiss her lips, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or take any liberties that she might not welcome. “You amazing, reckless woman. He could have hurt, or killed you.”

  She shook her head. “Babe, I’ve tangled with powerful witches and demons. Tucker boy has nothing on the evil I’ve dealt with.”

  The words were meant to reassure him, but all they did was sadden him. He hated knowing that she’d had such a difficult childhood. He hated that she’d been raised with witches who thought only of themselves and the power they craved.

  “Not to rain on your reuniting parade,” Liam said, “but we’ve got all sorts of eyes on us, staring out of these creepy cookie-cutter houses. And a few have actually stepped out to see why there’s a house on fire. Kiss the girl, kill the guy, and let’s bounce.”

  “Did you seriously just say let’s bounce?” Tara pinched the bridge of her nose and briefly squeezed her eyes closed.

  “You know? Like a ball?” Liam made a motion with his hands mimicking the action of bouncing his imaginary ball.

  “Of course I know, you dork,” Tara huffed. “You just sounded ridiculous saying it.”

  Aston tuned out his bickering friends and refocused on Rory. “He’s an idiot, but he’s right. We need to get out of this neighborhood.”

  Rory looked over at Tucker, though she didn’t want to take her eyes off of Aston. The rage, which had momentarily subsided when Aston touched her, returned in full force. What kind of idiot would think he could hold her hostage?

  “What should I do with you?” she asked Tucker as he hung suspended in the air by Aston’s power.

  “I just told you what to do.” One guy standing on the sidewalk in front of the burning house spoke up. “And do it quickly and as cleanly as possible. I hear sirens, which means the regular humans are headed this way. They might have some questions as to why a freaking house just blew up.”

  “You don’t have to kill him,” Aston said, his voice soft as he leaned toward her. His hand still pressed to her cheek, and his smell wrapped around her like a warm blanket. She wanted to bask in it. “I don’t want that on your conscience.”

  “He’s right,” the one called Elias said. “I’ll kill him, like I’ve wanted to do for quite a while now, and then we can all hit up a pub and have a brew.”

  Rory opened her mouth to tell Aston he didn’t need to worry. But before the words were out, she snapped her mouth closed. Rory realized she only had those thoughts because her shattered soul was missing pieces. The darkness inside of her reveled in the idea of taking Tucker’s life. Even better would be to make him suffer.

  Just when she’d made her decision, a portal opened, and a tall, tan-skinned male with dark hair and dark eyes stepped through. She couldn’t quite tell what nationality he was, but it was definitely Eastern.

  “Ra?” Aston asked, confusion in his voice.

  The male named Ra looked at Aston and then at the group on the sidewalk. Finally, he glanced at Tucker. “Is this the male that caused Shelly to be thrown into the underworld?” Rory wasn’t exactly sure who he was speaking to.

  “Yes,” the girl Aston pointed out as Tara answered.

  Ra walked straight over to Tucker, whose eyes opened wide with shock as his mouth dropped open. He couldn’t move thanks to Aston’s air magic, so he was powerless to do anything but watch the large, pissed-off male bear down on him.

  “You sentenced my female to burn in hell. Now I will oblige you with the same fate.” Ra’s voice was calm and emotionless. He reached out his hand and placed it on Tucker’s forehead. Flames engulfed Ra’s hand. A scream erupted from Tucker that made Rory’s skin crawl. In a matter of seconds, the boy disintegrated into a pile of ashes at Ra’s feet.

  “Holy witch crap,” Rory whispered. Her eyes jumped from the ashes to Ra’s face and back again.

  “Bloody hell, Ra,” Elias shouted. “He was mine.”

  “We need to go,” Ra said. If it bothered the pharaoh that he’d just burned a man alive, he didn’t show it. “Now.” Without another word, he turned and stomped back through the portal.

  The group on the sidewalk didn’t ask questions but hustled toward the still-open portal. Aston took Rory’s hand and looked at her. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

  Before they could step through, Rory felt a stream of power flow from Aston into her body and all the way to her feet. She looked down and then heard multiple gasps. She turned her attention to the sound and saw the two other females were also looking down at their feet with wide eyes. They each held hands with who she assumed must be their soul-bonded males.

  “What the ever-loving crap is happening?” the redheaded female hissed.

  “Elias, why is power flowing out of me into the ground?” Tara glanced at him and then to Rory and then to the redhead.

  Movement caught Rory’s attention, and she snapped her eyes over to the ground where Tucker’s ashes lay. “Look.” She pointed with her free hand. The ashes slowly began to absorb into the ground, and the grass beneath them became green and healthy. Then there was a loud groaning and creaking of wood. Rory turned her head, and her mouth dropped open. The house, which had been burning from the magic she’d used, was no longer in flames. It seemed to be knitting itself back together. Within a minute, the house stood, whole and undamaged.

  “Is anyone else freaked out? Because I’m freaked out. I mean, I’m freaking the freakity freak out.” Tara’s voice shook as she spoke.

  “That’s a lot of freaks,” the guy holding the redhead’s hand said.

  “Well—”Tara pointed at the ground and then the house—“what the hell, Liam? Gabby?” She looked at the redhead. “You’re the all-knowing one. What just happened?”

  Ra’s head suddenly stuck back through the portal. He glanced at the ground and then the house. “Two problems have been solved. What does it matter the reason? Come.”

  Rory knew her face had to look comical because the other two chicks looked downright hilarious with their open and closing mouths and wide eyes.

  “Aston, make a note to look this crap up.” Tara made a circular motion with her finger.

  “Noted,” Aston said and then looked back at Rory. “You okay?”

  “Just another day,” Rory said, her voice a bit high as she tried to cover up her apprehension.

  “We’re okay. We’re all going to be okay.” He nodded as if to make his statement true and then led her to the portal. She followed him through and felt the weight of Ra’s stare as she walked past him.

  Everyone else followed, and the portal closed behind them. Rory glanced around at their new location. It took her a minute, but when she realized where they were, she gripped Aston’s hand tighter and hissed. Good grief, am I actually hissing like a damn cat? If she had been a cat, her hair would be standing on end, her back arched, and her claws extended. “Why are we in the Cornwall coven?” All thoughts about what they’d just experienced with the disappearing ashes and magically repaired house fled from her mind.

  The group all turned and formed a circle. Each of them looked at her, but she saw no judgment in their eyes. Did that mean Aston hadn’t told them what she’d done? She glanced at him and saw that he, too, was looking at her. His eyes were filled with concern and something that looked a lot like adoration, if she even had the ability to recognize such a look in another. But she knew it was adoration because it was the same expression she’d seen on his face the night they’d consummated their bond. Rory’s heart picked up speed as she held his gaze.

  “We’re here because I could not find the information I needed at the other coven,” Ra said, drawing her attention from Aston.

  “Which coven?” she asked.

  “Blackhorn,” Ra answered.

  “There are others besides this one and Blackhorn,” Rory pointed out, her voice sharp with irritation. This place held few positive memories.

  “Yes,” Ra said.

  She waited, but he offered nothing more. Wow, this one is a regular Chatty Cathy. Finally, she asked. “So how did you conclude you should come to this coven rather than any of the others?”

  “A grimoire at Blackhorn pointed me in this direction.”

  “You were only there for a few hours, Ra,” the female with brown hair said. “And why is no one in this house confronting us about why we’ve just come barging in?”

  “Because there is no one left in the Cornwall coven,” Ra answered.

  Perhaps his words should have saddened her, but Rory found herself breathing a sigh of relief. Those who’d caused her so much pain here could trouble her no longer.

  “Before we go any further, are we going to discuss what the hell just happened back there?” the redheaded female said, “And could we please make a few introductions? Aston’s woman looks a bit confused, and I don’t blame her.”

  “I’ve deduced a little,” Rory offered. “You’re Gabby. You’ve been holding Liam’s hand, so I’m gonna go out on a short limb and say that you belong to each other. And that’s Tara and Elias. Aston already indicated they’re soul bonded. So, boom! Intro’s done. Now, back to our not-regularly-scheduled-program because I would never regularly choose to come to any witches’ coven.”

  “I like her.” Gabby smiled. “You did good, Aston.”

  “I agree with my Firestarter.” Liam nodded. “She’s going to fit in the group nicely. Which is good because otherwise it would get awkward real fast, and we’d have to have the whole ‘it’s not me, it’s you’ discussion.”

  “It’s not you, it’s me,” Gabby corrected.

  “No.” Liam shook his head. “It wouldn’t be us. It would be her. Because she’d be the awkward newbie making things all weird.”

  “Bloody hell.” Elias breathed out and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Don’t mind them.” Tara motioned to Liam and Gabby. “We’re pretty sure Gabby was raised by wolves, and Liam was raised in the circus.”

  Rory managed a small smile, though it was forced. Her emotions were warring within her. Part of her wanted to grab Aston and run so she could be alone with him. Another part wanted to put a curse on the group just to prove her power. Only a small part wanted to do the right thing and engage them like a normal, non-darkness-filled human being.

  Aston gave her hand a squeeze, and she felt something she’d not felt before—warmth. It was like walking from a dark, snowy night into a comfortable living room with a roaring fireplace. The sensation gave her just enough peace to keep her from doing the first two options she’d considered. “Nice to meet you,” she said to the group. “I’m Rory. I’m—” She stopped herself and glanced up at Aston, searching his eyes for some sign of acceptance.

  “You’re my soul bonded.” He set his jaw firm and narrowed his eyes on her as if daring her to challenge him.

  “I’m Rory. Aston’s soul bonded.”

  “It’s an honor to meet another of my brothers’ soul bonded,” Elias said.

  “Thank you,” Rory said. It was so weird to her, this interacting with human beings that weren’t trying to take over the world. Shouldn’t they be summoning demons and working with dark royal elementals?

  She looked at Ra and waited to see if he introduced himself. All he did was bow his head to her and then look back at the group, his eyes seeming to take them all in.

  “The witch I spoke with at the Blackhorn coven assisted my search of the books in their library,” he explained. “At first, she pointed out the books in their possession that referenced demons.” He paused and seemed to consider what he’d just shared. Rory thought he looked a little confused, but she didn't know Ra at all, so, for all she knew, the dude was actually constipated. “After expressing my frustration—”

  Tara gasped. “Please tell me you didn’t burn their house down.”

  “Please tell me you did,” Gabby countered with a wicked grin.

  Elias looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. “Mate.” He opened his eyes and looked at Ra. “The royals are going to lock you up if you don’t get yourself under control.”

  “If you three are finished,” Ra said, his voice dropping an octave, which was saying something considering his voice was already low, “I will continue.” He stared at them, his eyes even roaming to her. Rory realized he waited to see if they would say anything more, but the group stayed quiet. “I did not burn the witch’s house down, although it would not have been a terrible loss if I had done so.”

  “Understatement,” Rory muttered before she could stop herself.

  Ra’s head snapped to her, and Aston stepped forward, placing his body partially in front of her. Ra’s eyes shifted to Aston, and he seemed to consider her soul bonded’s action.

  Ra raised his chin at Aston, and some silent message went between the two. Rory figured it was one of those guy things where they understand each other’s head movements like baseball players understand their coach’s crazy hand motions.

  “The witch I worked with saw that I was becoming very frustrated,” he began for the third time. “I explained to her why I needed to summon a demon.”

  “Wait. What?” Rory snapped and pushed Aston aside. She felt her magic—her power that had died down to a simmer in the presence of Aston—suddenly flare up like a fire doused with gasoline. “Summon a demon?” Rory glared at the much larger male, and there was no intimidation in her gaze. “I’m sorry, but were you not at the Devil's Heart battle?”