Three hundred men—and they’d had no chance.

“I can do this. Let go of me, Donovan.” Gwenn pulled away from her husband, shook out her skirt, and brushed at the dirt on her shirt. “I can do this.”

“Do what, Gwenn?” Breanna asked, her eyes narrowing as she watched the funnel.

Liam stared. Was he seeing what he thought he was seeing?

The last of the dirt fell away as the funnel faded into a gentle swirl of air around the black-haired, cold-eyed woman riding a gray stallion. A beautiful woman. The kind of woman who could take a man’s breath away.

The realization that his heart wasn’t just pounding in fear scared him to the bone.

The horse stopped. The woman just stared at them.

Gwenn took one step forward. Her smile was as wobbling as the curtsy she tried to perform. “Blessings of the day, Selena.”

After a painful moment of silence, the woman said, “Blessings of the day, Gwenn.”

Breanna stared at the tea and thin sandwiches on the table in front of her. She wasn’t sure if she was queasy because she was hungry or because it didn’t seem right to be hungry after what she’d seen. At least her hands had stopped shaking. Sneaking a healthy nip of whiskey before Sloane brought in the tea things had coated her nerves with the illusion of calm.

There was no reason not to be calm. It was over. They’d won this battle. Liam and Donovan were questioning the prisoners. And the guest she was waiting to offer tea and sandwiches to was just a witch, just another Daughter of the House of Gaian.

She lowered her face into her hands. Felt her breathing hitch as she struggled to remain calm. It would be ill-mannered to show fear, but…

Selena wasn’t just another witch, wasn’t just another Daughter of the House of Gaian. Mother’s mercy. How was she supposed to act around a woman who could create a funnel of wind so powerful it could have ripped grown trees out of the ground and flung them aside like a child throwing a toy with gleeful abandon. And the speed of it, racing down the drive at a fast gallop. A few seconds, a few ticks of the clock. That’s all it had taken for that twisting fury to destroy three hundred men.

Feeling her hands tremble, Breanna sat up and pushed her hair back. Offering Selena a guest room and a chance to wash off the dust had been the polite thing to do. And it gave them all a chance to let their nerves settle a bit before facing her again. Gwenn’s doing. If she hadn’t played lady of the manor, they might all still be standing out there, uncertain of what to say or do.