“I figure they can be sheathed to our backs and hidden under our coats. We intentionally had them made short for that. It’s still spring, not that warm yet, so the jackets won’t seem odd. I ordered some regular knives, too, but I think most will prefer these.”

She nodded. “Gives you a little distance.”

“Exactly.”

“Would be better to have some copper bullets or something. That would give us even more distance.”

As she spoke, Theo and Ingrid entered the foyer from the direction of the conservatory, both talking to each other.

“We’re working on that,” added Thomas. “Isabelle, I’d like you to meet Ingrid. She’s Jack’s counterpart and shares a lot of responsibility here at the Coven.”

Ingrid was a short, thin, blonde. She always wore a suit, had her hair in a bun and glasses perched on her narrow nose. Ingrid was a fire witch with a temper to match, despite her innocuous appearance. She stuck out her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Isabelle. I’m happy to meet you.”

Isabelle shook her hand. “Same thing here. It’s an honor.”

Theo, a severe-looking man with longish black hair, a goatee and dark olive skin, stood very close to Ingrid. Thomas got an intuitive hit they were sleeping together. Good. Theo needed a little sex to bleed off his natural intensity.

Tattoos peeked from under the tight blue shirt Theo wore. What few people knew was that the tattoos complemented a large amount of scarring on his body, inked to show off what Theo considered his battle scars. When Theo had been a teenager, the Duskoff had captured him, lured to him by the massive amounts of earth magick he could wield. The warlocks had tried to crush his will for their own uses and had tortured him mercilessly, breaking bones and scarring his body. He’d been with the Duskoff a hellish two months before the Coven had broken him out.

Thomas, just barely in college at the time, had been with those who’d gone in after him. He could remember finding Theo, bloody and beaten, but still defiant and pissed off. Ever since, Theo had channeled his energies toward hunting down warlocks and rogue witches.

“And this is Theodosius, otherwise known as Theo—”

Isabelle grabbed his hand in both of hers with enthusiasm. “The artist. You did Thomas’s tattoo.”

Theo nodded. “I do work for many of the earth witches in the Coven.”

“Ever do any for water witches?”

A flicker of unwelcome jealousy ran through Thomas at the thought of Theo putting his hands on intimate parts of Isabelle’s body…any part at all, actually. He frowned at their clasped hands. Gods. He shook it off. He felt possessive of Isabelle, but he had no right.

“Come see me sometime and we can talk about it,” answered Theo with a smile a little warmer than Thomas liked.