Jack nodded, glanced at Mira, and left the room, closing the large wooden doors on his way out. Mira shivered, feeling a tingle of dread at his absence. He was well and truly gone now. She felt that. Mira drew her arms over her chest, swallowing a sudden lump in her throat.

"Are you hungry, Mira? Thirsty?”

"I'm fine. Just a little tired.”

"I'm sure you are." He motioned for her to sit down in a nearby chair. He lowered himself into the opposite one. "Ingrid called and filled me in on what happened this morning. There have been lots of changes for you lately.”

That was an understatement. "Considering I didn't believe in magick a week and a half ago, I'd say so.”

His full mouth twisted into a smile. "You seem to have come to it very well. You just need some instruction so you can harness it and use it effectively, responsibly. Annie was loyal to your parents, and it's not for us to say whether they were right or wrong in their decision to keep you from us.”

"You mean to keep my magick from me." She couldn't help the note of bitterness in her voice.

He shrugged. "If she hadn't been so loyal, you would have been trained from childhood. You have much catching up to do, but from what I've heard so far you're a fast learner.”

"I'm worried about Annie, Thomas. Jack said you were taking care of her?”

"I asked her to come to live at the Coven for awhile as our guest, but she refused. She told me she won't let those 'barbarian warlocks' make her change her life and that she has a store to run.”

Mira smiled. That sounded like Annie. "That craft store is her world.”

"Because she refused our protection here at the Coven, we sent a couple of witches to guard her for awhile, and we sent some excellent wardweavers to bind her home and business against the Duskoff.”

Mira nodded, feeling somewhat better. She would give Annie a call later.

He regarded her with eyes that seemed as black as his hair. They were beautiful in a wicked, obsidian kind of way. The man truly did look like a witch. Mira wondered if there was any hint of color in those dark orbs anywhere. Jack had said he was an earth witch, but she wasn't quite sure what the magick of earth entailed.

"I have one more change for you, Mira," he went on.

She tipped her head to the side, letting her gaze travel over the handsome, yet rough-hewn lines of his face. Aside from his carriage, which was the most arresting thing about him, Thomas possessed a unique masculine beauty with his dusky skin, long black hair, and dark eyes. She loved his wide cheekbones and full, sensual-looking mouth. His mouth seemed at odds with the rest of the impression he made, something soft and lush on a man carved from granite.