"Why do you seem so concerned by the attraction between us, Adam?"

He broke his intense study of her face. "Claire, I don't know what to say." Adam turned his head away and rubbed his hand over a jaw that needed a shave. "Look—"

"Hey."

They both looked up to find Theo staring hard at them from the entrance of the living room. Correction, staring hard at Adam.

"Got something to say?" Adam asked. He didn't move his hand from her knee and there was a challenge to his voice. Some unspoken communication passed between the two men.

Theo stared at him a moment longer and then looked at her. "You all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Theo's shoulders were tense. "If you ever aren't all right, you come to me."

Adam stood. "What's the big deal, Theo? I was helping her with her magick. She got burned by mine and I was making sure she was okay."

"Yeah, well, it looked to me like you wanted to help her with more than just her magick." Theo moved his gaze to Claire again. "Like I said, if he gives you trouble you don't want, you come to me."

Adam shifted, visibly bristling. His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn't reply.

Claire tried not to smile. These aeamon weren't as disciplined as the Ytrayi, but the males had just as much testosterone pumping through their veins. "What if he gives me trouble I do want?"

Theo mastered his surprise well, but she still caught it moving over his face like a swiftly moving cloud. He blinked. "That's between you two. I'm not the house mother."

She didn't know what a house mother was, but she surmised he was saying he wasn't in charge. "That's good to know."

Adam shifted and a bored look overcame his face. "Did you come in here to actually say something interesting, Theo?"

"I just talked to Thomas. He's handpicked ten witches to intercept us and help us guard Claire until Micah makes some progress. They're going to trickle out of the Coven, make sure they're not being watched, meet up, and travel here. Thomas said we can expect them tomorrow morning sometime."

"Who?" Adam asked.

"I only know James, Craig, Erin, Tom Blake, Andrea, Lisa M., and Ingrid for sure are coming. He didn't name the rest. Jack fought to come, but Thomas nixed it because of the baby."

Adam nodded. "It's a good crew."

"Just about the best. If Jack and Thomas were in it, it would be."

Claire stood, suddenly feeling cold. She hugged herself. "I don't want the best of the Coven witches put in danger for me."

Theo fixed her with a stare. "This isn't just about you, Claire. We don't want the Atrika to have the elium either. That could be dangerous for us."

"You're not worried about the Ytrayi?"