Page 14 of Song of the Dark Wood

“You’ve done a marvelous job, Mrs. Teverin. I’ll expect Rowan to meet me in my office at noon on Friday for last-minute approval,” Elder Garrett said.

Alarm bells rang in Rowan’s head because the words sounded like a threat, but Mrs. Teverin nodded as if nothing was amiss, so Rowan simply clasped her shaking hands.

With that, the men filed out of the room, and Rowan let out the breath she’d been holding since the seamstress tightened her dress.

“No need to be nervous, dear. The worst is over,” Mrs. Teverin sighed.

Rowan wished that was true.

“I hopeyou appreciate me making an exception to my rule of going into this monstrosity,” Cade said as he stepped into the Temple of the Mother and sneered at the white marble aisle leading up to the altar.

“Thank you for suffering through the view of an extravagant temple, Cade. Your friendship knows no bounds,” Rowan said dryly, making her way down the aisle toward the elders’ offices behind the sanctuary.

They had jammed her entire week with final tutoring sessions on manners, etiquette, and sexual instruction. She’d learned more sex positions than she ever thought possible, and every time, she felt a strange humiliation for needing to be tutored in intimacy to begin with.

She fidgeted in front of Elder Garrett’s door. She’d been dreading this final approval since he’d mentioned it on Wednesday.

A warning Orla had once given her rang in her ears. “Be careful with Elder Garrett. Try not to be alone with him if you can avoid it.” Orla had always been private, so it wasn’t surprising that she gave Rowan no further context.

“I don’t like this,” Cade said, leaning against the doorframe. “Let’s just go play in the woods. It’s not like they’re going to send Aeoife instead. They can’t exactly choose to send no one, and the Wolf is clearly already pissed. You’re their only option.”

“What do you think happens if I ignore his request?” she challenged. “You didn’t need to come.”

Cade shivered, his hazel eyes shifting down the hallway behind her. “I know. This place gives me the creeps. It feels more like a tomb than a place of worship. I just have a bad feeling about this.”

She sighed. Cade having a “bad feeling” was not a good sign, but she didn’t see how she could leave now.

She knocked on the door and sighed as Elder Garrett’s voice beckoned her in.

“Rowan, you’re right on time.” Elder Garrett smiled. “Come in. Have a seat on the settee.”

He got up from behind his desk and crossed the room. He sat so close to Rowan that their thighs brushed. She scooted away so there was slightly more space between them.

“What do you need for your final approval, Elder Garrett? I’m sorry to say that Mrs. Teverin has me on quite a tight schedule today, and I need to be back for extra afternoon prayer and meditation soon,” she said.

Elder Garrett smiled wolfishly. “How devout of you. You can take off your cloak. It’s just the two of us, and I’ve already seen you.”

She cautiously slid her hood back and loosened the ties on her cloak before shrugging it onto the settee next to her.

“That’s better. Now tell me, do you feel prepared for your journey?” He rested a hand on her knee.

“Whoa, what’s he doing?” Cade asked.

She shot the demon a dirty look.

“Sir?” Rowan looked at the elder’s hand, unsure if this was some kind of final test she needed to pass. “No man is supposed to touch me before the Wolf.”

His hand slid slightly higher, the heat of it like a brand, even through the thick wool of her dress. “Yes, but whose job do you think it is to give you a final inspection to ensure we aren’t sending the Wolf a tainted Maiden?”

Rowan’s mouth went dry. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

Even as she said the words, dread settled in her stomach like a stone.

“I need to inspect your body to make sure that no man has had what belongs to the Wolf,” Elder Garrett said matter-of-factly.

Rowan looked toward the door, every muscle in her tensed, preparing to run.

He clicked his tongue. “Rowan, this is standard procedure. If it wasn’t, Mrs. Teverin wouldn’t have sent you here now.”

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