Page 18 of The Rowan
“Good evening, I’m Arden and this is Lord Theron,” I state confidently as I introduce us.
Beauty, power, and elegance are weaved into this woman’s bones. Standing straight and tall in an elegant black cocktail dress, her dark brown hair contained in a sleek chignon, she flashes dark brown eyes at Lord Theron, then turns to me. “Hello, Arden. Nice to meet you. I’m Caro Pennington, leader of the coven and our council. Please come in,” she responds airily, before continuing. “We didn’t expect you to bring someone, especially an aristocratic Fae, to our little gathering. We would have prepared a more sumptuous celebration if we’d known.” She chides me as if I’m a child. I guess she thinks me the same age as her daughter, Cassandra.
“Oh, please forgive me. I should have mentioned Lord Theron is currently my de facto guardian,” I say smoothly, as if I’m not dropping a bomb on her. “And since I didn’t have transportation to get here, I asked if he wouldn’t mind driving me. Thankfully, he agreed. Isn’t he wonderful?” There seems to be no love lost between these two. I laugh silently and wink up at him.
Surprisingly, a super tiny smirk appears and his eyes dance with glee. “I’d never let her enter a stranger’s house while under my protection,” he confirms, adding his own polite warning to Caro. “Is there a problem with my attendance?”
“We don’t allow outsiders to join our celebrations,” she sputters.
“Oh, I thought this was a simple meet and greet. I didn’t realize it was a celebration. I’d have worn something moreappropriate.” I deliberately use the same word Cassandra used to instruct me on my attire. Her eyes glance at my form fitting couture dress, and her mouth tightens.
“I’ll make an exception this one time,” she warns. “Come along, everyone’s waiting for you.” She strides off, heels clicking against the marble floor.
I squeeze Theron’s arm, thanking him for his protection. He didn’t have to put himself between her and I, but he did, and for that, I’m grateful. I owe him an apology and some answers. At least, the few I know.
Entering the room, I stop and gaze at the witches in attendance. Most of them are strangers, but a few known faces stand out. Bianca waves at me from the corner. Cassandra stands with her usual posse in the center of the room. Clare hovers in the doorway, only stepping back as we arrive.
Caro sweeps out her arm. “Welcome to Witchwood. We can’t officially welcome you to the coven until after your placement ceremony, but you can meet the most important witches tonight.”
“Why thank you, Caro,” a deep voice resonates behind me, and I turn around. “We misplaced our invitation, but we’re thrilled to be here to meet Arden. She should meet all the leaders, correct?” His arm circles the young woman stepping up beside him. Two additional women flank them both. He raises an eyebrow towards me, then asks, “Have we started the introductions?”
Caro gives me a suspicious look before greeting the newcomers. “Hello, Santiago, Amelie, and Katrina. And you, too, of course, Reyna.” She greets the young woman last, and I’m guessing it’s how they rank in importance to her. “We’re just getting to the introductions. Allow me.”
He nods his head, indicating for her to go ahead, and her mouth tightens at his arrogance. The tension between the original group and this one is palpable.
Pursing her lips, she walks around the room. “As you know, I’m Caro, leader of the coven and witches’ council. I’m also leader of bloodline three. I’ll introduce each of the council members, then I’ll leave you to introduce yourself to the others.”
I nod in agreement, my mind automatically filling in the blanks. Bloodline three known for their mastery of spell casting and shielding.
Stepping to her left, she puts her hand on a handsome black-haired man. “This is Adam Pennington, my husband and leader of bloodline four.”
I shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Adam.” His handshake is weak, barely grazing my fingertips. Never trust a man with a weak handshake, Vargas always told me. Weak handshakes equal weak character. Adam is bloodline four, which is mastery of healing and potions, one of the talents I haven’t tested for yet.
Caro walks over to a handsome dark-complected man, trailing her hand over his bicep. She squeezes it, then turns him towards me. “This is Nico Perrone, leader of bloodline one.”
He winks at me before pronouncing in a heavy Italian accent, “It’s a pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman, Arden.” He picks up my hand and places a wet kiss on it.
A cool wind brushes over my hand, drying it, then Lord Theron’s thumb brushes across the spot, rubbing away the sloppy kiss. Murmuring a soft thank you, I tuck my hand into the crook of his arm.
Nico Perrone. I’m not sure if I’m more startled by him or the fact he’s leader of bloodline one. I thought Bianca was the leader. Looking at her, I see her smiling at Nico with love. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I apologize for staring. I thought Bianca was leader of bloodline one. My mistake.”
“My sister has moderate power,” he explains, shrugging. “She could never lead our family.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Bianca dip her head to the floor, and I frown at this show of submission. “Well, she’s been wonderful to me. Very welcoming,” I enthuse. Her head pops up, and she smiles.
“That’s good,” he tells me, tossing a smile over his shoulder to Bianca.
Caro gestures to the man still standing in the doorway. He’s good-looking, around forty-five years old, with dark brown hair and golden eyes. “Santiago Martinez, leader of bloodline six, and his daughter, Reyna.” Bloodline six, transfiguration.
“It’s truly a pleasure to welcome you to our coven, Arden. My daughter Reyna is about your age, and she would be happy to help you get acclimated,” he says smoothly, drawing his daughter forward. His eyes gleam with opportunity.
“I’m so glad you could make it, both of you,” I drawl, subtly thanking them for attending without informing Caro of the invitation I extended to them both. Given Cassandra’s underhanded introduction to the dark witches the other night, I could only guess how it would have looked later when they found out they missed my original introduction to the coven.
Reyna gives me a cool greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Before Caro can introduce the next council leader, the tall redhead reaches out and grabs my hand, introducing herself. “I’m Katarina Ivanov, leader of bloodline five.”
Bloodline five, mastery of elemental powers. I smile at Katarina in return.
