Cuckoo in the Coven

Sunny watched as the woman served the main course and put the plate in front of her. Medallions of some very raw meat bled across the plate. Her eyebrows lifted, and she tried not to object verbally.

“Another delicacy,” Fox commented.

She had the urge to ask if he’d killed it himself, but resisted.

There was no way she was touching that, and she couldn’t get away with pushing it around the plate like she had with the squid. An idea occurred to her, and it would kill two birds with one stone.

Readying herself, she remembered the touch of his cold lips, how it made her feel, and the emotions that’d multiplied inside her when she walked down the hideous hall of trophies.

Stealthily releasing her emotional reaction, she lifted her hands either side of the table to direct her magical energies around her host’s chair.

Fox lifted his head as if he’d sensed something, frowned, and then carried on eating.

Sunny could scarcely breat

he.

Waiting in anticipation, she stared at the doorway beyond.

She heard them before she saw them, a thump and a growl and then the sound of large, untamed creatures approaching.

Fox sat bolt upright, his eyes narrowed as he looked in Sunny’s direction.

She shrugged, gesturing casually with her hands.

A low growl echoed behind his chair.

Fox’s mouth twisted.

Sunny smiled. “The meat wasn’t done to my taste, so I thought I might feed it to your pets.”

Two black panthers appeared, one on either side of him.

Fox glanced at them, his eyebrows lifting.

One of the panthers paused and sniffed his hand, where it rested on the arm of his chair—presumably the hand that had fired the fatal shot.

The other strolled toward Sunny, blinking at her.

Lifting a piece of the meat with her fingers, she offered it to the creature from the palm of her hand.

A large rasping tongue came out and claimed it.

The other panther was still sniffing at Fox’s sleeve.

Fox ignored it, staring instead at Sunny, his eyes still narrowed, his gaze angry.

Quickly, Sunny lifted another piece of meat and made a cooing sound. “Here, kitty.”

The panther strolled her way.

“You’re just showing off,” Fox said, clearly annoyed.

He didn’t like what she’d done. Had she made a mistake already? “Maybe,” Sunny replied, hedging her bets.

He dabbed his mouth with the serviette. “Imelda!” he bellowed.

Imelda entered the room.