Once in a Blue Moon (Beaux Rêve Coven 1)

“A whale?” Darcy raised an eyebrow. “One call on a conch from someone like Liliana, and you’d have been in the drink, matey. Garrr,” she said in a mock pirate voice.

But no one laughed. Mention of the council’s high priestess only turned the mood inside the kitchen more sour. L

iliana had been the one who’d pushed for Bryn’s alliance with the hellhound. She was only interested in increasing witches’ power, which any witch would agree could be a good thing. But Liliana served her own selfish purpose. During their ceremonies and rites, she pulled all their power, making herself the focal entity. A star among their kind, and the most powerful ally to the rulers.

Liliana’s ethereal blonde beauty belied her ugly heart. Something Bryn and her friends had seen from the start of Liliana’s rise.

“Do you think she’ll come?” Aoife said in a small voice.

“Since she sleeps with Merrick. I doubt she’ll let him come alone.” Bryn glanced up at the others. Liliana hadn’t hidden her interest in Merrick. In fact, she’d tried on more than one occasion to draw Bryn into a threesome, a chance to drain Bryn of her strength to feed herself and Merrick. Bryn felt nothing but revulsion for the pair, and even though Merrick had been her mate, she’d been only too happy when he’d stayed away at night.

She wouldn’t be so tolerant with Ethan. Not that she believed he would ever betray her. There was an upside to mating beneath your station.

Bryn winced at the snarky thought and pounded harder on the steak she was tenderizing.

“Ooh, you’d think she’d be in a better mood,” Darcy said, narrowing her eyes on Bryn.

Bryn bent her head. “I can feel you staring,” she muttered.

Darcy moved closer and set her chin on Bryn’s shoulder. “So tell us, what’s it like being with a troll?”

“A troll.” Miren shivered. “I still can’t believe that.”

Bryn beat the meat with her tenderizing mallet harder. No way was she going to give the women a play-by-play of what had happened between her and Ethan. She still quivered just thinking about it.

“I did a little research on Vindlér Construction.”

All gazes swung to Aoife.

Aoife shrugged. “An internet search. They have quite the story. Seems Ethan and Renner came south with a few of their buddies after Katrina hit. They didn’t have two pennies to rub together but managed to get construction contracts for the reconstruction in New Orleans—roads, bridges and even a couple of schools. They aren’t hurting now.”

Radha snorted. “Trolls building bridges. How cliché is that?”

Beyond annoyed with her sisters, Bryn set aside her mallet and walked to the sink. She washed her hands, took off her apron, and headed to the back door.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a bitch,” Radha said.

Bryn glanced over her shoulder. “And I forgive you. But snarking on Ethan doesn’t accomplish anything. Yes, he’s a troll. I’m fucking a troll. But I’ll tell you this, you should all be so lucky.”

She let the door slam behind her and stepped farther onto the porch.

“You don’t have to defend me to your friends.”

Bryn glanced to her side. Ethan stood there wearing jeans and a faded gray tee. Looking deliciously disheveled with mud on his boots and dirt stains on his clothing. “I know that. But they made me angry.”

“Because they were talking trash about me?”

“Because they were disrespecting my choice. It’s not all about you.” She waved a hand toward the kitchen door. “They resent being cooped up. And they’re likely feeling edgy and more than a little horny. So many of you around, and yet they can’t…taste the pie.”

One side of his mouth curved upward in a sexy crooked grin that made her stomach cramp.

“They have plenty of choices. Why not choose a partner?”

“Because they don’t want to be used. Owned. They don’t want to have every decision they make approved by a male. They want to keep their magic for themselves.”

“Do you feel as though you’ve lost anything…being with me?”

“I gave it away. To you, last night,” she said softly. “Willingly. And isn’t that the greater risk? To fall into a relationship, into love, and lose your sense of self? We’ve been on our own for five years. What we have, we built.”