She turned back to me, and her eyes were filled with tears.
“Thank you. For that, and for what you did for our coven. Some of the others blame you, for discovering a truth that ripped us apart, but that truth was always there, waiting to be found.”
I nodded, getting to my feet as Gemma appeared, a small cloth bag in her hand. She held it out, and I took it before she could change her mind, shoving it into my back pocket.
“Where is your sister?”
I frowned. “She didn’t tell you? She left to follow up on a lead…” I let my voice trail off. As her coven leader, Gemma would have needed to give Evie permission to leave Durham. The fact that she hadn’t definitely did not bode well.
“You have no need to protect your sister from me,” Gemma sighed. “She is no longer a member of this coven and is therefore free to do whatever she likes.”
My body went hot with fury. “What?”
Gemma’s face turned blank. “After our coven was slaughtered, there were some who blamed Evie. While it was not her fault, many did agree with Caroline—the coven would not have been targeted if Evie was not hunted.”
I was glad I had the bone safely tucked away in my pocket, because I was about to erupt.
Evie had seen this coming. That’s why she hadn’t spent much time with the coven while I was searching for the killers. Why would she want to spend time with people she’d considered family, who were in the process of turning their backs on her?
“Evie agreed that this was the right choice. No witch wants to be a member of a coven that no longer trusts her.”
“Evie had nothing to do with what Carolinechoseto do. She’s a victim as much as anyone else. And you know damn well we had the chip in her neck removed, so she can’t be tracked.”
Gemma sighed. “And you know that whoever was tracking her knows her coven is here, in Durham. Do you think she would want to put them at risk?”
I shook my head and turned toward the door. “I think she grew up in this coven thinking you were a family. And at the first test to that family, you threw her out. That’s what I think.”
I met Gail’s eyes. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. I whirled away and stalked out the door.
Kyla sat up, her eyes bleary as I slid into the car. Those eyes sharpened as she moved her seat back upright.
“What happened?”
“I got the bone.”
“Ew. But I mean, why are you so pissed?”
“Gemma threw Evie out of the coven.”
“That bitch.”
I glanced at her. “You don’t sound surprised.”
“I mean, I didn’t spend much time with the witches, but from the little I did see, it seems true to form. They’re insular, paranoid, and suspicious of outsiders.”
“That means a lot coming from a werewolf.”
She grinned at me. “Look, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about your sister, it’s that she’ll come back stronger. Now can you please explain why the hell that bone smells so bad? It’s all I can do not to snatch it and throw it out the window.”
I pulled the pouch from my pocket and opened it, peering inside. I couldn’t smell whatever Kyla was scenting, but I could feel the magic deep within the bone, thick and deadly.
“When a witch betrays her coven, they kill her.”
Kyla nodded. “Yup.”
“They then take her bones.”
Kyla grimaced. “Of course they do. Because why wouldn’t they?”
