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didn’t necessarily mean anything. “You know Rann. He’s generous with his favours.”
    “Yeah.” Maya sighed. “The first time I came here, he had a harem.”
    “Not a harem,” Jewel protested. “Just—”
    “A harem. Three sirens. That’s a harem. And what about you?” Maya persisted. “I haven’t seen you with a man since you came here. And you were never without one in London.”
    A surge of rage swept through Jewel. She took a moment to crush it. Control mattered. She’d fought hard to conquer her temper. “You know why.”
    Maya raised a taunting eyebrow.
    “You know what I’m like. I know myself. That’s why there were so many men in London. They were just boys. I needed to feel someone cared about me.” Jewel waited, but Maya didn’t say anything. “I couldn’t share him. And it’s not in his nature to be exclusive.” She had thought hard about it. She knew she had a need to be loved, a thirst for affection. She even knew it originated in her childhood, in her mother’s distance from her. “I can’t afford to make a mistake. Not with Rann.”
    “You’re thinking about Micael again, aren’t you?”
    Micael, a rogue mage, was the mistake that had resulted in her banishment from the coven. He hadn’t had to work very hard to convince Jewel to fall in love with him. At least, she’d thought she loved him at seventeen, but now she realised that she would have loved practically anyone who showed an interest in her. He’d been a criminal, but her own insecurities had allowed him to use her. He’d arranged for Maya to be kidnapped, and the fallout had resulted in Jewel’s banishment, as well as his own expulsion from the covens. Ever since then, she’d been careful with her trust, and the few relationships she’d had had never been important enough to affect her deeply. She’d never allowed them to.
    “I think you should tell him.” Maya’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “He might surprise you. And you need to get over it. Micael happened nine years ago.”
    Maya had much more courage than she did, but they were as different in character as they were in appearance. And it wasn’t just the debacle with Micael.
    “I don’t know.” Jewel closed her eyes. “I love him. I couldn’t bear it if I never saw him again.”
    “Have you told him you’re leaving?”
    “Yes.”
    “But not why?”
    Jewel shook her head. “No. Just that I need to make a life for myself.”
    “What did he say?”
    Jewel groaned. “He wants to talk to me tomorrow.” She cheered up. “But if I have to go back to deal with my mother, that’s a pretty good reason.”
    “Jewel?” Maya’s voice was stern. “I hope you aren’t a coward.”
    “You know I am.”
    “I know you’re not.”
    “I’ll think about it. How did we get on to the subject of my love life anyway?” Jewel changed the subject. “Did you really come all this way to tell me about Kara?”
    “I thought you ought to know.” Maya’s voice dripped with frustration. “Things are pretty bad for the coven at the moment. Kara’s rogue mage has practically everyone spooked. There’ve been a couple of disappearances. And the council are useless. They’re a bunch of indecisive old biddies.”
    “Mmm.” Jewel didn’t see what she could do about it, but the urge to see London again washed through her. She could revisit her favourite coffee shops, shop on Oxford Street, and go for drinks with old friends.
    “And there’s the stench of bad magic round the Hampstead mansion. Your old home reeks of it. If it were up to me, I’d sort it out, but you know what the coven’s like.” Maya’s voice dropped, and a hint of unfamiliar pleading crept into it. “I don’t like it at all. I’d like you to be there.”
    Jewel stared at Maya. Is she actually asking for help? Things in London must be bad. She pushed herself to her feet. “Come on.” She tugged on Maya’s arm. “I’ve got to pack.”
    Rann watched Maya lead Jewel off