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Hannah picks up a pastry. It’s a delicate little tart with glazed fruit on the top.

It looks pretty damn tasty. She sniffs it and then cocks her head.

I don’t know what Hannah’s magic is, but whatever she does, she determines that the little tart isn’t worth it.

She sets it down and picks up a square of cheese.

This time she eats it without hesitation.

With a nod, she walks toward the door and follows Francesca out into freedom.

“Well, are you going to pick something?” my mother says from across the table. She stopped wandering around the room and has found a spot across from me. There are chairs pushed under the table, but no one is sitting.

“I’m working up my appetite.”

My mother chuckles, finding a carrot and snapping off a piece with her teeth. She tosses the rest of the carrot down on the plate and waves over her shoulder. “Best of luck, everyone.”

Odie signs, “Here goes nothing,” and pours herself a glass of wine. She takes a sip and shrugs as she sets her glass down. She walks out signing “hurry up” to the rest of us before she opens up the door.

Andrew Bartleman steps up to the table next. He begins to count, and it dawns on me that he’s literally doing eenie meenie miney mo. I guess that’s one way to do it.

“Statistically, there should be a certain percentage of clean food.” I don’t know if he’s talking to himself or us, but I watch as he continues to count off the food.

I suppose he’s correct, in a sense, but we have no idea what that percentage is, and he doesn’t appear to be taking into account the food that’s already been eaten and has been fine.

His finger hovers over a cookie. He lifts it with a smile and takes a delicate bite.

He grins as he heads for the door, but his steps falter. He sways and then his knees give out. Roman manages to catch him and eases him down to the floor as a loud snore gurgles from his throat. Just like that, Andrew is out of the trials.

“What about you, Niece?” Tucker takes a step toward the table, ignoring Andrew as if nothing just happened.

“What about me?” Piper asks. Her voice is steady, but there’s a tremble in her hands as she clasps them together behind her back. I press into her side, dropping my hand to her waist and giving it a squeeze. Her hands immediately unclasp and her fingers curl into the back of my shirt.

“Such a coward. Waiting for everyone else to go first,” Tucker taunts, smirking at my wife.

“And what are you waiting for?” I demand. “Please, take a bite.” I gesture at the table. Tucker throws me a dirty look. He doesn’t like someone interrupting when he’s trying to shame and belittle others.

He picks up some prosciutto and smells it.

Popping it in his mouth, he starts toward the door.

With each step he takes, his feet begin to drag.

His head spins round and he glares at Piper as if this is her fault.

His body is shaking, and his footsteps turn to shuffles as he stumbles before falling into a potted tree, knocking it over.

The ceramic pot shatters, cracked pieces and shards littering the floor along with a spill of dirt.

Tucker slams his hand against the glass window, cracking the pane as he fights to stay on his feet. The rest of us watch in horror as he rips open the door and stumbles outside. The door slams behind him and there’s a loud thump that is presumably his body falling to the ground.

“Does that count?” Piper asks. “Or is he eliminated?”

Roman sighs. “He made it out the door. He’s likely safe. She didn’t say we couldn’t eat something poisoned, just that we needed to get out the door.”

“Maybe he’ll die,” I add hopefully.

I step up to the table and look down at the assortment of foods. This isn’t illusion magic. This is something different entirely. I have a feeling half of the people just selected food by chance. I pick up a croissant and smell it. “Floral,” I mutter.

“Don’t eat that.” Piper shakes her head, and then dips it down to smell. “Deadly nightshade.”

Roman steps up beside me, also inspecting foods. He has shadow magic and can literally rip the souls out of a person, but I don’t know that he can identify poison in foods upon smell or even taste.

Roy is on the other side of the table. We’re the last four to go. I have no idea what his magic is. I pick up a different croissant and hold it out to Piper. “You prefer chocolate over vanilla?”

“That’s not chocolate.” Piper frowns the pastry. “It’s shadow’s bane. It may smell similar, but it causes paralysis of the lungs. You wouldn’t be able to breathe within seconds.”

I drop the pastry back on the table. Roy picks up a cracker and licks it. That’s all he does. He doesn’t even take a bite. He collapses on the floor, his whole body seizing and spasming. Foam spills out of his mouth and his eyes roll back in his head.

“It’s liquid death,” Piper gasps. “Look at his fingertips.”

The tips of his fingers have already started to turn black. Piper cries out and rushes around the room, inspecting each of the shelves, searching for something.

“What do you need? What are you looking for?” I don’t know how to counteract poison, but I can help her find whatever she’s looking for.

Roman drops down to the floor and holds Roy’s head, trying to keep him from cracking it on the cement.

“I need mint and citrus of some sort. Nothing from the table.” I don’t need the reminder not to take anything off that table.

Roy’s choked sounds are enough. “Grab one of the lemons.” Piper points to the downed plant that Tucker crashed into.

She scans the shelves, her fingers rapidly fluttering over the potted plants as she looks for the mint.

“Here,” she cries out as she rips leaves off the plant and drops to the floor beside Roman.

“I’m really sorry, Roy. This is going to be gross.” Piper shoves the leaves in her mouth and chews them up.

“I need the juice,” Piper calls out to me, her mouth full of half masticated leaves. I dig my fingers into the lemon and rip it in half.

“Open his mouth,” Piper commands Roman. He pries open Roy’s mouth without question. Piper spits her chewed-up mint leaves into her hand.

Well, shit. That should not be hot. Now is a really fucking inappropriate time they get turned on.

She shoves the leaves into Roy’s mouth and holds out her hand to me. “The lemon.” She takes the lemon and squeezes it, the juice dripping into Roy’s mouth and all over his face.

Once she’s satisfied there’s enough in his mouth, she pushes his jaw closed. Then we wait.

Piper’s breathing hard. Roman looks stunned.

I’m standing above all of them like an idiot.

There’s no clock in here making ominous ticking sounds, but I feel the passing of time in my bones anyway.

The waiting is tortuous. Is Roy going to die?

I don’t know him, but I don’t want to see him die because of this fucking council competition.

Especially when pieces of shit like Francesca Delvaux and Tucker Beaumont walk out of here.

Well, Tucker fell out of here, and he’s probably still alive. Unfortunately.

Roy’s tremors slowly calm, until he’s shaking as though riddled with a fever. His eyes flutter open, but I don’t think he’s seeing very much. Piper flops back onto her butt with a relieved exhale.

“I’m glad one of us knew what to do.” I gently comb back Piper’s hair from her face and she looks up at me. There’s fear on her face.

“He could’ve died. He still needs help.”

“Well, we’ve got exactly twelve minutes to make our own choices and get out of here,” Roman says. “And then we can get him help.”

Piper stands up, rolling her shoulders back and looking determined as she scans the table of food.

She picks up a cookie and sets it down with a shake of her head.

There’s a bowl overflowing with nuts and dried fruit.

Piper grabs a handful and begins sniffing them, one by one.

She discards them one at a time with an irritated fling, the nuts pinging back down onto the table once she determines they’re not edible.

Finally, she deems one okay and holds it out to Roman. “This one’s fine.”

She repeats the procedure with another handful and holds out a dried cranberry for me. “It’s good.”

“Thanks, Pipes, but I’m not going take a bite until you do.”

Piper resumes digging through the bowl of nuts and extracts a cashew. She holds it up for me to see, and then pops it in her mouth. Roman and I follow suit.

Nothing happens except the clock keeps ticking down.

Roman and I lift Roy between us, and Piper moves toward the door.

I want to tell her to get back, that I’ll open the door, but fucking Roy is hanging off me like a dead body.

Piper’s hand connects with the doorknob and she turns it without issue.

Relief sweeps over me. Whatever magic is keeping us in disappears and it lets us walk out with Roy.

We leave Andrew asleep on the ground. Roy needs more immediate help.

Tucker is passed out in front of the exit. He must have gone down the second he got outside.

“Shame,” I grunt as we step over him. Leaving him where he lies.

Odie is still waiting on the roof for us, but everyone else has disappeared. Apparently, they don’t care to see which one of their fellow council members has made it through.

“Is he okay?” Odie gapes at Roy, worry on her face.

“Piper saved the day.” I look over at my wife, and she ducks her head as though embarrassed.

“That was pretty fucking impressive, Piper,” Roman says. Roy mumbles something, but he’s barely coherent.

“Let’s get him down to Lucida. She can help figure out what to do with him.”

“He should be fine in a day or two,” Piper says, as we maneuver our way down the narrow staircase. Roman and I can’t fit with Roy between us, so he grabs his feet, and I hold him under his armpits. We haul him down the steps down like a sack of potatoes.

Lucida’s waiting in the main hall. She frowns when she sees us.

Roman and I lower Roy’s body onto a settee.

Lucida bends over to check on him. She closes her eyes and presses a hand to her forehead.

Lucida is a powerful witch. She wouldn’t be the leader of the coven if she wasn’t, but her magic is a bit of an enigma.

She has some protection powers and even some elemental magic, which is unique for what used to be the Tenebris coven.

Those are just the magicks we know about.

She nods. “He’ll be okay after some rest.” She looks at her watch and then up at the ceiling.

I jerk my head toward the stairs. “Andrew is still up there. Pretty sure he’s just asleep. Oh, and Anastasia and Tucker are up there too. They’re probably going to need some help, or you could just leave them. It’s up to you. Anastasia didn't make it out.”

Lucida nods, but I think there might be relief in her eyes.

Anastasia Lexington is a shit human being.

I wasn’t originally gunning to be part of this coven council, but now that we’re two trials in, the thought of someone like her or Tucker getting to make decisions for the coven grates on my nerves.

There’s a lot of dark shit this coven has gotten involved with over the years, and not much of it has been for the betterment of the witches who live here.

I wouldn’t consider myself a philanthropist or even someone who has thought much about others’ situations in the past, but I find myself wanting to do better.

I look over at Piper. Despite the stress of the last hour, she looks beautiful, but it’s her soul that’s truly radiant.

Wanting to make sure the things that happened to her never happen to another, has me wondering if I could do some good on the council.

I’m sure there are others who need protection in our town.

We failed Piper, but maybe we could help someone else.

“Congratulations,” Lucida says to the four of us. Her eyes scan each of us as though taking stock of our true worth. I feel the weight of her gaze when it lands on me.

“I’m hopeful these challenges will reveal the next leaders of our coven.

Those who truly have the best at heart for us.

” Lucida’s smile grows. “Now I hope you’ll go and have a good witching moon.

Don’t get in too much trouble, though.” She laughs as she turns from us, her skirt twirling, and heads down the hall.

“You know Heathens has an incredible themed witching moon party every year.” I cock my head. I’m going to need a big drink after this trial.

Heathens is one of the clubs owned by Roth Entertainment.

The other club in town, Scarlet, is more of a traditional venue with dance music and signature mixed drinks.

Heathens would be considered more of an underground nightclub and a bit taboo.

It’s literally built in an abandoned church.

Hence the name. It’s also the sexiest of our clubs.

Full of dark corners and private booths.

Every year on the witching moon, the club has a themed party. Tonight’s theme is angels and demons.

“I don’t have anything to wear to a themed party.

” Piper shakes her head. Odie grins at her, already getting her phone out of her pocket.

Her fingers fly across the screen as she texts someone.

She shoves her phone back in her pocket and signs, “You’re coming with me.

We’ll let the boys get ready on their own.

” Turning to me, she signs, “We’ll meet you at the club at ten. ”

“Don’t be late," I call out. Piper’s eyes go wide as Odie grabs her hand and yanks her out the front door.