The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

much she’d protested going to the stupid party in the first place, there had been an element of adventure about the whole event.
    But this time? This time things were very different, and this was certainly no adventure.
    Xan walked up the three stone steps and took a bunch of keys out of his jeans pocket. “Well, come on then.”
    Donna took a deep breath, realizing that she’d been staring at the windows. She was still on the sidewalk, and Xan was holding open the front door.
    “Sorry,” she said. “I was just trying to figure out how to get the lid back on.” The image of Pandora’s Box had come to mind—there was no getting away from it now, and not just with Navin. It seemed she was being forced to let people into her life, no matter what the Order of the Dragon wanted.
    His face twisted with confusion. “Um … what lid?”
    She smiled and shook her head. “Nothing, forget it.”
    Xan was still frowning at her as she walked past him and into the house.

    “There.” Donna put the finishing touches on the medical dressing. “All finished.”
    Xan raised an eyebrow. “Not bad. First time?”
    Dammit , she thought. A nother guy in her life who could do that eyebrow thing . She willed herself not to blush and, for once, managed to stay composed. Xan really was very good looking, with cheekbones a model would kill for. Just sitting this close to him—on his bed —made her skin vibrate.
    They were in Xan’s bedroom again; he’d said the medical supplies were in the upstairs bathroom, and Donna had chosen to believe him. She didn’t think he was just trying to lure her back to his room, not when he was bleeding all over the place. She’d refused to talk about elves and insisted on seeing his injury before anything else. Not that she was a first aid expert, but she at least knew something about the sort of damage the creatures could inflict.
    Donna had tried really hard not to think about how toned Xan’s chest was while examining the imprint of the elf’s jagged teeth. This wasn’t the time to act like a teenager. But I am a teenager , she’d wanted to shout. It was so unfair—why did these things have to happen? Why couldn’t she just have a normal life? And then she immediately felt angry with herself for the blast of self-pity. She was determined to accept whatever life had to throw at her.
    Of course, despite her good intentions, she didn’t always succeed.
    Xan had lifted up his gray button-down shirt so she could get to the cuts along the ribs on his left side. There was already a livid bruise against his golden skin, but the flesh had only been broken in a couple places.
    As she packed the bandages away, Donna’s mind immediately turned to what came next. Did they have to have the Big Talk? Something had brought this beautiful guy into her life, and she was both terrified and excited to find out why.
    “Donna, look at me.” There was that thread of vulnerability in Xan’s voice again. “I have to show you something. It … might be easier than just talking. You want to understand how I know about those things, right? Know about the fey?”
    When she didn’t reply, he stepped in front of the bedroom door and began unbuttoning his shirt.
    “What are you doing?” Donna heard how thin and breathless her voice sounded. “We already dealt with the wound.”
    “Oh, come on .” He let out a frustrated breath. “What the hell do you take me for?”
    She laughed, nervously. “Sorry.”
    “Just let me do this.” Xan continued to work on the buttons, his eyes fixed on hers. It was intense and weird, and she wondered if she should feel more afraid.
    “Wait a minute,” she said finally. “I think we’re having a misunderstanding here … ”
    “Shut up, will you? Trust me.” His tone made her stop. What was it about this guy that made her want to trust him?
    Xan’s fingers looked steady as he got to the top button of the shirt. He turned to face the door, so that his back was toward