Page 72 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

“How’d you know?” Connor asked.

“I’m moving inside your mate as we speak.”

Connor growled. “I will end you if you say that shit again.”

“Too soon?” Luc asked all innocently and when no one gave a response, he mumbled, “Right, right…” under his breath. “Make sure she drinks it all. If it works, she should be back to her normally charming self in an hour.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Lily Joy asked and Luc’s face fell. That didn’t bode well for me.

“She’ll need a blood transfusion from someone with her blood type—and I don’t mean A, B, O, or any of those. I mean Lilium, like her.”

“I’m Lilium,” Lily Joy said. Her face lit up with hope.

“We could try it, but I think your blood is too diluted.” He looked at Connor. “Yours, too.” Connor’s head jutted back. “And you know how strong demon toxins are. I’m so sorry.”

Lilith had said that yesterday, that Connor’s magic came from the man who’d married her oldest daughter with Zohor. That only made us kind of related, right? Like our family tree branched enough for our future children to be fine? Connor, it seemed, paid no attention to my internal struggle, putting his own thoughts together. No, I wasn’t a mind reader—I mean, yes, I could talk to Connor in his head when he was in death hound form, but I didn’t need to connect with him like that and couldn’t right now even if I wanted to.

I knew Connor was putting his own thoughts together because he muttered, “Simeon.”

“What?” Luc asked.

“Simone’s brother. Simeon. If the tea doesn’t work, then we need to get him here.”

“We don’t even know exactly where he is,” Lily Joy reminded him.

“Let’s just hope the tea works,” Luc said.

I finished the entire mug and even choked down a second for good measure, but after an hour of me progressively deteriorating, getting weaker and weaker, it became apparent that we needed more than Luc’s blood. I needed my brother’s.

My entire body shook violently. Connor did everything he could to keep me comfortable, but some things were just out of our control. “We… had a… good… run,” I said.

“It’s not over yet, Simone. Don’t you dare give in. I need you.”

It took so much effort, but I managed to lift my hand to his cheek. “I… love you… Connor.”

He pressed a kiss to the meaty part of my palm. Dying sucked, both physically and emotionally. As I started to phase out, Connor screamed, “Lily Joy!” The fear… Even in spirit form, I doubted I’d ever forget the fear in his voice. Lilith shimmered into the room before my eyes.

“Are you… bringing me… home?” I asked her.

“Who are you talking to, sweetheart?” Connor asked.

“Lilith,” I answered.

His arms grew tighter around me. “No… no, no, no. You can’t have her, Lilith. Not now. She’s mine.” Connor’s words sounded as thick as they did angry and I felt one of his tears hit my skin.

“Hold on, my sweet granddaughter,” she cooed softly. “Help is coming.”

I felt myself transitioning out of this world. Lilith’s features began to sharpen. The room lit up with swirls of energy. Universal energy that mortals couldn’t see.

Then we heard a woman’s voice. “Connor?”

“Where’s my sister?” Simeon pushed past his mate and Lily Joy to drop down at my bedside. He lifted one of my hands into his. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Stabbed with a demon claw,” Connor answered. “We were attacked and while I fought off one, she was injured by another.”

“What can I do?” he asked.

Luc stepped back inside the room. “The only thing to save her now is a blood transfusion.”

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