Page 56 of Discovery of the Vampire
Killian and Dae also got up, but I stayed on the floor until one of them grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet.
“What the hell are you trying to do?” Dae asked me. “You can’t save her if you burn yourself alive.”
“You’ll understand someday,” Killian told him.
“I hope not.”
With wild eyes, I found Killian. “I just left her at her place. ALONE.”
He grabbed my shoulders. “Focus! What are your instincts telling you, lad?”
I shook my head.
“Brogan! Focus! And tell me what ye feel. Other than yer own panic, is there anything inside of you telling ye Esme isn’t at home, safe and sound in her bed?” His eyes bored into mine as he projected a state of calm into me.
“No.” I shook my head again. “No, I don’t feel anything.”
“Then yer mate is fine.”
Lizzy appeared behind him. “Angel and I will go check on her as soon as we’re done here.”
Killian’s head whipped around. “No, ye willnot.”
But she just smiled at him. “Yes. Yes, we will.” Then she turned on her heel and returned to the sitting room.
Killian cocked his head as he watched her walk away. “Come on, lad. There’s nowhere ye can go right now. Let’s finish this up so they can go check on yer mate.”
Left with no choice, I returned to the sitting room.
Like nothing had happened, Lizzy sat in her chair and leaned forward, her dark eyes flickering with frustration as she picked up the conversation where it left off. "It makes no sense. If he’s back, it's not just for Esme. He'll be coming for Alice and Alex, too. And what about this book he’s looking for? There has to be a reason he wants it so badly. And that reason can’t be good. That makes itourproblem too, not just the vampires." Looking up at Killian, she told him, "I told her I wanted to help Esme, whether the coven is on it or not."
"If Judy has made that call," Killian said, "it's within her rights to do so. But ye,acushla," he stared Lizzy down, "are going nowhere near that thing.” He turned back to the room. “Judy’s job is to protect her coven, not throw them into a fight they might not survive. And we need to respect that decision, just as I hope they’d do for us were the situation reversed.”
“What about Esme?" I shot back, my voice rising. "She’s one witch against a djinn who’s already killed her family. And we’re just going to let her handle it alone because the witches—the only ones who might stand a chance against this thing—are too scared to get involved?"
"She’s not alone," Lizzy said quietly, her eyes meeting mine. "She has us. And she has you, whether you’ve admitted it to yourself or not."
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. “I’ve come to terms with what she is to me.” Then I looked away for a moment, my jaw tightening. “But I’m not enough. I can’t protect her from this. You're not enough, either. And Angel's had her magic stripped, not that she'd help us against Marcus." It was a low blow, and I knew it. She'd only helped him because Mike's life was in danger if she didn't. Hell, it still was.
"Hey!" Jamal pushed off the wall and glared at me, his fists clenched at his sides before he pointed a finger in my direction. “You have something to say about my mate? Say it to me.”
Angel’s voice cut through the tension, calm but firm, as she restrained her mate with a hand on his arm. "Judy’s decision isn’t about abandoning Esme—it’s about protecting the people she’s responsible for. And like Killian said, we have to respect that, even if we don’t like it or agree with it."
"But—"
"No," Killian interrupted, his tone final. "The witches are out. I imagine Judy will keep a close eye on Alex and Alice while we deal with this ourselves. And the others are on their way."
"Jesse couldn't beat him last time," Elias argued.
"That's because Marcus had help," Killian reminded him with no censure in his tone and with a stern look in my direction. No one looked at Angel, but Jamal wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back against him. Killian was right. She'd been a victim, just like the rest of us, and I shouldn’t be taking my mood out on her.
"Sorry," I told her. "I didn't mean?—"
She cut me off before I could finish. "It's all right."
I gave her a nod. Now would be a great fucking time for her to have access to her magic again.
Killian’s sharp gaze swept over the room, silencing the low murmurs that had started. “Enough,” he said, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “We’ll get nowhere discussing business that isn't ours. The witches are out. We deal with this ourselves. There's nothing else we can do.”
