Page 40 of Pints & Potions

“Want me to check the pub? I can see if Bridget’s noticed anything out of the ordinary,” Spring volunteered.

Her husband didn’t look happy about letting her go off alone, but he gave her a tight smile. “Please be careful, Spring,” he said roughly. Leaning in, he closed his eyes and kissed her temple, and in the simple gesture, Knox allowed them all to glimpse the depth of his love for her.

Cian experienced a thickening in his throat and he blinked, amazed he could be moved to deep emotion by the witness of an innocent kiss. His gaze dropped to Piper, his throat thickened even more, making speech impossible. With a light stroke of his fingers along her midnight locks, he silently begged her not to die.

Wasting no more time, they spread out to search for whomever might be trying to harm her.

16

Twenty minutes later, they were all back in the dining room without any answers and no closer to finding the culprit.

“How is she?” Cian asked gruffly.

“Better,” Bridget told him from a chair in the corner. “Carrick is minding the pub. Spring and I set up a protective barrier with Gran’s crystals. The wards seem to be holding.”

Cian tugged his sister to her feet and gave her a tight hug. He was exceedingly grateful for the affection and support of his family. Whenever the chips were down, they rallied around one another and made the world right again. Perhaps familial love was their true magic. “Thanks, Bridg.”

Stepping to the table, Cian gazed down into Piper’s pale face. Her color wasn’t quite normal, but it was better than the ghostly gray when they’d first been rescued from the cave in. Her lips were no longer blue but the pretty petal pink they normally were.

GiGi had worked tirelessly, it seemed, utilizing her magic to heal Piper.

“I owe you a debt of gratitude I can’t repay,” he told her.

Her eyes were soft as she looked up from her task. “No. She’s family.”

“But she was targeted because of me.”

“You don’t know that, Cian.” A deep frown settled between GiGi’s perfectly groomed brows. “She’s a Thorne, and our family comes with its own baggage.”

“If you were being targeted, why would they try to prevent Piper from healing?” Ryker asked with a thoughtful look down at her still face. “You just met her this weekend, and other than Bridget’s connection to GiGi through the coven, you have no ties to the Thorne family.”

Cian couldn’t argue with Ryker’s logic, yet in his heart of hearts, he was convinced this was in some way connected to him.

As GiGi soldiered on with the healing, Cian stroked Piper’s dirt-encrusted hair back from her forehead. “It’s time for you to wake up, Piper me love. You’ve worried the lot of us, to be sure. With every second you delay; my life remains in peril from Alastair.”

Her thick, dark lashes fluttered, but her lids stayed shut.

“I know you hear me, darlin’. Fight to return to us now.”

Her eyes flickered back and forth behind her closed lids.

Unable not to, he ran a thumb lightly over her parted lips. “Come back to us, Piper,” he commanded in a stern voice.

With a low moan, she opened her eyes. The color was muddied by her pain, and Cian’s heart contracted. “There you are, my beautifulcailín.”

A tear trickled down to her hairline. “Hurts.”

“I know, but GiGi is attemptin’ to make it better. You need to work from the inside out to help her.” He brushed her lips with his. “Pull strength from me if you need it, darlin’, just heal for me now.”

A shuddering sigh escaped her lips and her lids closed.

For a second, Cian’s heart stopped until he realized she hadn’t passed out or died on him. He pressed his cheek to hers. “Don’t be scaring me like that. This old heart can’t take it,” he murmured.

“Sorry.” The whisper was barely audible, but he heard.

“No problem. Let’s get you better.” He clasped one of her hands in his and touched his nose to hers in a butterfly kiss. “I think it’s all about the visualization of healthy lungs and cells, right? Let’s do that together.”

“Keep talking to her,” GiGi ordered urgently. “It’s working. I can feel the ribs knitting the way they should.”

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