Page 16 of Pints & Potions

This woman knew Piper. And likely, with that eye color, they were related.

Cian decided to test her further. “I promise, I’m not abducting her. It’s a wee bit hard to produce proof when I’m holding me woman in me arms.” He laid the accent on thick, hoping it would work on her as it had with Piper the evening before.

Her expression hardened.

So much for his legendary charm!

“Which hospital are you going to? I’ll follow you there,” she said sweetly. More than a hint of steel underlay the words.

Yep, definitely a relation of Piper’s. Cian was positive, and he wanted nothing more than to bang his head against the boulder behind him.

“Look,” he added a hard edge to his tone. “I need to get my darlin’ Piper help. Step aside.”

The blonde narrowed her eyes as her mouth firmed into a tight, white line. “I’m going with you.”

“Fine,” he growled. He made it two steps before it occurred to him that as a powerful witch—and she certainly was if she was in any way related to the Thornes—she could teleport them all. Cian turned back, ready to lower himself to ask.

Piper moaned again and curled toward him.

“I’ve got you, love,” he murmured, dropping a kiss on her brow. “Never you worry.”

When he glanced up again, it was to see the other woman’s eyes had softened. “I think she’s in good hands,” she said.

With a direct look meant to assure, he nodded. “She’ll come to no more harm from me.”

“No more?” The frown was back, this time accompanied by a black look.

Gah, he was an eejit.

“Poor choice of words,” he corrected. “I’ll see her safely back home.”

“Or the hospital?”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Just give over, woman. I know you’re related. You have to be with those eyes. Now, use all that blessed magic you were born with and get us to safety before thegardaíshow up and arrest me.” He didn’t miss the slight smirk she shot him as she placed a hand on his arm and the other on Piper. “Bloody Thorne witches!”

6

They arrived in Piper’s room, and Cian desperately wanted to learn how she’d known where to go without asking. It stood to reason she’d been snooping at some point.

“I’m Liz, and as you guessed, Piper is my cousin.”

She failed to mention a last name, but Cian heard what she hadn’t said.

“Cian. And thanks for the assist.”

“Why can’t you teleport?” she asked curiously. “You’re like us, if I’m not mistaken?”

He hated to admit he was a warlock without power, but he had no other way of explaining why he couldn’t pop home immediately. “A curse. About two hundred and fifty years gone.”

“Witches without power… hmm… you must be an O’Malley.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do you know of the O’Malleys?”

“Nothing more than the fact they lost their power to the O’Connors over a feud. Legend has it there’s some type of riddle associated with reversing the curse.”

Cian stared, dumbfounded.

Of course!He’d forgotten all about it. After spending a lifetime as little more than a regular human, he hadn’t paid much attention to the magical side of his family history.Other than Granny O’Malley’s special brew.Of which, there was none left. He couldn’t begin to gnaw on that bone right at the moment, though. He had other problems on his hands, to be sure.

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