Page 62 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

“Lilith and Adam? Like Garden of Eden Lilith and Adam?”

“That would be them,” I answered.

“And you call that a funny story?” she asked taken aback.

“Funny curious, notfunny ha ha,” Connor answered for me.

“How are you here, now?”

“Lilith could time jump. She left me here as an infant.”

“So… we’reLilium?”

“‘Lilium’?” I asked.

She nodded. “The children of Lilith. My parents left me with a book. More like a diary, I guess, because it was handwritten. One of the passages said Lilium are the children of Lilith. Stronger than any witch. Stronger than any super. Most would kill for what we’re apparently capable of. I just never put it together. They’re rare—or,we’rerare. I’m embarrassed to say that I thought it was super superstition.”

“Surprise!” I joked.

“You’ll have to excuse me here, but I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around this.I’ma direct descendant of Lilith.TheLilith. The woman so powerful that men demonized her in the Old Testament.”

“It’s a lot to take in,” I agreed.

“Why do you seem so calm about this?” she asked.

“Connor, plug your ears,” I ordered.

“I’m not plugging my ears.”

“Connor,” I repeated more forcefully. “Plug your ears.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, but he grumbled while plugging his ears.

“He’s not supposed to hear this?” Lily Joy asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t want him to. He gets a big head.”

“About?” she hedged.

“He grounds me. Connor is why I’m so calm. Without him, I’d be a mess.”

“Finally, you admit it,” he said, drawing a laugh from me.

“You’re supposed to have your ears plugged.”

“Have you learned nothing, Simone?” he asked, and yeah—his coal-black eyes smiled with heat and love just for me. I was putty in his highly capable hands.

“So you need my help,” Lily Joy said. “That’s why you’re here.”

“Pretty much,” I agreed. “Hey—what was that spell outside? It was…” I felt my cheeks heat thinking about the way Connor had held me. The tenderness of his touch. A trill of goosebumps ran up my arms.

“It didn’t work,” she replied and I cocked my head, looking at her curiously.

“What do you mean, it didn’t work?”

“It’s a spell to keep supers away. You two should’ve started fighting, completely forgetting why you’d shown up at my door. If the spell had worked, you’d have fought as you left me alone.”

“Damn right, achievement unlocked,” Connor mumbled.

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