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And she was right, I did keep my family at a distance sometimes, but only to protect them. That had been my role in the family for as long as I could remember. It started with me trying to shield them from the men who’d come in and out of mom’s life. My mom would get so lost in her feelings, in the idea of love, she missed all the red flags, over and over again. I’d pushed my sisters closer together, while I held back, always watching, always alert, making myself the barrier, trying to deflect the pain from them.

I’d felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, but I’d never meant to hurt them, or make them feel like I didn’t care. I’d only wanted to keep them safe.

Her face dropped, and I hated it. “Mags…”

My phone rang, and I bit back a curse, pulling it free. I checked the screen. An unknown number. A queasy feeling hit my stomach. “Hello?”

“Willow, I…oh god…”

“Clayton?” His voice was shaky, broken, barely recognizable.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be calling you, but I didn’t know who…who I could trust.”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s my mother, someone…someone killed her. She was, Christ, Willow, they cut her to ribbons. They slit her throat.”

Chapter 19

Willow

I took in Clayton’s house as I pulled up outside the next morning. He’d wanted me to come here last night, but I’d had my own family to take care of, and when Mom, Else, and Roe got home, we’d had to perform on them the same ritual we had on Mags.

Then we’d been up all night walking the perimeter of our house, strengthening our wards. No one was getting to them again.

Mom had been beside herself when she’d seen Mags, then Rose had collapsed, looking paler, sicker than I’d ever seen her. I’d hoped…we’d all hoped that maybe it was a hex doll making her sicker, but after the ritual there’d been no change, and the hopelessness I’d felt had been mirrored in the faces of my family.

Mags was doing as well as could be expected this morning. Bram had slept on the floor in her room last night, and Cora and Else were treating her wounds to prevent infection. Else had an excellent salve that sped up healing and reduced scarring, something that we all used a lot, considering how often we cut ourselves spelling.

That wouldn’t take away the scars she would carry on the inside for the rest of her life, though. When I’d checked on her this morning, she’d been subdued, and the light that had always shone from Magnolia had been seriously dimmed. My fingers curled into a tight fist. I was going to find the monster who did this, and when I did, I was going to end them.

And how the hell are you going to do that?

I rubbed my hands over my face and forced myself to breathe, because I felt like I was drowning. I needed to protect my family, keep them safe from whoever wanted to hurt us. I didn’t know what they wanted, why they’d done this, or if it was connected to what happened to Clay’s mother, because her injuries sounded so similar.

And if I didn’t pass this task and my next trial, all the gifts that had come to our family from trials past would be revoked. We’d still be witches, but our powers would be greatly reduced. We’d be sitting ducks. The covens could come for us, for our cemetery, and we’d be as helpless as lambs.

My eyes stung, and I choked back a sob.

And, on top of all these problems, I needed to find Ren.

The door was pulled open, and I jolted, spinning in my seat, my blade in my hand a second later.

Warrick stood there staring down at me.

His bike was behind the Morris. I hadn’t even heard him drive up, lost so deep in my own thoughts. “What are you doing here?”

He rested a hand above the door. “Just came from your house, dove.”

“So you know that someone attacked Magnolia?” My voice was husky from fighting back goddamn tears. I hated crying. It solved nothing. It helped nothing. Feeling sorry for myself sure as hell wouldn’t help the people I loved most in this world.

“Yeah, and you’ve already got enough shit to deal with. I can’t stop an attack that involves witchcraft, but I can keep them physically safe. I sent some of my brothers to your place. They’ll cover all of you until we know what the fuck is going on.”

I blinked up at him, and my heart smacked against the back of my ribs, then I was moving, flying out of the truck and wrapping my arms around him. “Thank you,” I said against his chest.

We could ward the house, we were still powerful witches, for now, anyway. We’d been taking care of ourselves for as long as I could remember. But I wanted all bases covered, and sometimes straight-up brute strength was what you needed. And as much as I hated owing favors or relying on anyone else, when it came to my sisters, to Mom and Else, my pride didn’t matter. I’d take all the help I could get. “You don’t know what a relief that is.”

One of his thick fingers hooked me under the chin, and he tilted my head back. “Anything you need, dove, just ask. And if anyone comes for your family again, one of my brothers will shred them into bloody pieces.”