Chapter Thirty
Lilith
Eager to implement what she’d read in the grimoire, Lilith rushed back to the bed and breakfast to pull together the ingredients.
The home was quiet within, Aunt Jacqueline’s door closed with the sound of a running shower inside.
Meaning Lilith had some time to herself.
The first thing she did now that she was connected to Wi-Fi was google the daunting items mentioned in the old book.
Crystal was simply clear quartz.
Tin stone was cassiterite.
Laurel leaves were bay leaves.
Dragon’s glass was obsidian.
And snakeroot was echinacea, the heads being flowers.
Those weren’t nearly as terrifying or impossible to acquire as anticipated and were almost laughably boring.
She thought back to the stones and crystals still scattered around the grimoire.
One appeared to be amethyst and another quartz.
If she was correct, she had nearly half the ingredients for the charm.
The rest she could likely locate in the house. The kitchen was her first stop, where she found some dried bay leaves conveniently
stored inside a plastic spice jar.
She tucked the stiff, fragrant leaves into a necklace pouch she found in her luggage, fortunately absent any florals despite
having belonged to Mama.
Outside, the sun gilded the world in brilliant light, its warmth enhancing the fragrance of grass and the various blossoms.
Lilith was spared foraging in the forest by Aunt Jacqueline’s garden.
The colorful rows were not just flowers as initially anticipated, but various herbs: lavender, chamomile, and the wonderfully
recognizable pink of echinacea blossoms.
Lilith plucked a couple of the latter and secured them in the necklace pouch alongside the bay leaves.
Rosemary was just as easy to identify with its spiky stalks and sharp, medicinal scent.
She carried her findings to her room. This enchantment that had seemed impossible over an hour before now felt entirely doable.
And she’d accomplished it all by herself.
A warm sense of pride unfurled in her chest.
She slid her small, precious harvest into her back pocket, ready to return to the manor to retrieve the crystals. But as soon
as she stepped outside, Asher’s black Mercedes pulled into the driveway.
Essie would be tickled to death when she found out he drove a Mercedes—Lilith would never hear the end of it.
He nodded to her in greeting and her heart tripped over itself. As he exited the car, he pulled a pet carrier with him. Toby bounded out behind him, trying to peer through the grate of the carrier. Tutting, Asher drew the carrier higher, out of Toby’s reach.
Lilith crossed her arms over her chest. “If you’re planning on taking Lord Wimbleton the third away, Aunt Jacqueline will
never forgive you.”
Asher lifted a sardonic brow. “Don’t tempt me.” He tilted his head to the carrier. “But I don’t think this chap would appreciate
having a skunk in here with him.”
Lilith moved forward, lured by what could possibly fit in the small crate. “Can I see?”
Toby snuffled and snorted in his eagerness to get to whatever was inside.
“Let’s go in the house first.” Asher closed the car door with such care it made barely a sound. As if he were trying to keep
from startling the animal.
Once inside, Asher pinched the lock together and opened the cage-like door. Toby perched on the couch with his stubby front
legs, trying to peer in, but Asher gently nudged the dog away.
Lilith leaned closer, craning her head toward the opening.
At first, she saw nothing, but then a shape appeared in the shadows—a black cat pressed against the rear of the crate, his
tail spiraled in front of his body like a shield.
“He hasn’t left the carrier, poor chap.” Asher rested his elbows on his knees and lowered his head near Lilith’s. His scrubs
smelled like fresh laundry and Lilith hated how much that made her want to curl up against him and breathe him in.
Oblivious, Asher continued, “His owner wasn’t caring for him properly, so the RSPCA removed him from the home. When they found
him, he didn’t have any food or water and had been so hungry, he’d torn into a bag of bread on the counter.”
“Bless his little heart.” Lilith shook her head. “I’ll never understand people who neglect their animals.”
Asher fisted his hands, and the veins in his forearms stood out against his skin.
“Me neither.” His voice softened. “The mite is malnourished and stressed. I thought he might do better here…as long as Toby minds himself.” He looked over his shoulder to where Toby was edging closer to the cat carrier.
The dog gave an indignant grumble and slunk back to his bed in the corner.
They shared a smile and turned back to the carrier to find a small black head emerging curiously from the crate. Lilith turned
her hand palm up, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible.
The cat sniffed carefully at her thumb, his jerky exhalations tickling against her skin. Then he turned his large green eyes
up at her, wide with a trust that tugged at her heart.
As if sensing her reaction, the little cat stepped forward, revealing bald patches on the backs of his front legs.
“He’s been licking to self-soothe.” Asher nodded to the bald spots.
The tug at her heart became a visceral wrench.
The cat crept closer—first onto her knee, weighing scarcely anything—then her thigh, revealing his slender frame, hip bones
jutting from beneath his black fur.
He perched in her lap, curled into a ball, and settled against her like Amara did with Essie, yielding to an embrace filled
with love and complete trust.
Asher looked at the cat and smiled up at Lilith. “Everyone at the office has been trying for two days to lure him out. Looks
like he just needed the right person.”
Lilith stared down at the ball of warm black fur nestled against her. The small cat had chosen her. As if he could sense the
pain inside her the way she sensed it in him. Two wounded souls bound together.
She wanted to heal his hurt, to make him forget everything he’d endured. To ensure he would never be vulnerable and ill-treated again.
Even after Mama had died, Lilith hadn’t gotten a pet. The idea of something else depending on her was more than she could
bear.
But the need in this tiny, misused creature was pure and tender. What brought him to Lilith wasn’t about taking and hurting
but trusting and healing.
She stroked a hand over his slender body, noting every prominent rib her fingers skimmed. A steady purr revved in the cat’s
throat, trusting and eager for affection.
Her chest swelled with more love than she’d ever imagined possible.
Unexpected emotion knotted in her throat. “What’s his name?”
Asher’s gaze was soft as he considered the cat. “Sometimes it’s best to rename animals when they haven’t lived in a good home.”
He looked up at her and his knee brushed hers. “Care to do the honors?”
Heat rushed up her neck and she lowered her head, the flush likely creeping over her face. She continued stroking the cat’s
silky fur, dark as obsidian. Like dragon’s glass. “I think…Dragon.”
The cat cast a side glance up at her, the expression sly, as if sharing their own little secret.
At least this secret was one she understood, especially when there were still so many to unearth.