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Her wrist was bruised.

She stared down at the places where braided rope had dug into her skin. Where she’d clawed against it to try to get it off. Tugged and pulled and wrenched until it tightened to a vise around her skin. Now the dark marks were a brand, a reminder of what she’d endured.

Gen offered to heal them, but Kierse refused. No one could see the internal marks that Lorcan had left behind. She didn’t want to hide the physical ones.

“What the fuck happened?” Nate asked, arriving while she was still eating breakfast with Graves, Gen, and Ethan the next morning. He reached for her wrists, and she let him take them in his large hands reverently.

“Lorcan,” she said solemnly.

“Fucking hell, Kierse.” His eyes lifted to hers. A glint of gold in them that said he was a second away from shifting into his wolf form and going to rip out Lorcan’s throat. “I’ll kill him.”

She pulled her hands back. “Get in line.”

“If it were that simple, I would have done it last night,” Graves said from his seat. A small leather book was open before him.

“Why the fuck not?”

Kierse couldn’t even get the words out. The anger ripped through her anew at the lack of magic, the violation that cut to the bone.

“The binding allowed him to also take control of her magic. Usually, it’s a bridge between the two. Power sharing,” Graves explained. “But he’s cut her off. It’d be like if someone else decided when you could and couldn’t shift.”

Nate’s eyes widened in barely suppressed rage. “I’m all for torture,” he suggested. “We tie him to a chair and fuck him up until he releases her.”

“Tempting,” Graves said under his breath.

“We’re going to try the cauldron first,” Gen said.

“Might be less violent,” Ethan added.

“What he did was violent,” Nate all but roared.

Ethan held up his hands. “I’m aware. I’m on your side. Not his.”

Kierse shuddered, feeling the fresh reminder of her assault.

“I’m sorry,” Nate said automatically. “I’m so sorry. We’ll figure this out. I’m here for the cauldron, too. Let’s go use it and see if it lives up to its name.”

“Agreed,” Graves said, dropping his book onto the counter. He nodded at Isolde. “Thank you for breakfast. Delicious as always.”

She preened. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you need anything else, just let me know.” Isolde’s gaze fell on Kierse, and she turned away from the pity in the other woman’s expression.

The five of them headed upstairs to the library with Graves at her side.

“How did things go for you last night?” Graves asked Nate.

“As planned,” Nate said on a sigh. “I was nominated for the convocation alongside Amberdash.”

“Who else did the Men of Valor nominate?”

“Amberdash’s second, a wolf by the name of Nova Lee,” he said with a wrinkle of his nose. “She’s had it out for me since I helped with the Treaty. She’s going to be upset when I beat her.”

“We’ll deal with it,” Graves told him.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Nate said. “Plus, I have wedding festivities that are more important. Maura’s family is hosting an entire week of Indian wedding parties since the ceremony is more traditionally American.

Are you still planning to come to events this week?

” Nate’s eyes flicked to Kierse. “Maura would understand if you had to cancel.”

“I’ll be there. Gen and I both,” Kierse said at once. She’d rather be celebrating someone else’s happiness than thinking about her own misery.

Gen smiled. “I’m all for it. I used to tattoo with henna for fun. A Mehndi would be an honor to witness.”

Nate blew out a breath of relief. “Great. She’ll appreciate you both there.”

Kierse’s hand reached for her wren necklace, remembering again too late that it wasn’t there.

Lorcan still had it. The last piece of her mother and it was gone.

She’d kept it all those years on the streets, and somehow now it was lost. Her father’s knife was on her belt.

She reflexively rubbed her hand along the handle, imagining burying the thing in a Druid’s chest.

Graves pushed open the door to the library, and for a second, Kierse’s breath caught at the sight before her. Almost every available square space was covered with valuable collectibles that had been the showcase pieces for the Curator. Jason’s thievery on display in the Holly Library.

“Whoa,” she whispered.

“We did good, eh?” Nate asked, nudging her shoulder.

While Kierse and Lyra had been getting through the security for the cauldron, Nate and Edgar had cleared out the showcase room into a van.

With the ballroom on lockdown thanks to Walter’s warding, they’d been able to steal the entire lot of Jason’s collection, not just the cauldron, without anyone the wiser.

“How did everyone take it when the doors reopened?” Kierse asked, running a finger over the crown jewels she’d noticed the day before.

“I was just as shocked as they were,” Nate said with a wink.

“Lyra claimed the photograph.” Graves pointed at a black-and-white picture. “If you have something in mind, you can take it. Otherwise I’ll sell it all off and give everyone a cut.”

“What do you think that cut will be?” Nate asked.

“I was estimating each cut at twenty-three million apiece.”

Gen gaped at him. “What?”

“Too low?” Graves asked her. “It may be higher if we find the right buyer.”

“That’s…” Gen floundered. “That’s… You’re going to give me twenty-three million dollars?”

“Each.” He sighed softly. “Though I may have to find new help.”

Kierse shrugged. “New blood might be good for you.”

“Perhaps.”

Ethan’s eyes widened between them. “How do I get in on this?”

Gen leaned her head on his shoulder and grinned. “Don’t worry. We’ll share.”

“I won’t,” Nate said with a laugh. “And the money’s great and all, but what about the cauldron?”

“Genesis,” Graves said, tipping his head at her.

“Oh,” she whispered. “Yeah. I mean…you want me to?”

“It chose you.”

Kierse glanced between them. “What does that mean?”

“It spoke to me,” Gen said with a flush to her cheeks. “Healer to healer.”

She stepped up to the dark box at the center of the room. Kierse stilled in anticipation. They’d been working feverishly for weeks to get to this point. Now it was finally here. The mythical cauldron in all its glory.

Gen opened the box and removed from within a small, cast-iron cauldron with a handle and cover.

So it wasn’t a chalice. Just a smaller version of the large cauldron they’d all pictured when hearing the word.

In fact, it didn’t even look like much. Though like the spear, it didn’t look its age, either.

It could have come out of a Salem gift shop if it didn’t radiate eternal energy.

“Traditionally, small cauldrons like this would be used to hold healing ingredients,” Gen informed them.

“Sometimes it was used to make black salt for a banishing, to burn petitions for magical assistance, or incense and herbs for castings. There were many uses for something like this, not just medicinal, all of them ritualistic in nature.”

She cupped the cauldron in her hands, the weight of the cast iron drawing her arms down. Her eyes went wide with wonder as if the cauldron was imparting its wisdom to her.

“But this cauldron was used for so much more than that. Despite its small appearance, it can feed armies, heal the injured, and touch those with magic.” Gen lifted the cauldron up.

“When I was healed, the cauldron and I connected. It amplified my powers, drew from its depths for me. I cannot guarantee what it will do for you, but everyone is entitled to try. Who will go first?”

So Gen’s magic had been altered by the cauldron. That was how her powers had been so much stronger last night.

“Kierse?” Nate asked.

“You go first.”

Nate had a specific request—an end to the incubus curse.

One he’d been anxiously waiting for. Kierse had always been wary about what the cauldron could give her.

If she would have to give up her humanity.

If that was even possible. She’d wanted more magic, but at what cost?

Now, she had a more pressing concern. And even though she knew that Gen had gotten what she needed and more, it still made Kierse wary to hope that the cauldron could fix what had happened to her.

“All right,” Nate said with a nod. He stepped forward, and Gen handed him the cauldron. He lifted it into his arms easily. For a moment, nothing happened.

A second later, a bubbling sound came from within, and Nate’s eyes widened.

“Holy shit,” he gasped.

He held out the cauldron for everyone else to see. It had filled with a clear liquid. Kierse’s jaw dropped. She’d seen magic done so many times before, yet somehow this was still awe inspiring.

“I need a…cup or something,” Nate said.

Graves stepped into the stacks for a moment and came out with a stoppered vial. Nate carefully poured the liquid into the vial, closing it shut. He held the little thing reverently.

“If this works, then we’ll be able to have a baby. I never… I was never sure it would happen.”

“The cauldron said it would work?” Kierse asked.

“Yes. It said it could break an incubus curse.” He cleared his throat. “I guess…I should go take this to Maura.”

“You absolutely should,” Gen said.

His laugh was tinged with tears of joy. He looked up to Graves when he managed to get himself together and then offered his hand. “Thank you.”

Graves shook his hand. “Good luck.”

Nate clapped him on the shoulder. “Still have to get chosen for the election tonight. Don’t forget to show up and vote.”

“I’ll be there.”

With that, Nate headed out of the brownstone. Kierse’s hope ballooned. If it could do this, then surely it could help Kierse. If anything could fix what had happened to her, surely it was this.

“Your turn,” Gen said.