“Then unblock it!”


    “Ma’am, I understand you’re upset, but we can’t risk our men’s lives when the building could copse at any moment. It’s protocol.”


    “Protocol?” Lilith’s voice cracked. “That’s my grandson in there!”


    “I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do.”


    He turned away from her, speaking into his radio again. Lilith stood there, staring at the burning house. At the second floor window where Lucien’s nursery was.


    Protocol. They were going to let him die because of protocol.


    No.


    She wasn’t going to let that happen.


    Lilith shifted mid–stride and took off running. Behind her, someone shouted for her to stop, but she didn’t. She leapt through the doorway and into the burning house.


    The heat hit her immediately; it was so intense now that it felt like her fur would catch fire. Smoke choked her lungs. She could barely see, but she knew this house like the back of her hand. She could navigate it with her eyes closed, even if half of it was crumbling.


    She bolted up what remained of the stairs, jumping over the copsed section. The second floor hallway was worse than she’d imagined. Fire covered the walls on both sides, racing along the ceiling. The carpet was burning beneath her paws.


    She heard it then–crying. Faint, but there. Lucien was still alive.


    Lilith pushed forward, keeping low to avoid the worst of the smoke. The nursery door was closed. She shifted back long enough to grab the handle. It was so hot it burned her palm, but she yanked it open anyway.


    The room was filled with smoke, but the fire hadn’t reached it yet. Lucien was in his crib, screaming. Lilith raced over and scooped the baby into her arms, pressing him against her chest.


    She turned to leave, but the doorway exploded.


    mes burst through from the hallway, a wall of fire blocking her exit. Lilith stumbled backward, shielding Lucien with her body. The heat <b>was </b>unbearable. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.


    She looked around frantically. The window. If she could get to the window-


    Another st of mes erupted from the doorway. Lilith turned her back to it, curling around Lucien as the fire engulfed her. She felt it searing into her skin, burning through her clothes. The pain was white–hot, blinding, all- consuming.


    But she didn’t <b>let </b>go of the baby.


    She stumbled forward, half–blind<b>, </b>and crashed through the window. ss shattered around her. For a moment, she was falling, and then she hit the ground hard enough to knock the air from her lungs.


    Someone was shouting. Hands grabbed her, pulling her away from the house. She couldn’t see anymore. Everything was smoke and pain and chaos.


    +25 Bonus


    But Lucien was still in her arms. She could feel him moving, crying. Alive.


    “Take him,” she gasped. Her voice didn’t sound like her own. “Take the baby.”


    Someone pried him from her grip. She let them. Her arms wouldn’t work anymore anyway.


    She was lying on the grass now. She could feel it beneath her, cool and damp. The smoke smell was fading, reced by something metallic. Blood, maybe. Or burned flesh.


    Footsteps pounded toward her. A familiar voice was calling her name.


    Alexander.


    He dropped to his knees beside her, his face pale. He was saying something, but she couldn’t make out the words. Everything sounded muffled, like she was underwater.


    She tried to speak, but her throat was too raw. She swallowed and tried again.


    “Protect him,” she whispered. “Protect the child.”


    Alexander’s eyes were wide. She could see him mouthing her name, but everything was distant now. Fuzzy.


    Lilith’s vision was darkening at the edges. She thought about E. About the little girl she’d given birth to all those years ago. The little girl she’d failed to protect when Richard’s abuse started. The little girl who’d grown up thinking that her mother was gone and that no one would ever protect her.


    Maybe she hadn’t been able to help her then. But not now. Not anymore.


    <b>“</b>Tell E…<b>” </b>Lilith’s breath rattled in her chest. “Tell her I love her.”


    Alexander grabbed her hand. He was still talking, still trying to keep her conscious, but it was toote.


    The darkness closed in, and Lilith let it take her. She knew this feeling well–death. She weed it. Embraced it like an old friend who hade back for her after too long apart.


    This time, she didn’t wake up again. Because the curse had been lifted months ago, and Lilith’s time in this realm hade to its end.


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    <strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.