My normally stoic, brave, totally kick-ass big sister burst into tears right next to me. 

Someone moved near Kellis’s shoulder. I turned more fully then. I still hurt, but it was starting to dull. 

There was my eldest sister, Ambrea. Alaun, Riv, and Julea were right behind her. Alleah, a tiny version of us all, was sleeping in a big chair behind them. 

I pulled myself up to sit, probably more quickly than I should have. “You’re all here.”

“Yes,” Ambrea said. “How do you feel?”

How do I feel? “L-like I was almost killed by a demon. And he said something… about a demon q-queen. I have no clue what it m-means.”

“We’re still trying to figure out what it means,” Kellis said, after getting herself together. Riv had her arm around Kellis, comforting her. But there were tear tracks on Riv’s cheeks, too.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. Um…I’m not dying still, am I?” I looked down at my arm. All I saw was a mountain of white bandages. “Did the demon potions work?”

“I can’t believe you let them use demon stuff on you,” Julea said. “That was incredibly brave, Jume. Especially since it was a demon that attacked you.”

“It wasn’t brave. It was hope. I am just not ready to leave you all yet. Not yet.”

“Well, you won’t be leaving us at all,” Kellis said, so fierce I looked at her to make certain she wasn’t angry. “The demon brews Thadd gave you worked.”

“He gave me an actual painkiller. And it worked.” I looked at my sisters. We all knew what that meant for our people. I fought tears and a grin and shout of joy at what it meant for our people. Our people, painkillers. Something the other Kinds took for granted. And now…we have one. For all of us. “And he put something called an ointment on my arm before he stitched it together. My arm was starting to turn green. From poison.”

“You were so lucky,” Kellis said. “Had Mak not been there, and had Kindara not recently returned from the demon world, we would have lost you.”

“Has anyone figured out why the demon came for me?” I started shaking as the memory of that horrible monster flooded my mind again. 

I now have something else to add to my nightmares. Demons coming for me. Maybe he was just the first? Maybe there are more out there somewhere? 

I don’t know what I am supposed to do now…