Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

Telling the truth would have made Abby look crazy. My sister has magical powers and our dad is scared of her, so he sent her away. Yeah…that wouldn’t have ended well for her. I never blamed Abby for what happened to me back then. I did blame her for leaving when I returned to Chicago for the summer, hoping to spend it with her. Now I know how William manipulated her into taking an internship just to get her out of the house and away from me.

“I love you both just the same,” Tabatha replies. “Though one of you did spend more time in my office than the other when I was headmistress.” She gives Kristy and the twins a pointed look. “And more times than not, you three accompanied her.”

“No wonder you hated us,” Nicole says to Ruby, and we all laugh again.

“I didn’t hate you,” Ruby counters.

“Really?” I laugh.

“Really. We had a friendly competition going all those years,” she says, trying to keep her face neutral, but she ends up laughing.

Melinda picks up her wine and takes a drink. “The concept of witch school is still so weird to me.”

“Right?” Abby snaps her head up, eyes wide. “I keep imaging scenes from Harry Potter.”

“We don’t have a Quidditch team,” Tabatha says seriously. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Abby laughs. “That’s heartbreaking to hear.” Her eyes go from Tabatha to the other witches in the room to Melinda. “It’s crazy how much I didn’t know before. I definitely feel like I’m part of the club now, even if I don’t have powers.”

“I don’t, either,” Melinda reminds her.

“That makes me feel better.” Abby smiles and looks down at Penny. She’s on her last piece of cheese, and Pandora sits patiently as Penny mashes it up and gives it to her. “I think that’s enough,” Abby tells her when Penny wants more. “And I think we’re going to head out.” She picks Penny up. “Now that I know you’re fine and everything else is fine too.”

Her statement is more of a question. “It is,” I reply and pick up my fork. “I’ll walk you guys out.” I shovel one bite of pasta into my mouth and go with her into the family room, helping her gather everything for the diaper bag. She hugs me twice before leaving, and I wave as they pull out of the driveway.

The others have filtered into the living room, taking Abby leaving as the cue to head out as well.

“Can you guys stay?” I ask, heart speeding up again. “And we should probably get Evander.”

“Of course,” Tabatha says, doing a good job to keep the worry off her pretty face. “I believe he’s at the Academy, but he’ll be able to astral project in. I’ll send him a note.”

“The fireplace in the library is spelled,” I tell her, aware that Kristy, the twins, and Ruby are all staring at me now. “I’m going to go back to my food while we wait. Anyone else want anything?”

“I think we might need some more wine,” Kristy muses.

“Yeah, you probably will.”

“I’ll get something from the wine cellar,” Lucas offers. “Any requests?”

“What pairs better with impending apocalypse, a red or a white?” I mumble so only Lucas can hear me. He meets my gaze for a second.

“A red,” he answers and then speeds away. Taking my plate from the island, I relocate at the breakfast table, which is large enough to seat everyone else. I get halfway through my food when Tabatha joins, saying Evander is going to astral project in at any moment.

Kristy is topping off her wine glass when Scarlet barks, racing through the house and into the foyer. Lucas stiffens, tipping his head and smelling the air. Binx and Freya shadow through the house, and Pandora stays by my side, ready to defend me if need be.

They let me know exactly what they can sense before the rest of us hear the car door slamming shut.

“Stay here,” Lucas growls.

“Why?” Nicole rushes out, reaching for her sister’s hand.

Lucas flashes his fangs, handsome face twisting with anger. “Fucking werewolves.”

Chapter 6

“Lucas, wait!” I call, standing up so fast my stomach hits the table. It hurts, but not bad enough to slow me down. “You can’t go outside!”

“I’ll tear them apart before I burn,” he snarls. “They know better than to come back to Thorne Hill.”

He’s right. Unable to keep up with him, I slow. One hand goes to my stomach, and I wait for the others to come into the hall with me so we can walk into the foyer together.

“I spoke to the alpha myself,” Tabatha says calmly. “And she assured me we would have no more issues. Thorne Hill is witch territory, and they know it.” She sweeps her hands out in front of her, giving Lucas a magical shove away from the door. He only falters slightly and grunts in annoyance.