“You’re doubtful?”
I shrug. “I don’t want to be, but I’m at a total loss on how to beat something not even Lucifer could.”
“Have you ever considered the real possibility that you are indeed more powerful than any of your archangel relatives?”
I give Lucas an incredulous look. “They’re immortal.”
“Immortality doesn’t make you powerful. I don’t age, don’t get sick, heal in seconds, and am much faster and stronger than you, but I’m a fool. If it came down to me or you, you would win.” His fingers sweep over my collarbone as he pushes my messy hair back. “The magic inside of you is stronger than anything I’ve seen before, but you also have another side, and your divinity hasn’t been fully unlocked yet. Your father and Lucifer have powers, but they can’t cast spells the same way you do.”
“When we created the portal to escape Hell, Lucifer gave my witch-powers a boost. It’s what he used to do when witches worshipped him so he could trick us into thinking he was the source of our powers, but that’s beside the point. Maybe…maybe there is some sort of spell I can do. If Lucifer can give me a dark-power boost, then surely my dad can do the same. Well, if I ever see him again.”
“You will.” Lucas’s hand lands on my stomach. “We both know he’s going to want to meet his granddaughter.”
“Her father is a vampire, and her grandpa is Michael the Archangel. Poor kid is going to get a lot of attention when she comes here.”
“Don’t forget her badass mother,” Lucas says with a smile. “Who killed demons, rescued the coven, and saved the world a few times.”
“That’ll make her either really popular or the school freak.”
“Were you the school freak?” he asks carefully. “You’ve always been more powerful than other witches.”
“I think in more ways than I want to admit, but it was out of jealousy. Totally opposite of what went on with the Martins. It’s why Ruby couldn’t stand me for years. I always did better than her, and I was just this random girl with no background in magic, yet I could out-witch her. Felix had issues with it too.” I give Lucas a pointed look, telling him not even to go there and be all jealous about me bringing up an ex-boyfriend. “He was a year ahead of me, and I was the one helping him with homework.”
He grunts, not liking the idea that anyone else had their hands on me.
“We’ll have to see how things are in like seven years.” I move Lucas’s hand to my lower stomach so he can feel our baby moving. “But if we’re still in good graces with the coven, you’ll be able to come to orientation. We’ll have to arrive at night and enchant every window.”
“We’ll figure it out when the time comes,” Lucas says in such a way that makes me think it won’t be possible. Enchanting one room for him to hide out in during the day can go by unnoticed. But enchanting the entire Academy so a vampire can freely walk about? Yeah, that won’t go over well with the parents.
“I’m pretty sure Evander has yearbooks in here from the years we went to school. Want to see them?” I ask Lucas.
“Very much so.”
“Good.” Smiling, I go around Evander’s desk, looking through the bookshelves. “Ah, found them. I’m not in the first few, but we can laugh at Evander’s hair at least. And if we go slowly, this will keep us entertained until sunset and then we can go home.”
“What happened to telling your friends about the Horsemen?”
“I’ll tell them later.” I get all nervous just thinking about it. “I hate ruining their day, and this puts quite the damper on not just today but, uh, forever.”
“Callie,” Lucas says gently. “You can’t keep this from them. In my experience, the longer you wait to drop said bomb, the worse the detonation.”
“I know,” I agree, bringing a yearbook over. He’s right, and the pin has already been pulled from the grenade. Not telling my friends won’t save them from falling victim to the Horsemen’s wrath…if they haven’t already.
Chapter 14
“Have you ever considered figuring out a way to get the internet in here?” I tap reload on my Apple News app.
“Not having access to social media makes my job much easier,” Evander says, looking up from a stack of papers on his desk. “Can you imagine teenage witches Snapchatting their way through charms class?”
“Or taking selfies in the great hall?” Kristy adds. “If Instagram was a thing back then, we both know you would have documented your way through marrying a poltergeist.”
“Maybe,” I say, trading my phone for another biscuit. “But mostly so I could tag Scott in my posts.”
“I still haven’t heard the whole story.” Lucas eyes us from where he’s standing by the window. The sun isn’t quite down yet, and we’re in the staff lounge. I enchanted the windows in here so Lucas could join us while we ate dinner. There are a few other professors in here as well, and while they’re trying not to be visibly bothered by the fact a nearly two-thousand-year-old vampire is in the room with us, only two actually seem okay with it.