Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

Maryellen pulls her hands back. “Does that hurt?”

I shake my head, afraid I’m going to puke if I open my mouth. The smell of cleaning products, the extreme exhaustion, and the frustration of not being able to be out there, yanking War’s astral ass out of whatever realm he’s hiding in so I can kick it, is just too much.

Lucas brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it. “You’re safe, my love.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “You know she doesn’t like hospitals, right?” he asks Maryellen.

“Right. The High Priestess filled me in.” Maryellen smiles. “You’re safe with us, Callie. I’ve delivered many witches and warlocks in my time, including several of your friends. Evander made a quick entrance into this world, and Kristy Miller took her time. Her mother was in labor for nearly three days if I’m not mistaken.”

“I…I didn’t realize you were there then,” I say and fix the thin pillow behind me.

“I was in my final year of studies when our High Priestess went into labor. She’d just started teaching at the Academy then.” She smiles warmly and puts her hands on my stomach, feeling for the baby before getting the measuring tape again. “Evander was one of the first babies I ever delivered.” She runs the tape measure down the middle of my stomach and looks puzzled.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas asks, getting to his feet.

“Nothing. Can you lower the head of the bed?”

I press the button and lie flat. Maryellen measures me again. “Huh,” she mumbles to herself and gets a notebook from her bag.

“Is something wrong?” I sit the bed back up, feeling too vulnerable lying down like that.

“You’re measuring ahead of where I thought you would be,” she says.

“What does that mean?” I ask, and someone knocks on the door, waiting a beat before entering. It’s the nurse, and she’s not the witch we were hoping for. It’s obvious right away just what she thinks of a midwife as opposed to regular checkups from an OB.

“Hi,” she tells me with a practiced smile. “I’m Cassandra, and I’ll be taking care of you. I’m going to get you all checked in first.” She sits at a little built-in desk near the bed and opens a laptop. “Dr. Roberts sent in an order for an ultrasound,” she reads out loud, looking at the order my sister sent over. “You tripped and fell while at dinner but didn’t feel immediate pain?” She looks at me to confirm.

“Yes.”

“Are you in pain now?”

“I have a headache,” I admit, and Lucas looks at me like I just told him I’m getting biopsied for cancer. “I feel more uncomfortable than anything.”

Cassandra types a few notes and goes over more intake info. I can’t give any sort of family history, which she assures me is normal for kids who were adopted like I’m pretending to be. Though it’s really not pretend. Tabatha didn’t adopt me on paper, but she raised me. I’m getting really tired by the time she’s finally done getting my info, and all I want is to close my eyes and go to sleep.

Cassandra hooks two monitors around my stomach, one to check for contractions and another to get a reading on Elena’s heartbeat. Then she checks my vitals, and Lucas was right about my blood pressure being high. I know from reading medical romance novels what the average numbers should be, but I don’t know what’s considered concerning when you’re pregnant.

Or what’s even normal for me in the first place.

The last time Maryellen examined me at the Academy, she said my blood pressure was higher than normal, but it wasn’t a cause of great concern. By the way Cassandra is leaving to get the doctor, I think it is this time around.

“What’s going on?” I ask once she’s out of the room.

“Your blood pressure is high,” Maryellen explains, keeping her voice calm and level. “When you’re past twenty weeks, it’s something that needs to be closely monitored and treated.”

“Treated how?” I rush out.

“That depends. The doctor is going to run some tests and it—”

“No,” I say, pulling my hand out of Lucas’s and sitting up. “They can’t run tests. The last time they did, it didn’t work.”

“What kind of tests?” Lucas asks, and I shoot him a glare.

“Blood and urine to check for protein,” Maryellen tells him.

“No,” I say again, and the lights flicker. “My blood comes back as not human.”

Maryellen’s face tightens. She has no idea what to do, either. “High blood pressure can be temporary from stress, but I am concerned, Callie.” Her eyes go to the monitor recording Elena’s heartbeat. “Your baby is fine now, but untreated…” She shakes her head. “I know things aren’t typical with this pregnancy, and you know we are both in uncharted waters here.”

“I know.” I ball the blanket in my hand and listen to the rapid yet steady beeping of Elena’s heartbeat.