Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“Oh my god, yes,” I tell her. “That would be amazing.”

“What do you want?”

“Pancakes, hash browns, bacon, and scrambled eggs. And a blueberry bagel for later.”

“I’ll get myself the same. That sounds good. Want a decaf coffee from Curlews?”

“It depresses me to pay for coffee that lacks caffeine.” I shake my head sadly. Okay. Maybe Lucas was onto something saying I can be dramatic. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. I think it was Abby who said it’s not very often we get to take care of you, and she was right. I’m glad I can help.”

“You’re going to make me cry.”

“That’s another thing we don’t get to do very often. Make you cry.” I laugh, blinking back tears, and give Kristy a hug. “Whoa,” she says, pulling back. “You weren’t kidding when you said you got bigger. I was able to put my arms around you not that long ago.”

“I feel like a whale,” I deadpan.

“Hey, you went from seven months to eight like overnight. Cut yourself some slack. You still look hot, and I’m sure Lucas will agree.”

“I do, and I was just telling Callie what I want to do when we get home.”

“I’ll drive slow.” Kristy laughs. “See you soon, Cal.”

We wait until she’s in the elevator to fly out of the room. Julian takes us into the living room, and it feels so fucking good to be home. My familiars and Scarlet, who we dropped off before going to the hospital, come running to greet me.

“I’m fine,” I tell them. “I got a little overwhelmed, that’s all.” Lucas grumbles behind me. Ignoring him, I go upstairs, strip out of my clothes, and turn on the shower.

“I walked in at the right time,” Lucas says, seeing me standing naked in front of the mirror. “We have plenty of time before Kristy gets here.”

“Julian is downstairs.” I put my hands on my stomach and turn, blown away by how much Elena grew in the last twenty-four hours. The high blood pressure can be written off as being caused by stress, but what made me feel those weird pains?

“You’ve only utilized the soundproof spell for sex once. Being heard is a concern of yours, and you found a solution.”

“Let me repeat myself: horny vampire.”

Lucas speeds forward and snakes his arms around me. It feels so good to be pressed up against him like this, but I’m way too exhausted for sex. He kisses my neck and steps back, checking the temperature of the water. I twist my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head and then get in, lazily washing my body and rinsing off.

I get dressed in loose-fitting gray pajama pants and one of Lucas’s t-shirts. Kristy is already in the kitchen looking at the broken pieces of the amulet Julian has laid out on the counter. The pieces have been carefully arranged, and the thing is much bigger than I expected. About the size of one of the pancakes I’m about to devour, it’s made of smooth clay with unfamiliar symbols etched into it.

“So,” I start, sitting at the island and sliding a plate Kristy prepared for me over. “What do I do?”

“Fuse it together with magic.”

“Got it.” I pick up a piece of bacon. “How?”

“I’m not…not quite sure.” He tips his head, listening to something. “I’ll be right back.” He disappears in an invisible whoosh.

“He will be back,” I say to reassure myself. I take another bite of bacon and cut apart a sausage to toss to each of my familiars and Scarlet. My phone, which I’d forgotten I plugged in when we stopped by the house last night, vibrates. It’s on the counter near the sink, and Lucas brings it over to me.

“You have a lot of messages to catch up on.” He hands me the phone. He’s right. I have over fifty texts and seven missed calls. Most of the texts are from Abby and Melinda. The rest are from Eliza and Kristy.

“You didn’t tell Eliza what was going on?” I ask Lucas, shoveling a forkful of scrambled eggs in my mouth.

“I did this morning. You were my main focus,” he admits. “She’s ready to move in now.”

“Eliza’s moving in?” Kristy turns to me. “Here?”

“She kind of named herself our nanny. If we’re being honest, I’m gonna need one, and I don’t mean because babies are little poop-machines that don’t sleep through the night.”

“You mean because of the demons.”

“Yep.”

Lucas’s phone rings. “Speak of the devil,” he says, looking at the screen, and then shakes his head. “That phrase doesn’t have the same meaning anymore.” He answers as he leaves the room so he can tell Eliza everything that happened with me in full detail.

“While we’re on the topic of Eliza and demons.” I slather butter on my pancake, fold it in half, and pick it up, eating it like a taco. “She wants to be the godmother, and I kinda said sure but also explained how it works within the coven. I want you and Evander to be her official guardians if anything happens to me and Lucas. And if something happens to just me, can you promise you’ll make sure she’s raised as a witch?”