Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“I don’t believe so. In the end, it was clear her human body couldn’t handle much more, and things progressed quickly. It’s why I asked Lucifer for help,” he admits. “We thought we’d have more time.”

“You didn’t think that would be helpful information to share back when you first learned you were going to have a grandchild?” Lucas growls.

“I didn’t think it would be relevant,” Michael chides. He’s not afraid of Lucas, and something tells me he likes knowing that the vampire married to his daughter is overprotective like this. “Callie developed quickly after it became clear her mother was unable to carry her any longer. Being half archangel, you have the ability to heal yourself.”

“Wait.” I hold up a hand. “So you’re saying unborn-me knew enough to speed up my growth but I can’t figure out how to heal a freaking papercut?”

“You did heal yourself,” Lucas reminds me. “After you were attacked by vampires. You were bleeding and then the wound healed over in front of me. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“That wasn’t me.” I shake my head. “I was pretty unconscious then, and I don’t know how to heal. I’ve tried.”

“Then you’re doing it wrong,” Julian states matter-of-factly.

“You are,” Michael adds. “You said you were unconscious the last time you healed yourself, which allowed you to tap into a side you weren’t yet aware of. Your mother helped will you into existence, Callie. She wanted you to live more than anything.”

“So you’re saying she guided me as an unborn baby to use my angel-powers so I could quickly develop my lungs so I could be born?” I ask slowly, each word sounding more and more ridiculous than the last.

“Yes,” Michael answers simply. “Self-preservation is a basic human instinct. When you add in the powers of an archangel, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

“Uh-huh,” I say, nodding yet not processing anything. “So every time I use angel-powers, the baby is feeding off of them and it’s helping speed up her growth?”

“Yes. Your human side is struggling, weakened by the burden of pregnancy,” he says like that’s supposed to clear things up.

“It does make sense.” Lucas splays his long fingers over my stomach. “You’ve been run down since conception. You’ve felt sick, and you’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

“So Elena is growing herself because she doesn’t want to be in me anymore?” Forget that it took a curse from an evil necromancer to turn Lucas human enough to get me pregnant in the first place, this is just too much to wrap my head around.

“Self-preservation,” Julian echoes what Michael had said. “Your child knows the best chance at survival for both of you is to be born.”

“Okay.” I nod. “That kind of makes sense. So the more stressed I am, the faster she’ll grow. Cool.”

“I don’t think it works that way,” Lucas says slowly. “She’s more human than you are.”

“Right,” Michael tells us. “You are half archangel. Your child is not. Though this means she has more divinity in her than expected.” His proud-dad look turns into a proud-grandpa look, but it quickly goes away and his face goes slack. He meets my eyes but doesn’t have to say what he’s thinking.

If Elena has more divinity in her than we thought, then she’s going to be sought after by angels and demons alike, just like me. But unlike me, she’s a defenseless baby.

Chapter 28

“They’re both okay?” Kristy asks, breaking the momentary silence that filled the room. “Callie and the baby?”

“Yes,” Michael assures everyone. “Do not purposely try to rush anything, Callie.”

“Trust me, I won’t. The nursery isn’t set up yet.”

“We can work on that today,” Lucas tells me, thinking it will ease some of the stress and shock. It does and doesn’t at the same time. I’m feeling all panicked that things won’t get done in time, but at the same time, telling myself we can get to the nursery next week is reassuring in a way.

Because things won’t change yet.

Becoming a parent is a big fucking deal. Yes, Lucas and I are excited to start our little family, and yes, I have no doubt we will end up being the kind of parents I wished I had when I was a kid. But I can’t deny how much this will change things.

I’d promised myself from a young age I’d never be one of “those moms” whose social life drastically changes after they have a baby, and being a mom takes over their identity. I’m kidding myself thinking I can keep going on as normal, aren’t I?

“War and Famine,” I say, changing the subject. “They’ve already collected souls. What about the others?”

“Death will be the last Horseman to descend upon the earth,” Michael says, voice sullen.

“The others work subtly, but, uh, what about Death?” I lean against Lucas, knowing I’m not going to like the answer. “What does he do?”