“You’re okay?” Eliza whimpers, tears falling from her eyes. Lucas takes one arm off of me and pulls her close, kissing the top of her head.
“I am.” He looks up at Felix. “They did it.”
The squirrel thrashes, pitifully crying out. I look at it, wincing. Evander hurries over and holds up his hands, casting a spell to silence the creature.
“Thank you,” I tell him and force myself away from Lucas. I take both of Evander’s hands in mine. “For everything.”
“You spoke another language,” he whispers. “Again, from what I’ve been told.” He gives me a wink and pulls me in for a hug. “If he asks, say it was a new spell.”
“Okay,” I whisper back and squeeze Evander. “Is everyone else okay?” I ask, looking around the circle. Nicole is holding her twin’s hand, and Felix is staring at me in awe.
Shit. He had to have heard me speaking Enochian. I just got Lucas back. I don’t have time for another problem.
“That was incredible,” he says, dark eyes going wide. “It worked! It actually worked!” He plows a hand through his hair and laughs. “Holy shit, it worked!”
Lucas speeds forward, fangs still bared. Felix tenses but holds his ground.
“Thank you,” Lucas tells him, holding out his hand. Felix hesitates for only a second before shaking it. “If there is anything I can do to repay you…”
“Seeing the spell I’ve been working on for years actually work is payment enough.” Felix looks past Lucas to me. “And Callie is an old friend.”
Lucas growls, and I roll my eyes.
“She’s helped me out a time or two in the past. Though…if you want to talk payment, a few drops of your blood would do wonders for enhancing my spells.”
“Of course.” Lucas speeds into the house, moving so fast a slight breeze blows in his wake. Only a few seconds later, he comes back with one of my potion vials. He pops the cork and holds up his arm, sinking his fangs into his flesh.
Blood pours from the wound, filling half the vial before the wound heals. Lucas bites himself again, letting more blood drip into the vial before capping it and giving it to Felix.
Naomi links her arm through mine. “You should sit,” she says, taking me to the porch steps. I sink down, head spinning. Usually, using that much power takes a lot out of me, yet right now I don’t feel drained of power.
If anything, I feel power coursing through my veins.
“You conjured fire,” she whispers, and I know the real reason she brought me over here was to question me. “That was no spell.”
“I know. I, um, I think it was hellfire.”
“Hellfire?” Her brows go up, and her lips part. A fleeting moment of panic crosses her face, and then she smiles. “Well, it worked.”
I look at Lucas, and my heart swells in my chest. He’s back to himself. Strong. Fierce. The vampire I fell in love with, who I can be myself around.
Using the hellfire worked…but will there be a cost?Chapter 16“I’m sure Callie is tired,” Evander says, lowering his hands after putting a warding on the house. “We should go and let her rest.” His eyes meet mine, and I give him a tiny nod of thanks, leaning back in the kitchen chair. We just came inside and are gathered around my small kitchen table. It’s only a matter of time before Felix questions what kind of spell I used to summon red fire.
And that is not a conversation I want to have tonight. Or ever. Though I have a sinking feeling my true identity is going to come out sooner or later. With my luck, it’ll be sooner.
“I’m exhausted, too.” Nicole rests her elbows on the table. “But I’m all jittery.”
“This will help.” Naomi turns down the burner on the tea kettle right before it starts to whistle.
“Does it taste better than the cleansing tea?” Nicole grumbles, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s probably worse. But you can add sugar to this.”
“Good.” Nicole pushes herself up and gets teacups for everyone. My set is antique, and I bought it at the local antique store in downtown Thorne Hill. Like Books of Shadows, tea sets are passed down through generations. The cups are decent enough, and all have matching saucers. The teapot itself doesn’t match but coordinates enough with the floral pattern on the cups and saucers that it works.
Maybe someday I’ll get a fancy all-matching set…though it’s not like I’ll have anyone to pass it down to.
“Thank you again,” I say, eyes closing in a long blink. I’m still buzzed from the spell, but my mind is having a hard time wrapping around anything.
The spell worked.
Lucas is okay.
I’m afraid I’m going to wake up next to a pile of ash and blood.
But it’s real, and all I have to do to remind myself of it is remember how Felix most likely is going to accuse me of Satanism, too.