Still of Night (Thorne Hill 4)

“Did you know my mother?” I ask and Julian shakes his head.

“Unfortunately, I did not get to meet her, but I wish I had. From what Michael told me, she seemed like a wonderful human.”

“How did you come to know about Callie?” Lucas asks.

I slide my margarita in front of me again, waiting for Julian’s answer.

“The angels were alerted about a possible Nephilim in the making,” he starts. “Your father did his best to keep the suspicions off of him, and as far as we know, the others do not know you are his. He was sent to destroy you, acting as a double agent, if you will, and was able to keep your mother safe during the pregnancy, be there during your birth, and then find a place to hide you.”

“Wow.” I suck down another few mouthfuls of my drink, not caring if I get brain freeze again.

“From the start, I was against destroying the child. Being half human, you have free will, which is what puts you at risk for turning evil. But all humans run that risk, and while humanity as a whole might have taken a downturn—I will never understand your view on politics—most humans are good. They want to do good. They might be selfish and look for instant self-gratification, there’s a fine line between poor moral character and a supernatural serial killer. I thought you should have been given a chance. So much so, I was stripped of my wings for five years.”

Julian pushes his shoulders back, making a face as if he’s remembering the pain of having his wings stripped. I’m guessing it’s much more involved than just giving up a badge and gun, so to speak.

“Once my grace was restored, Michael sought me out and spent the next ten years making sure it was safe to trust me. By then, you were already a powerful witch at the Academy, but we knew it was only a matter of time before the truth got out.”

“It always does,” Lucas muses. “One way or another.”

Nodding, I get my list of questions out of my purse. Some only Michael will be able to answer, I know now. The biggest one I need to know is how aging works for a half-human creature.

Lucas will never age.

As a human, I will.

But if I don’t…

“I have to go,” Julian says suddenly. “I’m being summoned.”

“Summoned?”

He nods. “By the other angels. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back without raising suspicions. Be vigilant, Callista.”

“Wait,” I rush out. “Will I see you again?”

“Perhaps.”

“Is there a way to…to call you or anything?”

“Pray.” He puts his hands on the table, and his eyes glow bright blue for a split second. Then, in a gust of wind and the sound of feathers flapping, he disappears from the table.

“The fuck,” I mutter again, only to turn and see the waiter standing several feet from the table, holding my food.

“I’ll handle this,” Lucas says and meets the boy’s eyes, holding him spellbound in just a second. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened at this table tonight. You served a happy couple celebrating their engagement. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“Right,” the waiter says, and his body relaxes. “Congrats on…on…the engagement. I’ll see if I can bring you some flan or something to celebrate.”

Lucas breaks his hold and the waiter sets the food down on the table before walking away with a smile on his face. I mix my rice in with my beans and eat it with a chip.

“How are you feeling?” Lucas asks carefully.

“Let me finish half this marg and get back to you.”

“Demons were always after you,” Lucas starts. “But now you have more power.”

I suck down another mouthful of alcohol, getting hit with the strong taste of tequila. “I know. But you also know the more powerful I am, the more demons are going to want to kill me.”

“I do. But you have me, Callie, and I will stop at nothing to keep you safe. I love you.”

“I know.”

He wiggles his eyebrows. “Are you purposely quoting Han Solo?”

“Does it turn you on if I say yes?” I ask, knowing Lucas is a big Star Wars fan.

“It does. Though pretty much everything you do turns me on. Even more so now that you are my fiancée.” He kisses my forehead. “You wanted to celebrate, so let’s celebrate. The demon isn’t going to attack tonight.”

“If it does, I’m so blaming you for jinxing us.”

Lucas laughs. “Fair enough. How is your food?”

“Good,” I say and pick up my fork, scooping up some of the rice and bean mixture. “Is it too soon to start talking about a wedding date?”

“Why would it be too soon?” Lucas cocks an eyebrow.

“Because you just asked me to marry you.”

“Yes, exactly. I want to marry you, hence the need of a wedding date. Sometimes I really don’t understand humans and all your unwritten societal rules. Do what you want, Callie. You want to get married tomorrow? I’ll make it happen. Though I did think a Halloween wedding would suit you.”

I can’t help the smile that comes to my face. “It would. But not on actual Halloween. It’s Samhain and is kind of a big deal for the coven.”

“The week before?”

“It only gives us a few months to plan everything, but…yes.” The end of October is always fun and exciting from the holiday festivities alone. The Academy has its first dance mid-month, and everyone goes all out for Samhain.

“What kind of wedding do you want?” Lucas asks, words coming out a little forced, as if picking wedding theme and all that goes with it is a foreign concept to him.

“Something kind of classic, but with an enchanted forest twist, with an outdoor ceremony and the reception in some sort of historical venue. I don’t have a lot of people I want to invite, benefit of not being close with family, I suppose. Does Eliza know?” I ask as the thought enters my mind. Eliza and I have come a long way in terms of tolerating each other and even friendship. But Lucas marrying me…I’m not sure how she’ll handle that.

“Yes. I informed her I was going to propose.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Did she freak out? Tell you that you’re being stupid? Curse my name? That sort of thing.” I pick up one of my tacos and take a bite.

“Nothing of that sort. She knows you make me happy. I believe her exact words were, ‘I’m not wearing a fucking bridesmaid’s dress’, but that was it.”

“I don’t even know who I’d—” I cut off again, remembering that I shouldn’t even be talking to Lucas, let alone marrying him. Nope. I’m not going to let myself go there. I’m allowing myself at least an hour to pretend like this wedding will actually happen as planned. Smiling, I go back to my taco. I will enjoy this moment—the night I got engaged—even if it kills me.

And there’s a chance it actually might just do that.

4

“Damn!” Kristy grabs my hand and looks at my ring. “That is gorgeous!”

“Thanks,” I say, smiling ear to ear. We just left dinner and stopped by Kristy’s house. She lives downtown and was only a few blocks away. “I’m engaged. That sounds so crazy to say.”

“Come in,” she says, stepping back inside. We’re on her covered porch, and she has to invite Lucas inside since he’s never been here before. Kristy’s house is quaint and historical, and meticulously clean. Large potted plants are in every corner, and every windowsill houses little planters full of herbs. Olive, Kristy’s familiar, is gifted in making plants grow, and mixing up helpful potions is Kristy’s favorite thing to do.

I love it, how different we are, yet how well we get along. It worked to our advantage back in our Academy years, and it still works well now. We balance each other out perfectly.

“Well, let’s see it.” Naomi appears in the threshold of the foyer, crossing her arms and doing her best to look uninterested. Her twin sister stands behind her, practically bouncing with excitement.

Binx trots past me as I take off my shoes, going to greet Olive. Lucas stands behind me, curiously looking around.