Curse of Night (Thorne Hill 5)
“I’m fine,” I grunt and turn on the sink, rinsing the throw up down the disposal and getting a drink. “I feel better now.” I close my eyes, let out a breath, and straighten up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Holy fuck,” Eliza says, staring daggers at me. “You really are pregnant.” Her eyes go to Lucas. “And you’re okay with this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lucas shoots right back. “She’s pregnant with my child.”
Eliza lets out a snort of laughter and shakes her head. “That’s not fucking—holy fuck—you were cursed with humanity. That’s how it happened.”
At least she’s catching on fast. “Yes,” Lucas tells her, still keeping a hold on me.
“You fucked her while you were dying?”
“Eliza,” Lucas says sternly
“Sorry,” she sighs. “But you’re serious. She’s…she’s really…pregnant?”
“She is,” Lucas answers. “She’s almost six weeks along now. We just found out yesterday.” He smooths my hair back and presses a kiss to the top of my head. The swirling sensation inside my stomach is gone, and now I’m hungry. And a little horny. And very tired.
Being pregnant is weird as fuck.
“Callie hasn’t been feeling well for a while now, but neither of us thought it was possible. But it is, and it happened.” He turns my head up to his, kissing me even though I just puked up an entire pizza Hot Pocket in the kitchen sink. “She’s having my baby.”
His words melt me, and suddenly tears spring to my eyes. Dammit, hormones.
“Holy fuck,” Eliza repeats. “You’re sure it’s yours?”
Lucas growls, and Eliza slinks back. “Fine. Sorry. But…fuck.”
“I know,” I agree, looking up at her. “Trust me, it’s the last thing I thought would ever happen.”
“You’re not even human,” she says, eyes narrowing. “Are you going to be okay?” Her disbelief fades away, revealing her concern.
“I think so.” I shrug. “But I honestly have no idea. I’m the first nephilim to live a semi-normal life like this. And I’m the first for sure who’s ever gotten knocked up by a vampire who was cursed by homicidal necromancers.”
Eliza looks from me to Julian. “Is that why he’s here?”
“No,” I answer. “He came here because a demon was trying to con said homicidal necromancer into busting him out of some sort of supernatural prison so he can make me his demon bride, kick my uncle off the throne, and overthrow Hell.”
“It’s true,” Julian says, nodding his head. Eliza gapes at us, looking from me to Lucas to Julian and back again. A few seconds of stunned silence pass before she rolls her eyes.
“Fucking witches.” She looks at her nails, takes a long drink of blood, and puts the glass on the counter. “If you’re six weeks along, then you’re due in June.”
“You’re really good at math,” I tell her.
“It’s just basic math,” she shoots back and then grabs a glass from the cabinet. She fills it with water and hands it to me.
“Thanks,” I say and take a small sip.
“So now what?” she asks.
I look at Lucas and shake my head. “What do you mean?”
“You’re fucking pregnant, Callie.” Her eyes go from me to my stomach, to Lucas. “What are you going to do?”
“Um, try not to die,” I say slowly, using my go-to answer. “That’s always my plan. Try not to die.”
“Modern medicine has helped you in that aspect. More women survive childbirth now than before.”
“That would be reassuring if I could go to a doctor,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “But I have a pretty good track record for surviving even the worst situations.”
Eliza just nods, and one of her guinea pigs comes scampering through the kitchen. Scarlet lets out an excited woof and takes off after it. The guinea pig squeaks and makes a run for it, and I hold out my hand.
“Stay,” I tell Scarlet. “Leave the guinea pigs alone.”
The little puppy slides to a stop, crashing into one of the barstools by the island counter.
“You speak Enochian,” Julian says. “Maybe your human brain won’t be as much of a hindrance as I thought.”
“Let’s hope,” I say. “But I don’t know I’m speaking it.” I yawn and take another sip of water.
Eliza goes back to the counter and unscrews the bottle of nail polish. “I assume this is why you’re using my house tonight then. To tell everyone the news?” She starts putting a second coat of polish on her nails. “Unless you have other drama.”
“It’s the main reason,” I say. “But I should probably warn everyone else demons want me to be the new queen of Hell.” I motion to Julian. “That’s why he’s here, remember?”
Eliza’s blue eyes zero in on me for a few seconds before she purposely blinks and looks away. “There’s always something with you.”
“What can I say? I like to be the center of attention.”
“You do a pretty good job of that.”