Queen of Night (Thorne Hill 6)

“I’ll write to him too.” Ruby carefully moves the Infernal Dictionary to the side and pulls out two pieces of paper. She scribbles down messages, folds them in half, and tosses them into the fire while whispering a spell.

I rest my hands on the cool stone of the windowsill, watching the students below talk and laugh, staying close to the fire to keep the chill of the night away. Silence falls over the room, and each second that ticks by feels like a minute.

Finally, the door flies open and Evander rushes in, followed by Tabatha. She’s wearing a long, hunter-green dress, and her black hair is swept up in a perfect French twist. Her brown eyes are wide with fear, and she comes right over, taking me in her arms.

“Are you all right, Callie?”

“I’m alive,” I say, hugging Tabatha back. She’s calm and collected most times, as a High Priestess should be, but her weakness is and has always been her children. I’m not hers biologically, of course, but there is no doubt that she’s just as much my mother as anyone could be. “Bael is back.”

“He broke out of his containment dimension?” Tabatha asks.

“Not yet,” Julian answers. “He must have torn open another rift. I can attempt to repair it and buy us time, but if he’s torn it twice now, he’ll be able to do it again.”

“No way,” I tell Julian. “The last time you went to repair the rift, Bael stabbed you.

“I didn’t die,” Julian reminds me. “And I took away the one weapon Bael had that could kill me.”

“What if he got another?” I counter. “I don’t want you going there alone.”

“Can you bring another angel?” Evander asks slowly, trying to wrap his head around everything going on.

“What about that Alona chick you’ve talked about?” I ask. “She seems pretty badass, and Bael is a bad dude. She’ll want him to stay locked up.”

“Yes, she will, but I worry about getting others involved. It wouldn’t be difficult to see Bael’s object of desire is you.”

“Will that necessarily make the other angels think I’m a Nephilim, though?” I ask, feeling like I’m grasping at straws. “Maybe Bael is obsessed with me because I’m perky and pretty and exactly his type.”

“Perhaps,” Julian says.

“There is no fucking way I’m letting that happen,” Lucas says. “Not if it puts Callie at risk.” He looks me in the eyes for only half a second, and half a second is all I need to know what he’s thinking. We aren’t able to fight off the archangels, and we need to accept it. As much as we hate it, as much as I’ve gone my whole life refusing to believe nothing is impossible…I can’t fight an army of angels.

“What do we do?” Evander asks.

“He can’t track her here,” Tabatha says, eyeing Julian. “That’s why you brought her here.”

“This is a hidden dimension,” Julian says with a nod. “In physical form, he would attempt to break through. But for now, this will do.”

“Then you’re staying here. Both of you,” Tabatha tells us.

“Forever?” I hike up my eyebrows.

“For as long as it takes. I wasn’t there to see the carnage, but if Bael strikes again in a similar fashion to the way he did last time…” She trails off, shaking her head and blinking away tears. “You’re a sitting duck at your house. I won’t allow you to put yourself at risk.” Her expression softens. “Or my grandbaby.”

Her words immediately tug on my heart, and the world seems a little less scary when I have family and friends around.

“Is there anything we can do to make my house safer?” I ask Julian. “Like a super-secret angel spell?”

“There may be something I can do,” Julian says after a moment of consideration. “It will take me a while to gather what I need.”

“What do you need?” Ruby asks. “We have an extensive supply at the Academy.” She gets out a notebook from her desk and gives it to Julian to write down the ingredients for the spell.

“It’s going to be alright,” Tabatha tells me, lying just like a mother should to ease my nerves.

“Yeah.” I curl my lips around my teeth and nod, not believing it at all.

“I’ll have you two put up in the guest suite we reserve for the Grand Coven. Do you need anything, darling? Food, a change of clothes?”

“I’m thirsty,” I say. “And maybe a little hungry.”

“What would you like?”

“Just whatever’s in the kitchen,” I say, not wanting to put anyone out.

“We had cottage pie for dinner tonight,” Tabatha says. “I remember you liking that.”

“Very much so. If there is any left, I’d love some.”

Tabatha smiles and gives my hand a squeeze. “I’ll get you some, along with water.”

“Thank you.”

She leaves and Evander goes around the desk, looking at the list Julian is scribbling down.