“Can you summon Bael?” Nicole asks quietly.
“It’s dangerous,” Ruby rushes out. “Really dangerous.”
“I know,” I tell her. “When Julian went to repair the rift the first time, he got stabbed and nearly died.”
“Angels can die?” Evander picks up the bottle of wine from the coffee table and refills his glass.
“Yes, but only with a Hell-forged blade and it has to pierce their heart. When Bael stabbed him, he missed, thankfully. Julian claims he got stabbed on purpose so he could bring the dagger back.”
Kristy’s eyes widen. “You have an angel-killing blade and I’m just now hearing about it?”
“I kinda forgot. It’s upstairs, hidden. I can’t touch the blade. It’s poisoned or something.”
“But you have a way to kill an angel?” Evander repeats.
“Yes,” I say with a nod.
“So, if one comes for you…” He makes a stabbing motion in the air.
“I don’t think it’s that easy,” Ruby counters. “Killing an archangel…it has to have major repercussions too.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to kill an archangel,” I say. “Though if it came down to it, I’ll do whatever I can to defend myself.”
A heaviness hangs in the room, and we’re all thinking the same thing. If the other angels find out about me, I’m toast. My only hope would be Michael defending me, the odds would be stacked against him.
“So, I pissed off a werewolf today,” I say to change the subject. “Also at the grocery store.”
“Remind me never to go shopping with you.” Naomi tosses her hair over her shoulder and looks at Evander. “Wasn’t the wolf issue handled?”
“I thought it was,” he tells us. “What did you do, Callie?”
“Nothing,” I start. “She came up to me and was all we want the Ley line because it’s like a constant full moon. I said we don’t have an issue with wolves, but this is not the time or the place to try and get into a turf war.”
“Yeah, that won’t end well for them.” Kristy takes a big drink of wine.
“Or us,” Ruby adds. “Not that I think we’d lose, because we wouldn’t, but witches versus werewolves…it’s a good way to get outed.”
Shit, she’s right. Hunters already know about us, and if they get word of a war between weres and witches, it might be the push they need to work with politicians like William Martin to expose us all.Chapter 35“You’re using the silver flatware?” Eliza asks incredulously, coming into the kitchen with a spoon in her hand.
I look up from the bowl of potatoes I’m mashing. “Uh, yeah. It’s what we always use.”
“Your glasses have gold trim and you have gold flatware.”
“Oh, right.” I brush my hair back with my wrist and look at the time. I have about an hour until my family and friends start arriving for Thanksgiving dinner, and I’m a little behind.
Okay, a lot behind.
Usually, we split up who’s responsible for what, and Tabatha always makes the turkey. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to make it all myself, though it’s made the last two days go by rather fast. Lucas has had fun cooking with me, and we might have gone a little overboard with everything we’ve prepared.
“Honestly, what would you do without me?” Eliza scoffs and turns around, blonde hair swinging down her back as she walks. Planning parties is Eliza’s thing, and she’s damn good at it. She came up with an elegant yet functional tablescape for the formal dining room, and went out and bought the fancy dishes we’re eating off of tonight.
“Thank you,” I call after her and go back to mashing the potatoes.
“I’ll do that,” Lucas says and comes up behind me, both hands wrapping around my waist. He kisses my neck and slides one hand over my stomach. I’m nearing twelve weeks now, still tired as fucking ever, and no one who looked at me would know I’m pregnant. But my stomach isn’t quite as flat as it used to be, and Lucas can’t keep his hands off me.
“Thanks.” I lean back against him, taking a few seconds to just breathe. The last week and a half has passed slow yet fast at the same time. I keep waiting for something to happen, for Bael to show up the second I leave the house. I almost threw an energy ball at an old man at the pet store a few days ago. He had on a long, brown jacket and smelled like sulfur, which must have been from him eating eggs for lunch or something.
Needless to say, I’m on edge, which was part of the reason I offered to go all out for Thanksgiving. It’s giving me something to focus on, and I’m trying hard to just live my life. I’ll always be in danger. Having archangel blood has promised that, and I’m not going to live in fear, hiding from the next threat. I don’t want to just survive, I want to live.