Reign of Night (Thorne Hill 7)

“I know it’s not funny,” I say, hand going to my stomach. “It’s just…just…fuck.”

“Yeah.” She nods quickly. “We need to alert the coven so they can get in touch with the Grand Coven.”

“And tell them what? A vampire came to me to try and use my illegal marriage to get me to join his crazy cause?”

“You’re right. Our whole coven could get in trouble for that.”

“It is stupid,” I sigh. “And the rule is old.”

“You’re not thinking of siding with him, are you?”

“No,” I say quickly. Scarlet comes over, whining for attention. She’s disappointed she didn’t get to rip anyone up and drag their soul to the deepest pits of Hell. “Not all people are bad. Not all hunters are bad.” My head is spinning, and I can’t make sense of anything right now. “I need to call Lucas. I don’t think they’re there yet.”

Ruby nods, and we rush into the kitchen. I call Lucas, hands shaking, and he answers on the second ring, thank the fucking stars.

“Come home,” I say.

“What happened?” he asks back, and I probably should have opened the conversation a little differently. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but I was right, Lucas. This whole thing was a set-up.”

“How do you know?”

“A vampire was here, and he basically said he wants witches and vampires to unite because he’s tired of following rules. He’s the one who’s been messing with your business, and he knows what the Martins did to me.”

“That’s why he was working with Scott. He knew it was your weakness and wanted to make you angry enough to side with him.”

“Yeah, and he brought up the rules against us being married. He said you’d be questioned about it today. That’s why you need to come home. Turn around and come home.”

“This vampire,” Lucas starts. “Did he tell you his name?”

“Eamon. He didn’t give a last name.”

“Eamon,” Lucas echoes. “Did he have blond hair?”

“Yes.”

“I believe I know who he is, and he is a part of the VC. He’s old, Callie. Older than me.”

Well, fuck. “By a lot?”

“He’s claimed to be nearly two thousand years old.”

“You’re not far behind.”

“Three hundred and some years makes a bit of a difference. I’m turning around now. Stay in the house until I get back.”

“I will. It’s too cold to go outside anyway.”

“Right. I’ll be home as fast as I can. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” The call ends, and I set my phone down. “I wish I could have a real margarita,” I sigh.

“It’s that bad?” Ruby asks.

I meet her eyes. “Maybe you should stay until sunrise.”It’s been a few weeks since Eamon showed up at the house, telling me he wants the witches and the vampires to unite, and in those two weeks, Lucas has had no issues at the bar. The vendors who previously had reasons to suddenly stop working with Lucas are back to business as usual. And while the last few weeks have left me on pins and needles, waiting for something to happen, I can’t say they haven’t been productive.

I’ve inventoried my magical supplies at least twice, put a dozen more entries into my Book of Shadows, picked a paint color for Elena’s nursery, finalized the landscaping design that will go around the pool—and I’m still not convinced we’re not going to find a zombie stuck under the ground, too tangled in roots to have clawed its way out when I resurrected it nearly a year ago.

Busy or not, I feel like I’ve been sleeping with one eye open, waiting for Eamon to come back and take a harder swing at Lucas’s business or will supply the Martin with more ammo, though now that we know it was him the whole time, he’s not going to get the fuck the humans reactions from us like he’d been trying to get.

“That is an interesting combination,” Evander tells me.

“I know.” I dip a piece of pita bread into a bowl of balsamic vinegar. “But it’s so good.” Tabatha, Evander, Kristy, and I are all out to eat at a restaurant in Newport. Now that I’m five and half months along, Tabatha insisted she take me shopping for maternity clothes. To a stranger, I might look like I ate too much or have a belly from drinking too much alcohol, but to my friends, I’m very obviously showing. I can’t fit into my jeans anymore, and the black leggings I prefer anyway have been a lifesaver.

The high-waisted leggings I got today are more comfortable than I want to admit, and I might be a little excited to wear some of the dresses I got today as well. It’s so damn weird to have a belly like this. I’ve been fit and athletic my whole life, thanks to being part angel. And I’ll be the first to admit it was difficult for me to accept that my body wasn’t my own anymore. Everything I’d seen before painted pregnancy is such a perfect light, making it seem like all moms love every single aspect of pregnancy, and if you didn’t, there was something wrong with you.