Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

Lucas is a vampire. He’s been dead for over sixteen hundred years. And he’s looking at his living newborn daughter. Juliet falls asleep after only a few minutes of nursing, and I give her to Lucas. He cradles her against his chest, whispering to her, telling her he loves her.

I need to use the bathroom and gratefully accept Maryellen’s help. Once I’m back in bed—with an icepack between my legs—I take Juliet so Lucas can let everyone know they can come in. Tabatha, who was there when Juliet entered this world, stands back with tears in her eyes.

Eliza is the first one in, racing with vampire speed to come to the side of the bed. She stops short, hand flying to her chest.

“Oh my god,” she whispers, rapidly blinking away her emotions. “She’s so tiny.”

Binx, Freya, and Pandora, who have been patiently waiting right outside the room, come in, jumping up on the bed. They’re all purring, acting like normal happy cats, but I can sense them pledging to guard this child the same way they guard me. Freya is particularly drawn to her and rubs her head against my hand.

“That’s Eliza, your big sister,” Lucas tells Juliet, and it’s such a beautiful moment that the strangeness of it is lost on me. “I’m sure you’ll steal her clothes someday.”

“I wouldn’t even care.” Eliza wipes away a tear. “Better to dress like me than her mother.” She smiles and perches on the edge of the bed. Kristy, Evander, and the twins come in next, and everyone takes a turn gushing over Juliet and taking pictures of her. The happy chatter in the room keeps her attention, and her big blue eyes curiously look around, trying to take it all in.

“How are you doing?” Kristy asks me.

“I’m a little sore,” I admit. “And I’m hungry.”

“What would you like?” Tabatha asks, eyes still glimmering.

“Just a sandwich,” I tell her. “Without warming the meat up first to kill bacteria.”

“I’ll bring it up.” Tabatha kisses the top of my head and looks down at Juliet. “I’m holding my grandbaby as soon as I’m back,” she tells me with a smile, and hearing her refer to Juliet as her grandbaby makes me all teary. It’s going to be a while before my hormones balance back out, I know.

Juliet opens her mouth and turns in again, wanting to nurse. I switch her to my other side, and Lucas moves a pillow under my arm once she’s against me. She nurses for maybe two minutes and falls asleep again.

“I don’t feel like she’s getting anything,” I say, looking at Maryellen.

“She is,” she assures me. “Your milk will come in shortly. Try not to worry.”

“I just can’t believe how fast she got here.” Nicole’s sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed, petting Scarlet, who’s crowding in around everyone. “It might not have felt fast for you.”

“It did and didn’t.” I look at Lucas, and he nods in agreement. “I was worried I would end up in labor for days.” The first contractions I felt while on the phone with Abby was the actual start of labor, but it didn’t get painful until much later in the night.

I talk with my friends for a bit more and learn that the lights were flickering like crazy throughout the house, which I hadn’t realized since I thought it was only the ones in the room with us. There was no way I could have delivered in a hospital just because of that alone, not to mention the magic that sizzled and sparked around me.

Tabatha holds Juliet for the first time after she brings me something to eat, and it feels so fucking good to get food in my stomach. The adrenaline of birth is wearing off fast, and I’m getting more tired by the second—and feeling more pain.

Lucas changes Juliet’s first messy diaper, and Eliza records a video on her phone. Despite my fears, everything is okay.

I’m okay. Juliet is okay. Lucas is here and was able to be with me through the whole labor and delivery. Our family is together and is complete.

Lucas snaps the last button of Juliet’s little black onesie and picks her up, kissing the top of her head. He looks so good with a baby in his arms, and the way he’s looking at his daughter with so much love makes me tear up.

Maybe the universe is looking out for us after all.

Then the air shifts, and Juliet’s eyes open, as she can sense it too. Only a second later, Michael appears in the room.

“Dad.” I sit up straighter, heart skipping a beat.

“Hello, Callie.” He smiles at me and strides over, eyes going to the baby in Lucas’s arms.

My lips part as I suck in a breath, choked by my emotions. “Julian.”

“I know.” Michael’s brows furrow.