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“I’ll get changed.”
“You have some time before the sun fully sets. I do think at the very least alerting your coven about the new demons is wise.”
“Yeah.” I lean against him, needing to feel his skin on mine. “The last time I talked to my friends, things were a little heated, remember?”
“Yes, you told me. Are you going to let that stop you from protecting them?”
“Of course not.”
“Then they feel the same about you. Besides, their worry was you were focusing everything on getting me back, and I’m here.”
I look up, tears blurring my vision. “You are.”
He kisses me and the knot in my chest loosens. I said I’d do whatever it took to save Lucas, and I did. I might regret it later, but right now, this is all that matters.
ChapterThirty-Three
“Oh my god!” Betty leans forward, big smile on her face. “You are so adorable! Hi, sweetheart.”
Juliet is in her car seat on the counter at the bookstore. Betty, Kristy, and Danielle are all here tonight to switch out the window display once the store closes. Lucas and I just walked through the door and were bombarded as soon as we stepped foot in the store.
“I didn’t even know you were pregnant,” a customer I recognize but can’t remember her name says. She’s a non, but her eyes flit from Lucas to Juliet and back again more than once. There are rumors amongst the nons that the town is haunted or cursed. We do have an unusually high death rate from “animal attacks”, as they’re reported. But with Thorne Hill having a low vampire population, I’m sure people have talked about Lucas.
Nons aren’t able to sense vampires the same way witches can, but there is definitely something intimidating as well as intoxicating about Lucas.
“I never really made an official announcement or anything,” I offer. “We, uh, like to keep to ourselves.”
“I love that,” the customer goes on, reaching to touch Juliet’s hand. I telekinetically stop her, and the confusion is obvious on her face. She’s only three weeks old and doesn’t need your germs, lady. “My niece went overboard with her baby announcement and did one of those crazy gender reveals.” She rolls her eyes. “They spend thousands of dollars on that reveal so they could get TikTok views.”
“I’m not surprised.”
Juliet’s face slowly crumples and she opens her mouth, inhaling deep before starting to cry. We all laugh because it’s so damn cute, and Lucas gets her out of the car seat.
“Is Kristy in the back?” I ask Betty.
“Yeah. I think she’s getting boxes down.”
“Congrats,” the customer says. “She’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I say with a smile and Lucas and I start down an aisle. I slow, seeing covers of new books by new authors. I’ve always been easily distracted by books, and once things settle down—finally settle down—I cannot wait to catch up on all the new releases I’ve missed.
“Can you cast a spell on our daughter to keep people away?” Lucas asks and I know he’s one-hundred percent serious.
“She can wear protective amulets when she’s old enough to not choke on them,” I offer. “And no, we are not casting spells to keep love interests away when she’s a teenager.”
Lucas growls in response.
“She will date eventually, and lord help her with us as her parents.” I push open the swinging door to the back storage room. Kristy looks up, thinking I’m a customer going somewhere I shouldn’t.
She jumps up, dropping the plastic flowers in her lap. Eyes wide, her jaw drops as she looks past me. “Lucas?”
“In the flesh,” he replies and Kristy rushes over, going in for a hug but stops at the last second. “Sorry. You’re not a hugger, are you? It doesn’t matter.” She pokes his arm, needing to be sure he’s really there. “You did it, Callie. But…how?”
“Osiris is pretty reasonable.” My heart rate speeds up and I know Lucas can hear it. What conclusion will he come to? That I’m not telling the whole truth or that I’m still upset by the situation? “As long as we’re able to contain the entity that is essentially Famine, Lucas doesn’t need to be the rider. Eventually, we want to figure out how to destroy all the horses, so to speak, and he’ll need my help with that. But it’s going to have to wait.”
Kristy’s face pales. “Paimon?”
“Not quite. Another demon who calls himself Murmur.” I make a face. “Don’t worry, I will tell him he’s trying way too hard with that name.”
