“Michael didn’t seem concerned, and he knows things.”
“True. Thanks, Kristy,” I say, not reminding her Michael is just as clueless about his granddaughter as I am. I sit on the bench at the foot of our bed and eat as Kristy looks through my closet. It’s late, and I’m physically exhausted. I know once I lay down, my mind will start racing, making it difficult to fall asleep. And when I finally do fall asleep, I’ll wake up with a pounding heart and anxiety plaguing my body.
“What do you think of this one?” Kristy asks, coming out of the closet with a dark purple dress Lucas bought me months ago. “Too fancy?”
“For a movie in Newport? Probably, but it will look killer on you, and if you like it, wear it.”
She holds it up to herself and looks down and then shakes her head. “I’ll get self-conscious to have this on and then go to Red Robin for dinner. I’ll look like a try-hard.” She goes back into the closet, and I finish my mashed potatoes.
“Okay, I’ve narrowed it down to this.” She has a simple black dress with a scoop neckline and an off-the-shoulder black sweater.
“The dress, definitely the dress. And with a pushup bra, your boobs will look great.”
“I don’t need a pushup bra,” she mutters and looks at her breasts with a frown. “I’m tempted again to get a reduction.”
“I’ve been jealous of your boobs since we were thirteen.”
“And that’s exactly why I want a reduction. I’ve had these monsters since I was a child, Callie. A child.”
“Oh please, I’d trade you in a heartbeat.”
“I would happily trade,” Kristy laughs. “It’s not like you’re flat. You have nice perky boobs.”
“They have served me well.” I put my plate on the bench and unzip my jacket. “Lucas swears they’ve gotten bigger already.” I pull my shirt tight against myself and turn. “I don’t see it.” I cup my breasts with my hands. “Or feel it.”
“I walked in at the right time,” Lucas says, appearing in the doorway, holding my glass of cranberry juice that I left downstairs. “I can do that for you.”
“Hah,” I say and shake my head. “I was checking to see if they got bigger again.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely do that for you later.” Lucas crosses the room and gives me my drink. “Are you done?” He picks up my nearly empty plate.
“Yeah, I want more pie when I go back downstairs.”
“Which kind? I’ll get it for you.”
“A little bit of pumpkin. Just a little.”
“With whipped cream?”
“Yes,” I say. “But don’t microwave the whipped cream this time.”
He kisses me. “I learned my lesson on that.”
Kristy puts the sweater back in the closet and folds the dress over her arm. “Does human food really gross vampires out?”
“Lucas said it does,” I say with a nod. “Eliza thinks it’s gross just to watch me eat.”
“Then it’s extra sweet he cooks for you.”
“He tries, and it’s pretty damn adorable that he doesn’t know how to make simple things. He had to Google how to make toast.”
Kristy laughs. “I suppose if you’ve gone over a thousand years without eating, you wouldn’t even think about it, though don’t you see people doing stuff like that in movies? I suppose it’s not a step-by-step tutorial.”
We go back downstairs and into the living room so we can sit by the fire. I take my jacket off and toss it on a chair.
“Do you want to stay?” I ask Kristy. “It’s late.”
“I don’t want to bother you guys.”
“You won’t be,” I tell her as I cut into my pumpkin pie.
“You were just saying how you’ve had a full house. I don’t have to work in the morning, so I’ll go to the Covenstead.”
“We’ll walk you. I’m farther away now, so that pony would come in handy.”
“Horse,” Lucas says without turning away from the fireplace as he puts on another log. “I’ll get you horses.”
“Horses? I just need one,” I say.
“Horses don’t like to be alone.” He sits on the couch, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “I’ll walk you,” he tells Kristy. “Callie, you can stay here and rest.”
“You’re letting me stay home alone?” I quip, though taking a shower and snuggling on the couch by the fire sounds wonderful.
Lucas responds with a pointed look.
“That’s a good idea,” Kristy agrees. “I’m ready whenever you are. It’s been a long night.”
“You can say that again.” I quickly finish my pie, put my plate in the kitchen, and then walk Kristy to the conservatory door. We hug goodbye and she says she’s going to call in the morning to check on me. Lucas waits to leave until the door is closed, locked, and sealed with magic, and then he and Kristy disappear into the woods.
My familiars follow me upstairs, keeping me company and helping to ease some of the tension hanging in the air. Michael assured me everything was going to be fine, and he said it so calmly with confidence, I almost believe him.
But I know things are far from fine.
Nearly a dozen demons saw me with a crown of hellfire around my head. They know I’m a Nephilim, and they heard me say Michael was my father. It’s bad enough anyone around me is at risk, but I didn’t think it through.
I put a claim on the throne based on my lineage…but I also exposed Michael as the traitor who allowed his Nephilim child to live.
Chapter 5
“Good morning, my love,” Lucas says, turning away from the window. “I thought you’d sleep in later.”
“Morning,” I reply, voice coming out a little scratchy. “What time is it?”
“Eight-thirty.”
“That is early.” I begrudgingly sit up, needing to get a drink and use the bathroom. Blinking, I trudge into the bathroom, use the toilet, and gulp down a ton of water from the sink. I wake up incredibly thirsty every single morning and really need to start keeping a water bottle on my nightstand.
“Why are you looking outside?” I ask Lucas when I come back into the bedroom, pretty sure he’s going to say he stayed up all night keeping watch. Even if a demon could get through the warding, we’d be alerted.
“It’s snowing.” He looks back outside. “I can’t remember the last time I saw snow in the sunlight.”
“Did it snow in Rome when you were a human?” I ask, slowly getting out of bed. Lucas started a fire, and waking up to the warmth and crackling of the logs with a blanket of the first snow of the season covering the grounds makes me feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie.
But with demons.
“Yes, we had colder winter then than we do now. Ancient Rome was much larger than where Rome is now.”
“Oh, right. I kinda remember going over that in history class. Or maybe from a docuseries or something.” I grab a throw blanket from the bench at the foot of our bed and go to Lucas. He’ll answer my questions if I ask him about being human, but he’s never keen to openly offer up information, making me think he doesn’t like talking about it. I’m curious, but it was so long ago. I can hardly remember what I did yesterday, let alone over sixteen hundred years ago. “What part were you from?”