“I’ll rephrase then: the first time you weren’t tricked or bullied into it.”
I swallow hard, knowing that Lucas is right. We do have to talk about this. I’ve mentally suppressed enough emotions and memories to scar me for life. Refusing to deal with hard topics is kind of my thing, and it comes back to bite me in the ass.
“I guess I could have stopped Ruth. Magically bound her hands and turned her over to the Grand Coven. But they fucked up and let her go once, and she’d already attacked the coven and cursed you. Honestly…” I bury my fingers in Scarlet’s thick fur. “I don’t trust them to handle something like that.”
“I agree, and if I’d gotten there first, I would have pulled Ruth’s heart out with my hands and sucked the blood out of her aorta.”
“I would have enjoyed watching that,” I admit, not sure if I should feel ashamed or not. “And with Roger…I…I didn’t think. I just threw him back. Killing him wasn’t my intention, but not killing him wasn’t either, if that even makes sense.”
“It does. It was self-defense,” Lucas takes my hand again and brings it to his lips. He presses a kiss against my fingers. “You know I don’t hold anything against you.”
“Just yourself, right?” I joke, and Lucas chuckles. “And I do. That’s why we’re perfect for each other. You don’t judge me, and I don’t judge you.” I give his hand a squeeze. “I love you.”
“And I love you. Always.”
“Good morning, my love.”
I slowly sit up, smiling when I see Lucas coming into the bedroom carrying a tray with a plate of bacon and pancakes, a small bowl of freshly cut-up fruit, and a cup of coffee. The sheet slips down to my waist and Lucas’s eyes immediately go to my breasts.
“How are you feeling?”
“Okay,” I tell him, pushing my messy hair back. “I’m hungry and that bacon smells wonderful.”
“You don’t feel weak?” He sits on the edge of the bed and puts a pillow in my lap to set the tray on.
“I haven’t really moved yet,” I reply, picking up the coffee and setting it on my nightstand. I put on the costume and we made it three minutes into Star Wars before Lucas carried me upstairs. He fed off me during sex, careful not to take too much, and has been babying me like mad ever since. “I had a good dream.”
“What was it about?”
“We moved into the new house and had a pool party.”
He smiles. “We’ll have to do that.”
Lucas gets under the covers next to me, keeping me company while I eat. I know shit hit the fan yesterday, but I really do feel okay this morning. Once I’m done with breakfast, Lucas and I take a shower together. I start feeling sick again, and I remember I have to go into the pharmacy and drop off the prescription from Abby.
“I don’t even know how it works,” I laugh, pulling a black dress over my head. It’s cloudy today and the air took on a chill already. Looks like second summer is already coming to an end.
“I’m sure you can figure it out,” Lucas says, lips pulling up into a half-smile. “Though I don’t know how it works either. I wish I could go with you.”
“Me too. I’m going to figure out a way to make that happen.”
“I know.” He brushes my hair back and kisses my forehead, but the second his lips touch my skin, he jerks back. “Something came through the fireplace,” he tells me, and speeds downstairs. If something came through the fireplace, it came from the Covenstead. Putting my hand over my stomach, I grimace at the lump in my throat and slowly make my way downstairs.
Lucas is in the living room, holding a large, black envelope. The coven’s sigil is pressed into the wax seal keeping it closed, and my heart hammers in my ears as I take it from him, quickly breaking off the seal and pulling out a neatly folded letter.
“What does it say?” Lucas asks as I quickly skim the letter. I recognize Tabatha’s handwriting immediately. I read over the first line again, just to make sure I read it right. Blinking, I look up at Lucas.
“I’ve been summoned.”
Chapter 4
“Summoned?” Lucas echoes. “You’re not a member of the coven anymore.”
“I know.” I swallow the lump in my throat and look at the letter again. There’s no other information, just a formal request for me to go to the gathering hall this afternoon. Tabatha’s name is signed at the bottom, and I flip the paper over, looking for a secret message or a hidden warning.
Something to make sense of this.
Because it doesn’t make sense. I’m not part of the coven, and ignoring a summon wouldn’t mean anything anymore. I can’t be punished according to Witch Law, and I can’t be held accountable. I have faith that Tabatha wouldn’t call me in for a trial, but what if her hands were tied and she was forced to write this letter while members of the Grand Coven watched.
“What do they want?” Lucas takes the letter from me, reading it over.
“I don’t know. I’m going to take a stab at it and say it has to do with the whole Ruth mess. And several members did hear me say that I’m the daughter of an archangel.”
“Do witches feel the same way about Nephilim as angels do?” Lucas lowers the letter and looks at me with concern in his eyes. “I’ll kill them before they can lay a hand on you. I swear to it, Callie, I will protect you at all costs.”
Tears suddenly spring to my eyes thanks to stupid hormones, and I quickly wipe them away with the back of my hand. “I know you will, and I don’t know. They never came up, but witches are way more open to other supernaturals than humans, so, uh, maybe?”
“You’re not going.” Lucas puts the letter on the coffee table and picks me up, carrying me to the couch. He sits with me in his lap, and I push up so I’m straddling him. “You could be walking into a trap, and I won’t have it.”
“Lucas,” I start, “Tabatha wouldn’t invite me to walk into a trap.” The words come out naturally, but even I’m not sure if I believe it. “Either her, Kristy, Evander, or even Ruby would find a way to warn me if it was a trap.”
Unless they were trapped somehow too. And if that’s the case, then it’s up to me to save them.
“I don’t like this. You have to walk through the woods alone.”
“As I’ve done hundreds of times before.”
“But you weren’t pregnant before.”
“Oh, right, thanks for reminding me because I almost forgot.”
“Callie,” he says sternly, and I see the fear in his eyes. “Nothing can happen to you.”
“It won’t,” I press, though we both know that’s not true. “I’ll take my familiars with me, and Scarlet can tag along too. I don’t think she can pass through the door now that the protection spells have been replaced, though. I’ll have her wait for me right outside the door if that’s the case.”
Lucas slowly shakes his head. “I still don’t like this. Why the ominous letter? Why not say exactly why you’ve been summoned?”