friends think this is the calm before the storm. They think I’ve faced off against all the bad guys and I’m on the winning side, leading my team to victory. But they have no idea what just happened, and I now know for certain not telling them was the right thing to do.
Because as I sit her in the gathering hall, listening to the happy chatter as I pretend to celebrate my comeback to the coven, I’m harboring a huge secret…one that’s big enough to send everyone running and screaming to their homes. I lean back, breath leaving in a heavy huff, guilt weighing down on me as I look at my friends, all gathered here, smiling and laughing and talking, thinking the worst is behind us.
I scoop up a piece of soggy bread on my spoon, put it in my mouth, and look out at the dining hall. I should feel freer than ever right now. My coven wants me back. They’re willing to go up against the Grand Coven on my behalf. Yet I feel trapped under his finger. I close my eyes and swallow hard. I’m nothing like him, and a maelstrom of emotions plagues me.
He helped me. He healed Abby. Without him, I’d be grieving the loss of my sister. Without Lucifer, I would have lost Lucas as well. He’s family, and I want more than anything to know he’s here and that he has my back, and I’m not wrong for trusting him.
But I can’t forget the look in his dark eyes when he raised his gaze from my stomach. He knew more than he was saying, and my heart speeds up and my throat tightens when I think about it. The same blood that runs through my veins runs through his, forging some sort of connection I can’t stop even if I tried.
My eyelids shut in a slow blink, feeling heavy from everything I’m desperately trying to repress. I put a permanent stop to Ruth. My coven—my family—wants me to come home, and I’m here, sitting in the great hall where I ate so many meals in my youth, surrounded by friends and love for the first time in my entire life.
A single tear runs down my cheeks, and I quickly wipe it away. Anger floods my veins, and I have to work to keep my powers in check. I’ve made it this far on my own, and I’m going to fight tooth and nail to keep it that way.
“Are you okay?” Kristy asks, reaching for her wine glass.
“Yeah,” I say with no hesitation and a fake-ass smile on my face. “I’m perfect.” I widen my smile and blink away any indication that I’m far from okay. Lucifer isn’t confined to Hell anymore. He’s free to walk among us. We thought Satanism was dangerous before, but now…now I think it’s a literal death sentence.
Chapter 6
Leaves crunch under my feet as I slow, coming to a stop at the threshold of the forest. My yard is right before me, and if I step to the side and look past the trees, I’ll see the house.
My house.
Our house.
Home.
I should run forward, bursting through the trees with a smile on my face. My coven wants me back, and they’ve welcomed me with open arms. They’re taking a stand against the Grand Coven, telling them how full of shit they are for not allowing me to remain a member of the coven just because I married Lucas.
The Grand Coven is in hot water. The only reason anyone was promoted to the “grand” status was because they were voted to be so, and right now, no one is in favor in reelecting anyone on the Grand Coven. It used to be an honor, and I suppose it still is, but the esteem has been lost when they’ve failed to act twice now. They let down the same coven twice within a year, which doesn’t look very good in the eyes of witches and warlocks alike.
Starting a revolution would be my thing, and usually, I’d be all over it, but as I stand here, vision blurring as I look in the direction of my house, all I want to do is block it all out, go inside, and start packing for Florida.
Because it’s too much to deal with, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell my friends about what happened at Abby’s house. Just thinking about it makes my stomach twist with anxiety, and my skin gets all prickly.