Reign of Night (Thorne Hill #7) - Emily Goodwin Page 0,110

and it’s adorable.” Kristy smiles, hugs me once more as we say goodbye, and goes down the porch steps to her car. I close the door, re-seal it, and go into the kitchen to start putting dishes away.

Lucas is in the kitchen, heating up a pot of water on the stove to warm up a bag of blood. He has a grimace on his face that will stay there the whole time. I don’t really know what to equate the bagged blood to, but I suppose it’s a bit like stale cereal or burnt popcorn. Technically, it’s edible, but it doesn’t taste good.

"I cannot wait until this baby is born and I can have wine again." I rest my hand on my stomach and enviously look at the empty wine glasses on the counter. With all the shit that's been going on, an entire bottle of wine sounds good right now.

"After the baby is born?" Lucas questions. "I thought you were breastfeeding."

"Fine. I can't wait until this baby is born plus like three months so I can have wine again," I say, rolling my eyes.

“Three months? The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for two years."

I turn my head, smiling sweetly at my vampire lover. "You know what else the World Health Organization recommends? The best way to avoid a silver-tipped stake through your heart is to not give your pregnant wife unsolicited advice."

Lucas just looks at me, unamused, and sticks his finger in the water, testing the temperature.

“You can take a bite of me for dessert,” I say, meaning it literally and sexually. Though with Lucas, they usually go hand-in-hand. Lucas has only drank from me a handful of times over the last few weeks, not wanting to take too much blood away from Elena.

“Just a taste,” he says, and I’m glad he’s willing to do even that. “I didn’t mean to listen, but you are rather loud. Your friends are right, Callie, leave the spellcasting to them. They’re not fighting demons. They’re casting a protection spell. It will be fine, and once the sun comes up the morning after the new moon, we’ll know it worked.”

“I know,” I agree. “I’ll let them cast the protection spell.” But if demons do come…I’m not going to sit here and do nothing while my friends get ripped apart.

Chapter 35

“Should I bring you a chair and some water?”

I turn, not sure if Lucas is trying to be catty or not. I’m in the attic, looking out at the woods. It’s the night of the new moon, and the spell is going to be cast soon. I’ve been on pins and needles all night, and I wish more than anything I could be there, helping my friends or just being there for moral support if anything else.

“That would be nice,” I say back. “And a blanket. It’s cold up here.” The attic is mostly untouched, other than being cleaned with some moldy floorboards replaced and the drywall patched around a window. We did have a bathroom added up here, which my six-month-pregnant bladder appreciates. I’ve been up here for two hours already, compelled to watch the woods for signs of anything.

I can’t see the location of the door from my window, but I have a pretty good vantage point up here, three stories from the ground. I’ve sent Binx and Freya out to patrol the woods, and Pandora is up here keeping me company. Scarlet hung out with us for a while but got bored and left about an hour ago.

Lucas returns with a chair from the dining room, a blanket, and a glass of water. I wrap the blanket around myself and sit, knowing I’m going to stand up and look out the window again in just a minute.

“You should go to bed, my love,” Lucas says and puts his hands on my shoulders. I’m tired, and going to bed sounds nice, but there is no way I’m going to put my butt in my nice comfy bed while my friends’ lives could be on the line.

“After the spell is cast.”

“Okay,” he says, surprising me a bit by not arguing. He always goes out of his way to make me happy, but he’s done it more lately than ever. It makes my heart so freaking full to see him doting on me—while annoying me at the same time—but all he wants is for Elena to keep growing. He’s so excited to be a father and being able to give him this after sixteen