Page 28 of Blood of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“I might just look for an excuse to fuck with the Order now.”

My half smile turns into a full smile. “Oh, I’m definitely down for that. I’m going to go ahead and hold them all accountable for Roger’s death wish against me.”

“Sounds fair.” His eyes linger on mine. “Be careful, Callie.”

“I will be. As much as I can.” I gather my stuff and get out of the truck. He idles in the street, not leaving until I’m inside.

“Well?” Eliza says, speeding into the large foyer. Juliet is in her arms, and she’s in another ridiculous outfit that looks so damn cute. She’s awake, big blue eyes trying to focus on my face.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I coo and take her from Eliza. “Were you a good girl for your sister?”

“Of course, she was. Even though she went through a record number of diapers in the short time you were gone. Did you get it?”

“I did.”

Eliza’s face lights up. “What are you waiting for? Let’s use it.”

I had some time to think on the way here since Easton and I didn’t talk much. He had a point to question if I should be holding the oracle so casually when enough people had bouts of terrible luck brought on them after handling it.

“This thing is powerful and used the wrong way, can be destructive.”

“Okay?”

“I don’t want to blow the one shot I have.” I close my eyes, hating what I’m about to say. “I think it would be best to drive back to Thorne Hill tonight before I accidentally enact a triage of bad luck, and then go to the Covenstead and have Evander help me with it.”

Eliza presses her lips together and looks at me, unblinking, for a minute. “That’s the logical thing to do. Not the Callie-thing, but if you only have one chance, then we need to be sure we do it right.”

“I agree.” My heart aches in my chest, missing Lucas so much I don’t know how much I can physically withstand it anymore. “I heard his voice in my head telling me to really think this through.” My lips curve into a smile and I look down at Juliet, seeing so much of her father in her.

The thick hair she was born with is thinning out a little, and what I suspected was cradle cap on the back of her head is getting worse. I know it’s normal and nothing to worry about, yet it’s another thing I didn’t think I’d have to do alone. Lucas should be here, going through and enjoying every single little thing. Juliet is almost three weeks old now, and every day that goes by is a day we’ll never get back.

Lucas will never have another biological child.

“I have a few things to pack up and take back with me,” she says.

“Okay,” I say and go into the living room. Keeping Juliet tight against me, I put the scarab on the coffee table and stare at it. I’m still not picking up any bad vibes from the thing, yet the thought of getting cursed with bad luck and then loading my baby into the car makes me anxious.

“Are you hungry?” I ask Juliet, spotting the bottle on the coffee table. It doesn’t look like she drank much. Pumping breast milk isn’t a pleasant experience, but given my lifestyle, I should probably have more milk on hand. Though in the back of my mind, I just have the feeling my angel-side will take over and I won’t be able to do something as human and nurse my child for much longer.

I get her situated to nurse and grab my phone, texting Abby.

Me: Hey, I had to run to Chicago for a “work” errand and was just thinking about you.

Not expecting her to text back right away, I set the phone down and lean back, eyes falling shut. I’d give anything to have Lucas’s arms around me right now. To hear him tell me it’s going to be okay, and if it isn’t, at least we have each other. Knowing he was at my side, that he had my back…it’s what got me through life. I don’t want to go on without him.

Scarlet joins me on the couch, resting her big head on my thigh. Freya and Pandora are upstairs on the rooftop patio, and I can sense Binx drawing near.

My phone chimes, startling me back to reality. Sucking in a breath, I slowly sit up so as not to disturb Juliet and pick up the phone.

Abby: Are you at the house? I drove by and saw lights on.

Me: Creeper ;-)

Abby: Hah, I know, right? These damn one-way streets force me to drive down N Orchard on my way home from work.

Me: Sure, stalker.

Abby: LOL You got me! How are you? And Juliet? I’m going to need another baby fix ASAP!

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