Page 5 of Blood of Night (The Thorne Hill)

I’m in the same room Lucas and I stayed in after he whisked me away here when Paimon attacked and killed Julian. This room is getting a bad vibe fast. Though this time, a little wooden bassinet has been added, and Juliet is sound asleep inside of it, granting me an hour and a half of sleep at least. Eliza is asleep in the armchair in the corner of the room, completely still and unmoving. Vampires look dead while they sleep, though Eliza would make a very pretty corpse.

Running my hands through my hair, I let my eyes fall shut. This is really happening. Lucas is trapped in the Underworld and I’m waking up alone. I could easily let this break me, to accept it for what it is.

But that’s not me, and I won’t give up on Lucas.

He’s still there, still himself, and still believing that we will be together again. Because we will. Reaching over, I touch the empty spot in the bed where Lucas should be and feel my sadness turn into anger. Why did he do that? We could have found another way!

It should have been me. I know I can withstand hellfire. I can flit between dimensions with no issues. Though…I have divinity in my blood and can’t be possessed. Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to become a Horseman.

“That’s it,” I whisper and silently swing my legs over the side of the bed. The horses are the true demons. They’re the source of power. The riders can be unseated, and I know I can do it. Once Lucas is off, once I’ve cut that connection, I can find a way to kill the demons. “How?” My eyes fall shut and I shake my head. I have no fucking idea. That was our plan all along, and deep down I know I couldn’t have taken them on alone. I need magical backup, and not from other witches.

I need help from other angels, and I’m fresh out of angelic relatives ready and able to fight with me.

“What about demons?” I’m spiraling, I know, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get my husband back. If I defeat Paimon, claim my birthright on the Throne of Hell, then I’ll…I’ll…I’ll be fucking stuck in Hell which is something we were hoping to avoid. Hell is no place to raise a child, after all.

Burying my head in my hands, I lay back down, not sure if I want to scream or cry or blow stuff up. Ideally, I’d like to do all three, but I don’t want to wake up Juliet. Instead, I get up and look through the empty dressers and nightstand, knowing there’s a notebook and pen in here somewhere. Conjuring a small ball of white light, I start a newoh shit/to dolist.

The first thing is to rescue Lucas. Then I’ll kill the demonic horses, go to Hell, and kill Paimon. Then maybe I can take a break until my birthday at least. I draw an arrow under the scribbled down words “save Lucas” and am back to square one.

My eyes well with tears again. I can’t do this without him. I can’t figure out how to kill the Horsemen for good without his help. And I’m not strong enough to go after Paimon on my own.

Which Paimon proved not long ago.

I’m not used to losing. I face the bad guys, fight like hell, and win. In the last month, I’ve lost so much. Closing the notebook, I lean back against the headboard and let fall tears roll down my face with no attempt to stop them.

Demons will always be after me, and I’ve made my peace with that a long time ago. But the more recent attacks, the ones that could truly bring on the end of days…it all goes back to the fight for power. Bael wanted to use me to sit on the throne. Varrador wanted me at his side, again using me to gain access to Hell’s Kingdom. And Paimon was going to burn up all my divinity and use the little my baby Juliet has to gain access to both Heaven and Hell.

Would that still have happened if Lucifer stayed on the throne? I don’t want to believe it to be true. He did tell me demons had been planning on overthrowing him for centuries, but it was literally impossible since you need archangel blood to rule.

And Lucifer was still in Hell when Varrador attacked. I want to be angry at him. I want someone to blame and to hold accountable and to be an easy solution. But if there was anyone to blame here, it’s me.

Not directly, though my existence is as much of a miracle as my own daughter. My mother was a witch who sold her soul to Lucifer and my father was the archangel sent to save her from literal damnation. Talk about a love story for the ages, right?

I just want this over, but who am I kidding? Even if I get Lucas back and we kill Paimon, it’ll only be a matter of time before the next demon tries to use me. And that’s not to mention having to constantly evade my archangel aunts and uncles.

Maybe Lucifer was right. Maybe the only solution is for me to claim my birthright and actually and officially become the Queen of Hell.

“Callie?”

The door creaks open and I blink a few times. I’m sitting up in bed, holding Juliet, and was just starting to doze off. I have my arms propped up with pillows, holding her in place, yet it still makes me worry that I’m going to suffocate her in her sleep when I fall asleep as well.

My familiars and Scarlet joined us early this morning, and they’re all quietly sitting with me, keeping me company and just being here for support.

“Yeah?”

“Hey.” Kristy pushes the door open and the look of sorrow on my best friend’s face almost does me in. People need to stop acting like Lucas died. He’s not any more dead than he was as a vampire. If anything, he’s just temporarily possessed, and I’ll get the demon of him and then will have my husband back.

“She looks so peaceful,” Kristy whispers, coming into the room and perching on the edge of the bed. It’s early, and either Tabatha or Evander must have called Kristy and told her to come here ASAP because they knew I’d need her.

“She’s lucky she has no idea what’s going on,” I reply, shifting my weight a little. My right arm is going numb, but I don’t want to move a sleeping baby.

“What…what is going on?” Kristy asks hesitantly. “Tabatha told me what happened, but I have so many questions and now I feel like an ass for bringing it up considering what happened.”

“He’s not gone,” I rush out. “Not forever, at least. I’m going to get him back.” Letting my eyes fall shut for a beat, I inhale and look at Kristy. “Before Osiris took him to the Underworld, Lucas said he knew I’d be able to break him out of Hell. He’s counting on me.”

“Okay.” Kristy gets a distant look in her eye, and she nods, curling her lips in over her teeth. A few seconds pass and then she looks at me again. “What do we do? The gang’s all here.” Her lips curve into a half smile. “We’re ready to help.”

Fuck, I’m so grateful for my friends. “I need to get to the Underworld. That’s step number one. Then I’ll, uh…honestly, I gotta suss things out when I’m there.”

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