Page 54 of Blood of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“I still remember my first.” I push my hair back and my fingers get caught in a tangle. Did I brush it this morning? I honestly can’t remember. The morning is foggy thanks to waking up a million times in the middle of the night to take care of Juliet. “And I should go find my daughter.”

I clean up the rest of the salt and gather up the rest of my stuff and then go to the library. Devon is working again and looks up from behind a desk when I walk in.

“Hey,” I say with a wave.

“Good morning, Callie,” Devon says back. I know who he is just because he’s in the library a lot and I’ve utilized the books here more in the last few months than I did my last year at Grim Gate. He was a year below me in school, but like most of the coven, he probably knows more about me than I realize. “If you’re looking for the youngest member of the coven, I believe the High Priestess took her to one of the staff lounges. And good luck getting her back. It seems your daughter is following in your footsteps and already has a fan club.”

Yep. He definitely heard many stories about my time here. “Thanks. And she is really freaking cute. I can’t say I’m surprised at the fan club.”

Devon chuckles and I notice the stack of books he’s carrying are all about portals. I created a portal using Satanic magic from my mother’s own book to get out of Hell. Would the same method work to get in and out of the Underworld? In theory, yes, but I have no idea how to execute it.

A light gray shadow passes me on the way to the nearest staff lounge and I stop, recognizing the familiar right away.

“Hey, Olive,” I say and crouch down, waiting for her to shift into the white rabbit form she takes. “I’m going to need you to come over and help with my plants I forgot about—again.” Running my hand over her sleek fur, I look down the hall and see Kristy and the twins heading my way.

“Callie!” Kristy exclaims with a wave. I give Olive another pet and stand, waiting for my friends to catch up. “I thought I saw Binx and Freya in the Great Hall. What are you doing here?”

“Is the djinn back?” Nicole asks, eyes going wide.

“No. She’s dead, and I will get you another letter opener,” I tell Kristy.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kristy replies, waving her hands in the air. “How’s Easton?”

Oh shit. I forgot to text him this morning, though it was early. “Same,” I say. “Melinda will update me if there are changes, but he should be going home today.”

“A fucking djinn.” Naomi shakes her head. “Only you would get caught up with one. How did that happen?”

“It kind of attached to Easton when we went into the Order’s warehouse to steal this.” I hold up the black bag, feeling a little thrill go through me at the thought breaking and entering Order property. “The oracle.” My friends all exchange looks that I ignore. “What are you all doing here?”

“Uh, Ruby asked if we could come in and help oversee a project,” Kristy says as she looks down at Olive. Her familiar isn’t a fighter like mine. Olive helps plants grow and is good at mixing herbs and making potions. Kristy is attached like all witches are to their familiars, but she doesn’t usually bring Olive around like this…unless she’s worried something is going to go after her.

“You’re helping with schoolwork?”

Nicole and Kristy look at each other for half a second, and it’s half a second too long because I catch it.

“You know how the older students try to detect dark magic for extra credit? Well, they’ve gotten a few odd readings so we’re going to run the same tests and if it turns out to be anything big, well, no one needs to be alarmed.”

“Oh, wow. Kinda surprised she didn’t ask me,” I confess.

“She said she texted you and sent a letter, but I guess you were already here.”

My head bobs up and down. “Yeah. I did get here early. I’ll get Juliet and can help.”

“I feel bad asking you to stay when you have Juliet here,” Kristy says.

“It’s fine. She just likes to be held all day anyway. And I want to grab a few more books from the library. The oracle worked.” A smile takes over my face, feeling like I’mfinallyone step closer to saving Lucas.

My friends don’t share my excitement.

“I talked to Osiris,” I add, getting their attention. “He told me that Lucas is okay, but all the Horsemen are in a suspended state.”

“Most people don’t sound so casual when they mention they talked to a freaking god,” Nicole quips. “What was he like?”

“He seemed almost normal,” I say and realize she’s right. I didn’t feel fazed by meeting him, though I never did after meeting my paternal side of the family either. Or maybe it didn’t faze me because I fit in better with beings such as Osiris and the archangels better than I do with humans. “Julian trusted him, and I think we can too. He wants to find a way to kill the Horsemen. Technically, he has three hundred years to do so, according to the deal.”

“Wow.” Kristy picks up Olive. “That’s a lot to take in, but it’s great to know Lucas is okay right now. You can…” She trails off, shaking her head. Naomi gives her a pointed look and Nicole elbows her twin, giving her a look that saysnot now.

“If you have something to say, just say it.” I tighten my grip on the little bag, eager to go find Juliet.

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