“I see,” he says, pursing his lips. “And the nature of this visit was to sway you to give up our child?”
He sees the look of shock pass over her face and it is genuine. He knows her features so well; there is no way she could have feigned that.
“What?” she asks faintly. “I don’t know. He never said why he came to me. I thought it was just to mess with me.”
“Apparently not,” Constantine says and grinds his teeth together as she looks to Frederick for confirmation.
“He wants to use me to give him my baby?” she shrieks and turns into the comfort of her waiting charge’s arms. Correction: her waiting fiancé’s arms.
“Our baby,” Constantine corrects her to his ire. “So, you see this is where we are now at.”
“No,” Aefre says, regaining her control. “No more killing. Not today.” She whispers the last two words and it pulls on his heart strings.
He gulps but remains firm. “I won’t let anyone threaten our child,” he reminds her.
“Neither will I, but this…another murder? How can that be the only way?” she asks tearfully and moves across the room to stare blindly out of the French doors and over the grounds.
“He won’t stop,” Frederick says. “He…what are you looking at?”
“Hm?” Constantine asks. He had wandered off into his head to try and give his wife what she wants, but, as far as he can see it, there is no other way.
“That.” Aefre points a shaky finger to something only she can see, and it brings them, one and all, to her back so they too can peer out and see what the problem is.
“Oh, crap,” Devon mutters. “Again?”
They all make frustrated noises as they watch the white light of magick bounce off the wards that Constantine had set after the Vampire attack.
“That magick, it’s….” Aefre starts and then backs away, stepping on Constantine’s toe, but continuing to reverse anyway. She makes a break in the crowd and stumbles over an end table, but Constantine is there to steady her before she falls.
“What is it, my sweet?” he asks with concern. Her face has gone paler than usual and her eyes are wide.
“It’s white magick,” she says, pointing again to outside.
“What?” Devon says, also at her side, concern on his face. “White magick? I thought you said the only white magick users were….” He gives Constantine an accusatory glare, which he returns with full force.
“I have nothing to do with this,” he says stiffly, cursing his sister. If Rosalina has decided to come for his child, he will have no qualms about stopping her by whatever means necessary.
“Why would she do this?” Aefre asks weakly, curling her hand protectively around her bump.
“Humph!” comes the reply and they all turn to stare at the newcomer that has somehow busted through the wards and landed amongst them in the library, scattering them all like pigeons.
“You think that I would have anything to do with this?” Rosalina asks, gesturing in disgust to the windows. “Such faith, little brother.” She sneers at him and he growls back at her. He stopped being her little brother a long, long time ago.
Aefre spins around to face her sister-in-law with her hands ready to lash out, but Remiel’s sharp question stops everyone in their tracks.
“How did you get in here?” he asks, instantly at Rosalina’s side and towering menacingly over her.
She gives Remiel a sultry smile, which definitely has an effect on his wife’s sire, much to her annoyance, which in turn pisses the fuck out of him. “I taught Con how to set wards, you think I can’t get around them?”
Aefre gasps and looks up at him at the shortening of his name. “Con?” she mouths at him and he grimaces back at her.
“No chance in Hell,” he mouths back to her as she grins at him in delight.
“I backed up those wards,” Remiel says, jabbing his thumb against his chest. “No one should have gotten in or out.”
“You did what?” Constantine roars at him, launching himself forward to grab the beast by his shirtfront. “I told you to fucking dare, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He draws back his fist, but Aefre’s small hand clamps over it before he can smash her sire in the face with it.
“Don’t,” she says, shaking her head. “He is only protecting his daughter.”