Scarlet just wags her tail, excited by everything. I look around the library one more time, trying to envision Lucas reading to Elena late at night when she can’t sleep. I want it to happen so badly it hurts.
But I also know forcing things you want can be selfish, and I refuse to be a selfish mother to my own daughter. Even if that means letting her go.
Chapter 13
The smell of lavender and sage surrounds me as soon as I step foot into Grim Gate Academy. It’s Monday afternoon, and the school is alive. It’s the lunch hour for the older students, and I stop, standing in the passage that looks into the great hall for a moment. With only a few minutes left before the tables will magically clear, some students rush to finish eating while others practice spells before going to class to be tested on them. The day is going on like normal, with everyone blissfully unaware of how close we are to total destruction.
I get hit with nostalgia anytime I walk through the large double doors to the Academy, and today is no exception. It’s my safe house, the first place I ever considered home, and I know many others feel the same. Binx trots along next to me as we head toward Evander’s office where Lucas is waiting out the sun. Binx a bit of a celebrity around here, and two witches leaving the great hall point to him.
“Is that Binx?” one whispers to the other. “Callie Martin’s familiar?”
“Does that mean she’s—” Her friend cuts off when she sees me. Both girls look like they’ve been caught in the act.
“It’s Callie King now,” I tell them and rest a hand on my stomach, suddenly feeling old. There’s nothing like being married and pregnant to make you feel your age when you come back to your old school, right?
“Yes,” the first girl says. “You got married.”
“I did, and I’m here to find my husband.”
“Lucas is here?” the other rushes out. Her friend elbows her, and they both giggle. Lucas came to the school not long ago for an informative Q&A session about vampires. It was the first time a vampire was invited into the Academy like that, and he had quite the turnout and was especially popular with the female population here. “I mean, is he giving another presentation?”
“Not this time,” I say, knowing how disappointed she must be. “Sorry.”
“I’m Daksha,” she says, holding out her hand for me to shake.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Callie,” I say without thinking and then realize they already said my name. Dammit. “Which you already know.”
“Your ring is really pretty,” the other girls says, seeing it flash in the firelight when I extend my hand. “And I’m Katie.”
“Thanks, and it’s nice to meet you as well.”
Katie looks from my ring to my stomach, curiosity apparent on her face. It’s obvious I’m pregnant now, and my stomach is even more pronounced in these damn maternity shirts. Evander told me I’ve come up a few times while teaching magical history, but I have no idea if the curriculum has been updated to teach cursed vampire sex ed, since it’s not something really anyone else has to worry about.
“When are you due?”
“Katie!” Daksha hisses. “You can’t ask that. What if she’s not—”
“My aunt went to her baby shower yesterday. Lissa Abell.”
“Oh, right,” I say, remembering her from the witches Tabatha invited on my behalf. She’s on the coven’s council…and met my uncle Lucifer yesterday. “And mid-June.” I pat my belly. “She’s still got a while to keep cooking.”
“You’re having a girl? Awww, I bet she’s going to look just like you,” Daksha coos. “Do you have a name picked out?”
“I’m like ninety-nine percent sure we’re going with Elena,” I say, and this moment feels so fucking surreal. And in true Callie-style, a little voice in the back of my head tells me it doesn’t matter if the Horsemen take over, bringing carnage and destruction to the world. “And I think she’s going to look more like her dad.”
“Lucas,” both girls giggle, and I know exactly where their teenage minds are going.
“My aunt said your baby is a magical miracle,” Katie says.
“Considering her father is a sixteen-hundred-year-old vampire, that’s very true, and—ow. That was a crotch shot.” I rub my stomach.
“Is she still kicking?”
“Yeah, she’s doing somersaults, I think.”
“Awwww, can I?” Daksha reaches out, and I nod. Katie puts her hand on my stomach too, and they both gush over Elena moving around. A few more students leave the great hall, and another girl joins us. She’s holding Freya, and I’m not surprised she shadowed ahead and demanded attention. Pandora is here somewhere as well, probably checking out the Academy’s garden so she can come back and give me shit about how bad of a gardener I am. I’ve tried to tell her it would just be unfair if I was a master herb grower on top of having multiple active powers, but since her specialty is making potions, Pandora won’t buy it.