“Don’t talk like this,” he growls, fangs coming down. “You’re going to make it through childbirth. You’re not human, Callie. Your mother was. Juliet has half the divinity in her that you do. You are going to survive this.”
“Promise me, Lucas.” Tears fill my eyes. “Please.” My voice breaks, and everything weighs on me.
Julian’s death. The fact that I have no idea where my father is or how to find Lucifer. How much I wish my mother could be here, holding my hand and telling me it’s going to be okay.
“I promise,” he whispers, his own eyes misting over. “I promise to take care of you and our daughter. No matter what.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, clinging to him. “I love you, Lucas.”
“I love you too, Callie.” He smooths my hair back. “It’s okay to be frightened. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” He kisses me, tongue going past my lips and his fangs scraping against me.
“I can cast the circle,” I tell him. “Just in case.”
He retracts his fangs and looks away, jaw tense. He doesn’t want me to do it, and I understand why. “Add an extra warding to the house. When Evader gets here, he can take over and cast the circle for the trap. You’re not in any condition to do that kind of magic right now, Callie.”
“That’s the third time I’ll have to have my friends do something I should be doing. I couldn’t cast the protection spell on the Ley line. I didn’t get to help with the exorcism. And now I can’t cast my own magical trap? I can’t put that on them.”
“You’re not putting it on them, Callie,” he says gently, though he could easily be angry right now. “They are your friends. Your family. They love you and care about you, and they care about our daughter. We all know you’re the best defense against the Horsemen and are the only archangel-born Nephilim. You’re not brushing off a responsibility so you can go party. And as much as I hate it, in the end, it’s going to be you who stops the Horsemen. Take the night off. You’re having a fucking baby, my love.”
I look up at Lucas, lips parting. “Holy fuck. I’m having a baby. We’re going to be parents.”
Lucas’s handsome face splits into a smile. “We are.” He turns me. “You’re going inside.”
Starting to feel anxious, I pat my leg to call Scarlet and let Lucas lead me inside. My friends are all in the kitchen, trying to act like they weren’t watching me outside. I don’t like being the center of attention, but I know I’m not going to escape it tonight.
“Anyone want to help me cast a warding on the house?” I ask, hands going to my back so I can try and stretch. “Just, uh, something simple.”
“No Solomon circles to entrap demons?” Naomi asks, eyes lighting up. She knows I’d only relent and not cast the spell if I was officially in labor, and I am.
“Not tonight.” I side-eye Lucas and try not to panic. “I’m pretty sure I’m actually in labor.”
“I’d love to help put another level of protection on the house,” Kristy says, trying to hide her excitement. She’s doing a better job than Lucas, at least. “What do you have in mind?”
“An elemental-based circle of protection.” It’s a basic warding, one I usually don’t bother with, but with four of us calling individually on each element, it can create a pretty strong warding against any sort of ill intention. “We can each take a corner and can go with the elements we were going to channel for the Solomon spell.”
“Are you ready now?” Kristy asks. “We can gather what we need and head out in minutes.”
“Yeah,” I tell her, feeling like a literal ticking time bomb. “I’m fine.”
My best friend beams. “I’ll get what we need.”
Lucas’s hands land on my shoulders once I take a seat at the island. “Are you sure about this, my love?”
“Yes,” I say, looking at the clock. “This spell is fast and easy to cast. I’ll stay right by the porch.”
He doesn’t say anything but brings his hands down my arms. My eyes flutter shut for only a moment, and then I look at the clock again. I’ve been having a contraction every fifteen minutes, and I’m dreading the pain already.
And I’m also looking forward to it, since it means our little girl is going to be here soon.
“I got what we need,” Kristy says, coming back into the kitchen. She’s carrying a stick of incense, a jar of moon water, and a bag of graveyard dirt. “Let’s go.” She distributes what she’s holding, and we take our places around the house. Lucas stands behind me when I go onto the stoop outside the hall next to the library. I wait a beat, listening for my friends.