Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“Paper?” she asks Betty as the phone rings.
“In the office,” Betty replies and they both go into the little office to the left of the stairs. My heart starts beating at a normal rate as I watch Juliet. Her eyes are closed and she has a fistful of my hair. She looks peaceful and only takes a shuddering breath every once in a while now, having cried and nursed herself to sleep at the same time.
“Why would she get a fever?” Eliza muses out loud. “If the spell repelled divinity, it shouldn’t create a wrath of germs.”
“The divinity in her keeps her from becoming susceptible to human illness,” Lucas says. “The same way it does for Callie. But unlike Callie, Juliet hasn’t been exposed to much and has no immune system.” He tips his head. “Or at least that’s my theory.”
“It makes sense,” I tell him. “I got a cold when I was pregnant because my angel powers were on lockdown so my body could do the human thing and grow a baby.” It was the first time in my life I could recall having a cold and even though I wasn’t really sick, it fucking sucked. I don’t know how full humans deal with getting sick. Talk about inconvenience.
“But now her divinity is restored.” I carefully pull our sleeping daughter off my breast and fix my shirt, covering myself back up. “Do you think it’s enough to get rid of whatever made her sick?”
“We can only hope.” Lucas puts his arm around me and I find instant comfort in his embrace. I rest my head against his firm body and he takes a pillow from the couch and helps arrange it under my arm, supporting Juliet. She’s not heavy, but man do my arms get tired holding her like this, though I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Kristy comes back into the room and kneels in front of the fireplace. She folds a piece of paper in half and puts it on the grate, holding out her hands and chanting a spell to send a message to the Covenstead. The paper ignites, burning fast and bright before disappearing without a trace of ash.
“Thank you,” I tell Kristy. “Now let’s hope Artemis will wake Tabatha up to tell her she got a message.”
“Whoa,” Betty rushes out. “I…I didn’t know that fireplace was, uh, magical.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her, pretty sure where her train of thought is going. “I have it spelled so you can’t accidentally send anything.”
Silence falls over us and Lucas picks up the thermometer, taking Juliet’s temp again.
“It’s going down,” he tells me and I let out a sigh of relief. Juliet takes after me and is dependent on the divinity coursing through her veins to keep her alive and well. It shouldn’t be an issue, and she’s way more human than I am. Eventually, her body would be able to handle the spell better than mine, but she’s only a few weeks old.
“Is everything, uh, okay?” Betty asks, wringing her hands and she looks from me to the widows.
“Yeah,” I automatically say. “We handled it.” I force a smile. “Thanks for letting Juliet crash here for a few.”
“Of course. And if you guys need anything, let me know.” She tips her head. “I don’t know how I could help, but I’m here.”
“Thanks, Betty. You’re been a really good friend.”
She smiles. “So have you.”
“Should we go home?” I ask, tipping my head up at Lucas. Eamon is there with Jacob, who could be waking up any minute now. I don’t trust that vampire not to kill him, and we really need to see if Jacob remembers anything from his short time of being possessed.
“You guys go,” Kristy says. “And I’ll hang out here for a bit to see if the High Priestess replies. I’ll meet you back there in like half an hour regardless?”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thank you,” I tell her. Lucas takes Juliet from my arms, and borrowing a blanket from Betty, covers her up so she won’t get chilled by the night air. Binx and Freya follow but I tell Scarlet and Pandora to stay with Kristy and Betty—just in case.
“Can we run away to Disney World?” I ask once Lucas and I are outside.
“Juliet is much too small to ride any rides.”
“I can hold her on Haunted Mansion.”
“Next year?” Lucas kisses the top of her head. “We can take her for her birthday.”
A smile plays across my face. “That would be really nice. Especially if, uh, you’re still able to day walk.”
“About that,” Lucas starts. “What did you do, Callie?”
“I…I made a deal,” I say. “With Osiris.”
“I gathered that much. What does the deal entail?”
“It, uh, entails that we join forces in a sense.”
“What aren’t you telling me, my love?”
“Nothing worth noting,” I lie. Because how the fuck do you tell your husband you accepted a marriage proposal from the Egyptian God of the Underworld?