Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Fuck, I wasn’t expecting that. He goes to bite Eliza, but right as his fangs puncture her flesh, Juliet cries. I can hardly hear it all the way here on the porch, but vampires have much better hearing than humans. Eamon freezes, listening to my daughter cry. Then he pulls his face back, wipes blood from his mouth, and looks inside.
I use his distraction to shove him back and grab Eliza. The wounds on her neck are already healing and she gives me a look that says exactly what I’m thinking. Eamon knows about the baby.
“How is that possible?” he mumbles, more to himself than to either of us. He inhales again. “It makes sense now, but how?”
“None of your fucking business,” I say through gritted teeth, realizing how much more danger Juliet is in. We were so worried about angels or demons finding out about her, we didn’t stop and think about how other vampires would react. Building family through sire lines is important to vampires. But being able to continue family through actual blood…vampires would kill to be able to do that. And I mean that quite literally.
“A biological child,” Eamon goes on, looking me up and down like the answers are somewhere on my body. “You produced him a biological child.”
“I’m not some baby factory,” I retort, unable to help myself.
Eamon gathers his composure, working through the shock. “A child born, half vampire, half witch. Humans will not like that.”
“You are not using my daughter for your fucking cause,” I growl, feeling heat gathering around my fingers.
“We’ll see about that.” Eamon smirks and something inside me pops. I throw my hands out, hitting him in the chest with bright white light. It burns right through his clothes and knocks him down the porch steps.
“Messing with my family is a surefire way to get yourself killed.” I hold out my hand, summoning a blue ball of energy. Light glows above me and that feeling of belonging, of wanting to have power coursing through veins, making others fear me, starts to take over. It’s making me want to claim my birthright, to sit on the throne and watch demons cower before me.
“Who are you?” Eamon scrambles to his feet, patting his chest to make sure the fire is out.
“I’m the Queen of fucking Hell and if you don’t get off my property, I will send you there.” The energy ball in my hand glows purple, fueled by my rage, and Eamon snarls and then takes off, speeding into the night.
“Holy shit,” Eliza says a moment later, tentatively coming over. “You almost went full Carrie again.”
“Maybe I should have.” I let out a breath and close my fists. The energy ball shrinks until it’s gone. But fire still glows above me, and I look up. There’s no energy ball floating above my head. Instead, I realize I’m wearing the fire crown.
“I didn’t think I could summon hellfire,” I say, reaching up. It’s the strangest feeling, as I can sense the fire, but it doesn’t hurt me or even feel hot.
“It’s not the, uh, normal hellfire crown I’ve seen.” Eliza’s eyes are wide as she slowly reaches forward, touching the crown of flames that’s burning around my head. It chars her flesh and she brings her hand back, watching it heal before our eyes.
“What kind of fire is it?”
“The blue fire, from the Underworld.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I huff. “Did I just claim another throne?”
Chapter
Seven
Laughter is a completely inappropriate response to everything that’s going on, yet it’s the only way my brain can keep from imploding. I bring my hand to my mouth to stifle my laughter, and Eliza steps back, looking at me like I’ve completely lost it.
Maybe I have.
“You know, this would be one way to get Osiris to come to me.”
Eliza blinks once. Twice. Three times. “Okay, I was waiting for the part where you told me you were joking but that hasn’t happened yet.”
“I’m not. Maybe I should summon all the hellfire from the Underworld and, I don’t know, burn something down with it.”
“Does it work that way?”
“Probably not.” I close my eyes and try to find some sort of inner peace so the fire fades away. Juliet’s cries echo through the large house and Eliza and I go inside, shutting the door behind us and leaving Binx, Pandora, and Scarlet outside to patrol and make sure Eamon is actually off my property. I’ve tailored the wardings to protect me and me alone. For years, I lived by myself with my familiars and set up the complicated lines of magic to keep anyone who wishes to harm me from crossing.
But it’s not just me anymore. I’m sure I can work out how to include my own daughter, but including Eliza and Lucas? I’m not sure. It’s something I can figure out—when I have the time. For now, I turn toward the door and spread my arms out, whispering a simple incantation to protect the house.