Squatting in front of me, Ethan grabbed the chair and rolled me closer. He pressed his lips to my stomach, a gentleness in his eyes. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this soft side of him. I didn’t even know if I wanted to stay with him long-term. We’d already been through so much together, but we really just met. Now I was pregnant? What did that say about me?
“You’re thinking too much, Sophie,” Ethan said, staring up at me.
“I know. I can’t help it. This is so much to take in, and I have yet to figure out my feelings toward you,” I told him, stroking the side of his face. His stubble was rough against my skin, which was always a huge turn-on for me.
As if sensing the change in my mood, he knelt and pulled my face toward him so he could kiss me softly. I moaned, feeling warmth spread through my body. He knew exactly what to do to relax me. I didn’t know if that was a sign or not, but it sure felt like one.
THE BOOK WAS HEAVY in my hands as I walked over to the coffee table. I set it down with a loud thump, then lowered myself to the floor, wiping my hands on my jeans with a grimace. Just knowing it was made from skin...
Disgusting.
“I should put gloves on or something,” I mumbled to myself as I opened it.
The first several pages were blank. I stared at them for several seconds, wondering what the hell was going on, when letters slowly began to appear on the pages, swirling around and forming words, then sentences. Opaque pictures turned more solid. I stared in fascination, hardly noticing when Ethan walked in with my food. The man spoiled me. Even more so now that I was pregnant. Hell, this early, most people wouldn’t even know they were. Would it even show up on a pregnancy test yet?
Trying to refocus my thoughts, I started flipping through the pages, wondering what I was looking for. Most of it was about wars and future pregnancies that would produce children who’d later influence Witch history. I yawned, already bored. Then I came across more pertinent information. A section that specifically mentioned my children. My stomach filled with butterflies. I glanced up at the food Ethan brought, relieved when I saw it was just scrambled eggs. I didn’t think I could handle anything heavier.
As I read, I frowned. “It says one of the babies will be dark and one will be light. In the end, one will not survive. The one who does will lead all supernatural kinds.”
I looked up at Ethan, eyes wide. “One of my kids will die? This book sucks!” I slammed it closed and started chewing on one of my nails. “I can’t let that happen. How can one be evil and the other good? Why can’t they both be good? Is it because of Drake? Does one of the babies become a demon?”
Ethan sat on the edge of the couch, placing a hand on my shoulder. His face was filled with concern. “It’s hard to say, Sophie. I don’t want to say things will be okay when I’m not even sure myself that they will. The book is truth. What it says will come to pass. Maybe you should read the rest of it.”
Shaking my head, I shoved it away. It slowly started sliding right back toward me, as if touching it in the first place made some kind of connection. I groaned. “Sometimes I hate magic.”
Sighing, Ethan opened the book to where I had it, the corner of the page dogeared. Taking a deep breath, I leaned over to read the same section again.
“You know, if the baby is darkness, we can bind his powers until he’s old enough to learn how to use them responsibly,” Ethan suggested.
“You can’t change what’s written in this book, Ethan.” I stared down at my stomach. “Can the book be rewritten? Can we rewrite what’s already there?” I blew some hair out of my face.
Shrugging, Ethan closed the book, obviously tired of dealing with it. “We can ask your grandmother.”
“I can always call her,” I said, remembering the phone number I had.
A sudden bright light made me squint. As I glanced around to see where it was coming from, I realized my necklace was glowing. Ethan’s eyes widened as he looked at me, not sure what to do. The light became so bright, we had to shield our eyes. A rumbling noise filled the room. Wind started to whip around, blowing my hair around my face. Freaking out, I tried to pull the necklace off, but it wouldn’t budge. Dumb thing had yet to trust me enough so I could take it off. Maybe it predicted I would react this way.
The rumbling noise increased, hurting my ears. I placed my hands over them, feeling something wet. When I pulled them away, I saw blood. I looked at Ethan, seeing him staring at his own blood-covered fingers. What the hell was going on?
Closing my eyes to will away the pain, the noise slowly started to fade.
“Sophie...” Ethan tapped my arm.
Looking around, I saw we were in the Ancestors’ white room. Ethan tried to move around, running into the invisible barrier. He looked at me questioningly.
“That’s to protect us,” I sighed. The last place I wanted to be was the Ancestors’ torture chamber.
Hooded figures began to appear around the barrier, flickering in like a bad movie reel. It only took a couple seconds before one of them smashed into the side of the barrier, a large tongue coming out to lick it. The creature’s nails scraped along it.
“What the fuck is that?” Ethan asked, pushing me behind him so he could protect me if the thing made it through.
I almost laughed. I remembered the
