When I promised Drake I wouldn’t leave the house, I meant it. But after a month stuck in this place, watching while Drake, Luana, Keeran, and even Thomas came and went everywhere, I was starting to lose my mind.

I got up from bed and looked at my reflection on the floor-length mirror. My hair was messy, but long, much longer than it had been six weeks ago. My always fair skin was ghost-white now. Instead of gaining a few pounds, I had lost some and my bony cheeks and collarbone were there to prove it.

I looked down. From my calculations, I was nearing the fourth month. I could see a bump in my belly now. I rested my hand on the bump. How was it possible that sometimes I still couldn’t believe I was carrying a child? My child. Drake’s child. A child that would become the Queen of All Witches.

If she survived this pregnancy.

I couldn’t complain, though. Bagatha had scared me, but I was expecting much worse. So far, I had just been too exhausted and too nauseous to do anything else other than sleeping and eating when my stomach allowed it.

However, the other residents of this house didn’t stop. I knew they were searching for a way to save me so I wouldn’t die in childbirth. Often, they came back from a long outing, carrying loads of books. I once asked where they got the books. Nobody answered me, but from what I gathered, they had been raiding libraries all over the state.

But most books were about legends and supernaturals, so I wasn’t really sure which libraries they were going to.

I felt so useless beside them. I hated this feeling, that I was a burden they had to deal with. I hated just sitting here and waiting. I hated not being able to help other than reading the books with them.

Last night, while they were all out doing whatever, I had an idea. Finally, something I could help with.

An hour before sunrise, I drank one of Bagatha’s tonics to make sure I had enough energy for the argument that was sure to ensue, and called them all to meet with me in the living room.

They had to push aside the books and scrolls—scrolls?—spread around the place, but finally we sat down to talk.

“What is it?” Drake asked from my side.

“I had an idea of something we could do to defeat Morda,” I said.

He frowned. “Right now, I’m interested in finding a way to save you.”

“I know and I appreciate that, but you have to know Morda is probably after us. And we aren’t that far from DuMoir Castle. She’s bound to find us sooner or later. We need to be prepared.” Drake shook his head. I took his hand in mine. “Please, just hear me out.”

“Ignore him,” Luana said from the armchair across the coffee table. “Tell me.”

“Hey,” Drake snarled. “You two already came up with a half-insane, half-suicidal plan a few weeks ago.”

Luana rolled her eyes. “This time she’ll share it with all of us. If you want to stop us, you’ll be able to.”

“Tell us,” Keeran said, serious.

Drake growled at him, but Keeran didn’t even bat an eye.

I held back a smile. “I want to contact the Witch Queen of the Blackmarsh and the Bluemoon covens.”

“Didn’t you burn Queen Sarah a few months ago?” Drake asked. “If you come anywhere near her, she’s sure to kill you.”

“If I send her a message explaining my intentions before we meet, I don’t think she’ll hurt me.”

“And what is your intention?”

“To get them to join us against Morda.”

Drake gaped at me. “Why do you think they would do that?”

“The three covens have been at war for years,” I said. “And now that Morda has allied with the werewolves, the Silverblood coven is stronger. Morda might have pushed them aside for now, but she will eventually turn her full attention and power to the Blackmarsh and the Bluemoon. I think it’s in their best interest if they join us for this war.”

“What about the Wildthorn and Bonecrown?” Luana asked. “Bagatha mentioned they were part of her coven centuries ago.”

“The Wildthorn and Bonecrown have moved farther away,” I explained. “And the last I heard about them was that they didn’t want to be involved with any of the other covens.”

“Witches are crazy,” Luana muttered.

I hated to agree with her.

“More than crazy, witches are individual beings. No offense,” Keeran said. “It would be hard to convince them to join us for a war.”

“We need to find an argument and convince them,” I insisted. “Because without an army, I don’t see how we can win.”

“I don’t like this idea,” Thomas said. As usual, he had been hovering behind us. I almost forgot he was even there.

“I agree with Thea,” Luana said.

“Of course you do,” Drake snapped.

The way those two bickered reminded me of siblings. Real siblings, not witches or vampires or werewolves, but human ones who bickered and teased and argued with each other, but still loved each other no matter what.

We really looked like an impossible family.

“But she’s right,” Luana argued. “The five of us, or three if we don’t count Thea and Thomas, against a castle full of witches and werewolves? Not to count the vampires roaming around the forest? We can’t win. We need an army.”

I extended my arm toward Luana and stared at Drake. “Exactly.”

“When you put it that way, I have to agree too,” Keeran said. “I still think it’ll be hard to convince them, but we should try.”

Drake groaned. “I guess I’m the only who doesn’t like this idea.”

“No, you’re not,” Thomas said. “I also don’t like it.”

“You don’t count,” Luana said. I knew she didn’t mean it in a bad way, but the hurt was clear on Thomas’s face. “Not liking is one thing. You can not like it and still go with it. What is it, Drake?”

Drake fixed his eyes on mine. I knew I had won before he even opened his mouth to say, “All right. We can contact them and talk to them.”

I sighed in relief. “All right, I’ll prepare a spell to contact them.”

Drake grabbed my wrist before I could get up. “You shouldn’t be doing a spell. Let Keeran do it.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t take much for this spell, but I need a few herbs to help me with it.”

I was sure it didn’t make sense to him. Why not just snap my fingers and send a message to the witch queens? Because each spell worked differently. If it was that easy to contact others, a lot of things would have had different outcomes.

I patted Drake’s leg before pushing up from the couch and walking upstairs to the guest bedroom that had become a workshop of sorts. Right after buying this house, Drake had stocked the room with all the herbs he knew and didn’t know, plus some other ingredients he had heard of in his long five hundred years.

I entered the room and Drake followed me inside—I hadn’t even seen him coming behind me. He closed the door and stared at me.

“What?” I asked, going to the long wooden table in the middle of the room.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m worried.”

“About?”

“Us.”

My brows curled down. “Why?”

“We have been arguing too much lately.”

“I don’t think it’s too much, and isn’t it normal for couples to argue sometimes?”

He took a step closer then stopped himself. “I just feel like there’s something between us that wasn’t there before, and I want to fix it.”

“I think the something between us is right here.” I touched my growing belly. The humor didn’t work as Drake continued staring at me with a hard gaze. I sighed. “I know what you mean, and I think the something between us is the fact that I want to help more and you won’t let me.”

“You know why.”

“I know, but whenever I’m feeling okay, I want to help.”

“When you’re feeling okay, you should rest some more because you never know how long it’ll last.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. “Drake, I finally found something I can do to help. Please, let’s not argue right now.”

His hands wrapped around my shoulders. “I don’t want to argue. Not now, not ever. I’m sorry if I worry about you and the baby too much. I can’t help it.”

I stared up at him. “I’m fine. Right now, at least.” I rose to my tiptoes and brushed his lips with me. “Relax a little. Smile. Kiss me.”

A low growl ripped from his throat, and he leaned over me, taking my mouth with his. He pushed me back until my legs hit the table, and he caged me in, his strong body pressed against mine.

His hold was firm but gentle, unlike his kiss—he devoured my lips, as if he hadn’t fed in over a month and needed my blood right now. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give any right now, but there was something else I could give him.

I slid my hands down his chest, over his stomach, to his pants.

Drake broke the kiss and took a large step back. “I’m sorry,” he said, out of breath. “I know you haven’t been feeling well. I should have controlled myself.”

He was right. I hadn’t been feeling well, and that was why we had to take advantage of when I was. And right now, I was feeling great and turned on by him.

A small smile spread over my lips, and holding Drake’s gaze, I pulled my dress over my head and threw it to the floor.

Drake’s jaw hit the floor as he stared at me.

“Want to help me take off the rest?” I gestured to my bra and panties.

“But—”

“Drake, don’t think too much. Just make love to me. Right now.”

One moment, he was staring at me, his eyes darkened, and a low growl rumbling from his chest. The next, he had his hand around my back and his shirtless body pressed to mine.

I chuckled. “Gotta love that vampire speed.”

He showed me a smile before capturing my mouth with his. He kissed me soft and deep, and despite my protests that I wanted more, he took his time pleasuring me. He made love to me just like that—soft and deep. Even if I could have lived for a thousand years, I was sure I could never get sick of him. By all that was sacred, I couldn’t get used to him either. The way he made me feel, it was like nothing else.

And if I could be granted one wish, I would ask to have this with him forever.