The Dark City Chronicles ⁓ Book Three
The apocalypse looms ever closer! Steamy romance, heart-stopping action, seductive vampires, magic that defies nature, sprinkles of dark-humor, and, as always, the everlasting bonds of friendship.
Hannah's strug...
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The movie on the low-volume television was a spectacle of blood and gore.
Hannah was half-attentive, straining her human senses to their limits. But she couldn't hear anything transpiring through the closed door at the end of the hallway for the last hour.
In the kitchen, Crystal had calmed, which faired well for their survival. She'd been humming a happy tune as she tended to the mouth-watering food she had been cooking for two hours. Gianna had spoken to her in a low tone, and laughter wafted through the air every so often.
The atmosphere was relaxed. And Hannah felt herself foolishly leaning into the feeling of safeness.
"I don't understand," Asha said.
Sitting at the far end of the couch in her casual jeans and white blouse, Asha could effortlessly play the role of a fairy queen in a fantasy. Even her posture was regal, a long leg draped over the other.
"The creature has taken a host," Asha added, confused. "It needn't find another."
Rowan had no such regality. She was sitting beside Hannah, her leg slung over Presley's shoulder. He sat on the floor, holding her ankle against his chest. Her other foot periodically poked at his cheek. She had stopped once he tickled her until she was in tears.
"The alien needs to lay its eggs in their brains, and then it moves on," Rowan gestured to the television. "This is the third movie. You would understand better if you saw the first and second ones."
"Oh. I suppose." Asha nodded thoughtfully as if this information were genuinely interesting. She looked back at the television, brows pinched.
On-screen, a woman was being devoured while making an overdone screeching wail.
"Ask Kiernan," Rowan said. "He pays attention to details way more than I do."
Hannah raised her eyebrows. "Kiernan likes these movies?" She couldn't imagine Kiernan watching a gory, flashy movie for hours.
Rowan nodded. "He watched the second movie with me earlier. When you were with Kane." Her palm rubbed at her stomach. Hannah wasn't sure if the gesture was for the food's heavenly aroma wafting from the kitchen or for the baby within her, who was growing bigger every day. "He likes to complain and point out inaccuracies. It's really fun."
Fun? "Sounds like it."
"It is," Rowan giggled. Then she whispered, "If you act like your back hurts. He'll give you a massage."
"No way!" Hannah exclaimed, sitting forward. She didn't know if she was amused or disturbed. "You're kidding?"
Rowan shook her head, laughing.
From the floor, Presley scoffed. "She's not lying." He outstretched an arm and made a show of flexing his fingers as if he were rubbing shoulders. "The guy put so much space between them. It was weird, and it looked like he was debating killing her." He grimaced. "He probably feasts on babies." His gaze flickered to Rowan's stomach. "What if he's just waiting for the baby to come out? Then, bam, snack food."
