Page 68 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

A scrape sounded from outside, then a heavy thud on the porch.

The house creaked once, as if the structure itself noticed a large presence.

A second later, the front door swung open.

Cal strode into the hallway as if he’d been walking fast for miles, shoulders tense, eyes bright. He looked human at the moment, but there was nothing fully human about how he moved. He had the solid, weighted grace of someone who could become stone and wing and claw without warning.

His gaze locked onto the under-stair room.

He didn’t speak at first. His jaw clenched, nostrils flaring as if he could smell the egg’s distress.

Faith stepped into the hallway. “Took you long enough.”

Cal’s eyes flicked to her. “My phone died.”

Faith stared at him. “It died.”

Cal’s mouth twitched, almost a smile, but worry crushed it before it could form. “It fell when I was flying.”

Eve pointed to the egg. “Can you help?”

Cal moved into the small room, and the air seemed to adjust around him, as if the house recognized something ancient and heavy had stepped into its heart.

The moment he saw the egg, his face went still.

Not blank. Not numb. Controlled. Like he couldn’t afford to lose it.

“What is that?” Faith demanded, pointing at the dark patches.

Cal’s throat worked once. “Petrification.”

Greyson swore softly.

Tegan’s fingers tightened around her relic. “It’s turning to stone.”

Cal’s eyes stayed on the egg. “It’s already stone. But this is different.”

Eve’s voice rose. “Explain.”

Cal finally looked up, gaze sweeping the room, then settling on Faith again. “If the egg fully turns, it kills the baby.”

Silence hit hard.

Faith’s face went rigid. “Kills.”

Cal nodded once, slow. “The shell seals. No exchange. No breath. No heat. The life inside suffocates in magic.”

My stomach twisted. A baby in an egg, trapped, because someone was pulling on the wrong kind of power.

I stepped closer before my brain could talk me out of it. “Let me try.”

Cal’s gaze snapped to me. “Try what?”

“Healing,” I said. “I can push warmth back into it. I can reinforce life flow.”

Faith’s eyes narrowed. “Can you heal stone?”

“I’m not healing the shell,” I said. “I’m supporting what’s inside.”