Page 3

Breathing in a lungful of the fresh morning air, I let my shoulders relax, the sounds of the birds chirping from the trees calming me. Right on time, Marlene makes her way out of her house. Marlene is a witch who has been around for a century, with a soft, aged appearance that often misleads people into thinking she is much weaker than she is.

She is not one for many words, so I don’t bother with pleasantries. Her steely gaze flicks to mine, and I nod in confirmation that I am ready to begin.

Marlene’s mouth moves, and her hands twitch ever so slightly. A man appears before me, wispy and smoky as his body comes together. Lunging toward him, I pull out one of my knives and fling it directly at his head. He bats it away with the back of his hand and slides across the grass on his knees, approaching me at such a fast speed, I barely have time to reach for my bow.

Drawing back, I release the string, the arrow launching straight into the heart of the figure, and he shatters, smoke washing over me as the bits float through the air, disappearing.

Arms lock around my neck, yanking me backward, and I let out a cry of shock. I should have known not to drop my guard – they’re training me to fight against vampires, there is no time to rest or to celebrate a victory.

Plucking out another knife, I slam it into the shadow figure’s leg, and the vice-like grip on my neck releases. Air bursts through my throat as I spin, slamming another knife right into his neck and tearing the makeshift skin completely into two. The shadows melt away, and I spin in time to see another figure forming.

Thunk.

My arrow sinks into the body, and I repeat that movement over and over until Marlene eventually stops conjuring the shadow men.

‘Good,’ she croaks out, nodding stiffly.

My chest rises and falls as I catch my breath, dragging my hand across my brow to wipe the sweat off.

‘You rely on that bow too much, it was good to see you use the knives,’ she comments, standing unnaturally still, assessing me closely. ‘Again.’

On and on it goes. By the time the hour passes, my hair is sticking to my sweaty skin, my muscles ache, and my eyes burn with exhaustion. Gritting my teeth, I stand tall, chin up and staring ahead, attempting to not look as breathless as I actually am.

There’s a long pause as Marlene stares at me, and I don’t meet her gaze as I look ahead, exhaling deeply through my nose.

‘See you tomorrow,’ she eventually says, dismissing me, much to my relief.

Turning, I make my way back toward the house. Loud chatter and laughter float out from the windows, and I see the boys are here, all dressed in their black uniforms. They are all related somehow – nephews, cousins, sons. The details of what they actually do is beyond me. I’m often left in the dark on things that involve the ‘family business’. Whenever it comes to work, it couldn’t be more obvious that I’m not truly one of them.

The story of my being adopted is a brief one. They found out about a poor orphan girl through a distant family friend and chose to take me in. When they share this story, I feel like I was an abandoned animal that they found on the side of the road. Weirdly, I don’t recall any of my life before I came here, but apparently that’s normal if you’ve had trauma. What trauma, I don’t know, but I suppose it makes sense if I’d been abandoned.

Most of them are gathered around the table, loading up their plates. Magic taints the air, rippling through the slight breeze from the open kitchen window. None of the guys have inherited any magical ability, but the elders in the family all possess a potent and powerful magic.

‘Here comes trouble,’ Tristan shouts when he notices me, and everyone looks over.

I offer a small wave, and Jace flashes me his slanted smirk. My eyes dip over him briefly, noticing how well his uniform fits him. I drop into the chair beside him and he briefly touches my thigh, causing my skin to heat.

‘How was training?’ he asks, his mouth full.

‘Intense, but over quickly.’

‘Marlene didn’t stop to chat after?’ he sniggers, quirking a brow.

‘She did not.’

Now that I have stopped, the fatigue of the night and this morning catches up with me. Jace turns from me, joining the conversation, and as usual, I shrink back into my chair and basically become invisible. It’s not that I think they exclude me on purpose, I just never seem to have anything to add to the conversation, nor a way to insert myself into it if I did. They often mention things that I either don’t understand or have never heard of. Almost as if I’m trying to read a book but some of the chapters are missing.

I’m so absorbed in my thoughts, I don’t even notice half the people have left the room until Jace gets to his feet and mutters a goodbye.

Red Thorne is a creepy place, but since I was raised here, I’m very much used to its eerie feel. Dark, dreary clouds roll in overhead, and there’s a coolness in the air that makes me think it might rain soon. This place possesses a lot of unnatural magic in its roots, making it a town like no other in Australia, considering the country is usually known for its warm, beachy weather. Hence why it attracts so many supernaturals. Although it’s one of the more well-known supernatural towns, there are plenty of others scattered across the country, if you know where to look.

Pushing my way through the door of the library, I scan the room for my study group. Seeing them at our usual table, I make my way over there, ignoring the way my muscles ache with each step.

‘Yo,’ Harvey nods at me, and I drop into the seat beside him, offering a small smile of greeting to the others.

‘Hi,’ I mumble.

‘You good?’ Harvey asks, brows furrowed as his eyes roam over my arms. They dart up to my face, and then back to my arms again.