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The honesty of it slices deeper than a lie would have.

‘I was dying,’ I say. ‘It was the choice of dying, or risk becoming tied to you.’

‘Yes.’

There’s something else in the bond, steady and unyielding. Devotion. It terrifies me more than the magic.

‘I don’t know what’s real anymore,’ I whisper. ‘Everything is happening too fast.’

Theo’s voice is rough when he answers. ‘It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.’

Trust a vampire, or go back to the witches who may have lied about everything?

The bond pulses between us, slow and deep, like a second heartbeat waiting for my decision.

‘You’re different,’ Kian says smoothly. ‘Whether it be the bond or the memory loss, something has changed within you.’

Theo looks thoughtful, considering Kian’s words. Kian leans back again, gaze drifting toward Cora now.

‘Little Theo. Bonded and all grown up,’ he sneers, half-playful, half-crude.

Theo doesn’t flinch, but his jaw tenses, as if it was an instinctual response from him.

‘Have you got enough information?’ Theo asks, his tone short, as though he’s lost his patience.

Kian’s eyes flick back to me. ‘I’m trying to understand if she’s a weakness or a spy. A part of something bigger.’

‘I don’t care what you think she is,’ Theo replies, stepping closer to me. ‘She’s not your concern. I’m telling you right now, she is not any of those things.’

Kian watches him carefully before finally nodding. Cora chews her lip, remaining silent throughout their exchange. Theo’s hand brushes my back.

‘I will work out how to restore your memories,’ Kian says curtly.

Theo nods before he turns to me. ‘You need rest.’

‘I’m fine.’

‘You’re shaking.’

I hadn’t noticed. My head is hurting more now, and my movements feel sluggish and slow, as though I’m moving through water.

‘We can touch base tomorrow,’ he says to the others.

Theo takes my hand and gently leads me out of the room. Cora raises an eyebrow as we pass. Kian says nothing.

The hallway is long. Theo opens one of the side doors, and we step into what I assume is a guest room. Everything inside is pristine, just like the rest of the house. He closes the door behind us, and for the first time in what feels like hours, we’re alone.

He doesn’t say anything right away, his eyes watching me. I sit on the edge of the bed, too tired to keep mine open. Theo crouches in front of me, elbows on his knees.

‘Are you okay, Cupcake? You don’t look so good.’

‘Tired,’ I say weakly. ‘I need a shower.’

His eyes darken, just a little, and a tingle shoots down my spine. He nods, gathering things for me. I move robotically as I wash, rinse, and when I return to the room, clothes are on the bed. I don’t even question where they came from or how they got there. I pull on the shorts and slide the oversized shirt over my head.

Theo lies beside me on the bed, one arm tucked beneath his head, the other resting between us as if he’s trying to give me space, even now. It’s as though he doesn’t want to take more than I offer, but his fingers brush mine and it instantly soothes me.

‘I thought I lost you,’ he says quietly. ‘When the bounty hunter threw that knife.’