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I can feel him looking at me now, even before I turn.

‘You ready?’ he asks.

It’s a heavy question. He’s not just asking me if I’m ready to fight. He’s asking if I’m ready to walk into Red Thorne as a vampire. As one of them. As someone the witches want to erase. A soldier on the opposing side of the war.

I look down at my hands. Pale, cold. Sharp in ways they weren’t before. My smile feels unnatural as I force it onto my face and nod. It’s not possible to be prepared for something like this, but I’d like to pretend I am.

‘I’m ready.’

Theo’s lips curve into a soft smile. One reserved just for me.

‘They’re going to regret everything they’ve ever done to you. To me.’ He turns his gaze to the town. ‘To us.’

Cora pulls a short blade from her boot. ‘You know the plan,’ she says to the group. ‘We go directly to the farm. Quick and silent.’

‘Unless someone tries to kill us first,’ Cas adds unhelpfully.

‘In which case,’ Kian cuts in, voice flat, lips curling to reveal two pointy fangs. ‘We make sure they don’t get a second chance.’

The air around us seems to drop several degrees. Despite not needing to breathe, I still inhale, and I can feel the supernatural tension in the air.

Raya reaches for my hand briefly and gives it a light squeeze. ‘We’ve got you,’ she says. ‘We are all here for you, no matter what.’

Despite us being strangers, I trust her and I believe her. I can’t explain why. It’s as though we’ve met before or known each other in a past life. It feels like quite a silly thing to think.

I look out at Red Thorne. It’s become the place where I almost died. The place where I crossed over to the dark side, hand in hand with the villains of the story.

I’m not the same girl who fled its gates. I’m stronger now.

‘Let’s finish this,’ I say.

Silently, we all step forward and begin our descent into Red Thorne. Kian moves first, his movements precise and almost ghostlike. Cora follows close behind, blades gleaming faintly at her sides. She glances back once and gives a short nod. Signal’s clear.

It’s our turn. Theo touches my hand lightly before we move, his thumb brushing the back of mine. That gesture holds more weight than anything he could say. I meet his eyes, nod, then slip into the shadows with him at my side.

The others fall behind us. Hunter watching our backs, Raya moves silent and calm, and Cas has a wild grin on his face like he’s having too much fun. The air is heavy and charged with something unnatural.

Cora signals for us to stop. She presses two fingers to the earth, then holds up her hand.

‘Magic,’ she mouths, and we nod in unison, all able to feel it.

Something feels wrong. The energy, the atmosphere. I can’t quite place what it is, but I know that the witches will have sensed my return.

Tara.

I freeze. My heart lodges in my throat, because the whisper of my name pierces the inside of my skull. No one here said it out loud. I felt it like a cold hand trailing down my spine. Theo sees my stillness and steps in front of me, concern flashing across his face.

‘They’re watching,’ I whisper. ‘They know I’m here.’

‘We’ve got this,’ he reassures me.

We keep moving, heading deeper into the heart of Red Thorne. The trip back to the farm is painfully familiar. We move so quickly, I barely have time to take in my surroundings. The moment we step onto the property, a figure steps out from the house.

Kian steps forward, blade drawn, with Cora flanking his side. Cas cracks his neck, walking ahead to join them. Hunter and Raya stay behind us, and I can see them both peering over their shoulders, checking that we aren’t being surrounded.

Theo doesn’t move. Neither do I.

It feels as though my heart has stuttered to a stop when we’re close enough to recognise the figure. Terrance. My father. He opens his arm, a wide, charismatic smile stretched across his face. I look at him with new eyes. The father-figure in my life, the man who bandaged my knees and taught me how to hold a knife properly. The man who called me brave girl when I swallowed tears instead of letting them fall.