“No?” It’s the most expression I’ve ever seen on his stupid, handsome, broody face and it’s all exaggerated shock.
“No,” I repeat, giving my backpack a little jerk, but he still won't let it go. “We aren’t going back.
Talon’s jaw locks. “You’re being reckless.”
“I’m being brave.” My tone is sharper than I expect, but I don’t back down. “For the first time in my entire life, I fed, and I didn’t kill anyone. That’sneverhappened before. Not once.”
His grip tightens. “That doesn’t mean it’s safe to try again. You are still in pain. You’re stillhungry.”
“I’mchanging,Talon. You helped me change. Don’t you get that? It wasn’t just about surviving tonight. I didsomethingnew.” I suck in a breath. “I didn’t hurt her. That’s groundbreaking for me.”
He doesn’t speak, but something flickers behind his eyes. Heknowsit matters. He just doesn’t trust it to matter enough.
“I’m not running now,” I continue. “Not because of some curse. Not because of Mal.”
At the name, Talon flinches like I just lit a match under his skin. “She’shuntingyou.”
“We don’t even know that attack is connected to her,” I protest.
His expression flattens and he blinks at me like I’m slow. “Vampire attacks rarely happen in the Common World, and even less in Boston, Aura. Not only is this a human city, but the coincidence is too uncanny.”
I throw up my hands. “Well, she’s been hunting me since I was born. She cursed me before I couldwalk.She’s dictated every second of my life—what I could do, where I could go, who I could be.”
His silence is suffocating, but I keep going.
“I’m done letting her rule me from the shadows. I won’t be intimidated anymore. I won’t run from everything I’ve wanted.”
His hand is still on the pack. So is mine. The tension between us thrums with unspoken words and years of fear.
Then I glance at the window.
And our reflections are almost unrecognizable.
Me, in a torn band tee and fishnets, covered in spiky jewelry and tattoos, and holding my own like I never have before. Talon towering over me, carved from stone, but hesitating.
We’re caught on opposite sides, holding my backpack in a stalemate. But I don’t see the princess I once was. I’m a Lost Girl now, and I decide my own fate.
I stare at that reflection and speak without looking at him.
“You think going back will keep me safe. But what’s the point of being safe if I’m dead inside?”
His fingers don’t loosen on the bag, but he stops pulling.
“You’ve seen it,” I say, voice softer now. “Have you ever heard me laugh so much? I’ve never laughed like that in my life. Whywould I want to go back to that castle, to rot in isolation with my secrets and shame?”
Talon doesn’t answer, but his jaw ticks, like he’s grinding down his resistance tooth by tooth.
“I’ve been in cages my whole life because I’m this dangerous creature,” I whisper. “But today, you…you defused me. Not completely. But you showed me I could be more than what Mal made me. I could feed without killing. That’s never happened before. Do you understand how groundbreaking that is?” My gaze locks on him with all the emotional weight I have. “If I leave now, I will lose all of this. I will losemyself.”
We’re frozen. Caught in this impasse. Both still holding the damn bag like it might anchor us to our sides of the argument.
THUMP.
Lucifer the cat jumps onto the bag with an angry yowl and lands full weight across the center, claws immediately sinking in.
“Shit,” I gasp, letting go instinctively.
Talon curses and jerks his hand away at the same time. The bag drops to the floor with a dullthunk. Lucifer, unbothered, settles on top like a smug little goblin king.
