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My chest aches in that good way. I’ve never felt like this. Like I fit in and belong somewhere.

Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss him. A desperate, hungry kiss, like the world’s ending and this is the only thing I want to remember.

‘I love you,’ I say to him, threading my fingers around the back of his neck.

He looks at me like I’m the only girl in the room. ‘I love you more.’

Breaking apart from him, I throw my hands up, letting the music and moving crowd swallow me.

The night has shifted into early morning by the time we get back to the house.

The music’s still echoing faintly in my bones, the warmth of whiskey still lingering somewhere under my skin, the taste of a stranger’s blood on my tongue. Theo’s hand brushes against mine as we step through the doorway. It’s like we are magnets, always drawing closer to each other and touching whenever we can. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of him.

‘I’m gonna change,’ I murmur to him, not feeling tired in the slightest, even though we didn’t stop all night.

I feel wired and charged, ready to do it all again. It was the perfect kind of distraction that I needed after everything that has happened lately. It showed me a glimpse of what life could be like, making me desperate for more. I want it all, and I want it all with him.

He nods, kisses my forehead, and disappears down the hall. After a shower, I switch into something more comfortable. Linen pants with a top tucked into them. Running my fingers through my hair, I pull it up into a messy knot on the top of my head, with two bits framing my face.

When I reach the study, Cora’s already there, perched on the arm of the couch, one leg swinging, fingers twisting a ring around her thumb. Raya sits nearby, calm and composed as usual, not looking at all like she just spent the night out drinking and dancing. She has a cup of tea in front of her, looking pensive as she stares out the window.

Our mother stands across from them.

It still feels weird to even think that word. Mother. A weirder combination? Our mother.

She’s nothing like what I pictured my biological mother to be. She’s not soft, not gentle, and posseses none of the motherly warmness you would assume. She’s elegant, lethal, and coldly beautiful. She’s dressed in high-waisted black leather pants, her hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, wearing a tight-fitting lacey top with a plunging neckline that arguably could be considered lingerie. She’s not old, not young. Just timeless, caught somewhere between looking young but also like an adult. Her lips are a fierce red, contrasting starkly with the whiteness of her teeth.

The moment I enter, her eyes flick to mine. They’re dark, piercing, too much like my own. Like all of ours. The four of us in a room together looks as if someone has planted mirrors in the room and there’re simply different versions of ourselves standing around, looking back at each other. It’s still such a wild concept to me, and I wonder if I’ll ever get used to this.

‘Glad to see you girls having a bit of fun,’ she says, and I can’t tell if she’s upset that she wasn’t included, or whether she truly means it.

Cora raises a brow but says nothing. Raya chews her thumbnail, looking a little uncomfortable. I move to the lounge and collapse onto it, folding a leg neatly over the other, my fingers restlessly tapping against my thighs.

Nyra smiles. It looks too gentle in comparison to her harsh appearance. ‘You’ve earned it.’

I fold my arms across my chest. ‘It was nice to let loose for a while. I honestly haven’t had that much fun in what feels like years.’

She tilts her head slightly, studying me. ‘I hear you’re all thinking about staying in Red Thorne.’

‘Yes,’ Cora nods, and the two of them, I decide, are the most similar out of all of us.

Our mother’s eyes sweep over the three of us. ‘I see.’

‘What is your plan?’ Raya asks, voice soft as she sinks further back into the lounge, appearing small.

‘I don’t know,’ Nyra shrugs, hardly looking like a woman without a plan, despite her words.

‘Do you want to stay here?’ I ask.

Cora turns her head sharply, but I keep my gaze locked on Nyra, who stares at me in surprise.

‘You’re finally allowed back in Red Thorne,’ Raya agrees with a nod. ‘The witches have dispersed. There is no reason not to. It would give us all a chance to get to know each other.’

Nyra’s eyes fill with tears and she smiles. ‘I would love the chance to get to know you girls. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.’

Something twists in my chest at the sight of her. This woman who feels like a stranger, yet somehow feels familiar at the same time. There’s pain in her expression, but it’s not manipulative. It’s raw, and it catches me off guard.

‘We don’t do the whole “tearful reunion” thing,’ Cora says, her eyes betraying her dry tone. ‘So don’t start hugging us and making it weird.’