Page 52

He watches me, face unreadable. ‘Who am I?’ His head tilts slowly, as if he’s waiting to see if this is some sort of joke, but quickly realises I’m serious. ‘You don’t remember me?’

I say nothing, only narrowing my eyes. A leaf crunches and I tense.

Behind him, a second figure steps into the clearing. This one is lighter, faster, her eyes scanning the space like she’s ready to take someone’s head off. A rush of something tightens my chest. A memory tries to surface but stops just short of clarity. I know her. I know I do, and yet, the harder I try to think of who these people are, the hazier my memories become.

‘Look at you,’ she says, smirking, her eyes dragging up and down the length of my body. ‘A little sloppy there, Theo.’

My spine stiffens as my name falls from her lips. Her eyes flick to Tara. Tara straightens as she moves beside me, her arm brushing mine as she stays close, her fingers curling around the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder. The girl frowns, and I glance between them.

The male vampire steps closer. It’s not threatening, but his presence alone is enough to make me tense. I can sense the power he holds, and I know he is not one to cross.

‘You don’t remember either of us?’ he asks, brows pulling together.

‘No,’ I admit, shaking my head, gaze ping-ponging between the two of them. The girl looks similar to Tara, except where Tara’s hair is a teal colour at the end, this woman’s hair is blood red. She also has the black, demonic eyes of a vampire – so unlike the soft brown of Tara’s.

He studies me before turning to Tara.

‘A human,’ he murmurs.

Tara lifts her chin. ‘I have a name.’

The other vampire grins. ‘I like her already.’

I step slightly in front of Tara. ‘What do you want? How did you find me?’

The male vampire narrows his eyes, ignoring my question, eyes like black glass as he looms impossibly tall over the female vampire beside him. ‘Have you bonded with this human? What the hell is going on?’

I say nothing, but the word bonded shoots a shiver down my spine. Nothing about him is familiar, but somehow, everything is, I just can’t remember how I know him. Or her.

‘You really don’t know who we are?’ the woman asks, eyebrows raised as she stares at me in disbelief.

I shake my head again. ‘No.’

‘Well. That’s inconvenient.’

The man studies me.

‘How did you get here? What happened to you?’ he asks as he steps closer again, as if he can pull the memories out of me with his brutal gaze. Tara shifts behind me. Quiet and alert, her hands near her bow again. She’s watching them carefully, not trusting that they aren’t more bounty hunters simply trying a different approach, but I know they aren’t.

‘Well, I’m Cora,’ the vampire says after a moment, and then she gestures to the man beside her. ‘This is Kian. He’s the vampire who turned you.’

Kian tilts his head, assessing me closely to see if that information triggers anything, but it doesn’t. Although I have no memory of this, I believe them.

‘She’s with you?’ Cora asks, brow lifted, not-so-subtly checking out Tara.

‘She’s mine,’ I say before I can stop myself.

Cora’s expression shifts. Not surprise, more like confirmation, as Kian and her exchange a glance.

‘I recognise her,’ Cora says. ‘I’ve seen her in Red Thorne before.’ She turns to Kian, jutting her chin toward Tara. ‘Her blood. You smell that? It’s different.’

Kian’s eyes move to Tara. Not hostile. Not cold. Just … curious. Like he’s studying a page in a book he’s read before but can’t quite place.

‘Not a witch,’ he says quietly. ‘But she smells like one.’

‘Why are you here?’ I ask.

‘To rescue you,’ Cora says simply. ‘Obviously. You’ve been missing for weeks.’