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‘The cell,’ I say. ‘A lot of dirt. Stones. A bolted door. There wasn’t much down there, but there were others through the door.’

‘Vampires?’

I nod.

‘What happened when you found Theo?’

‘I talked to him, and he saved my life. A vampire followed me down there. He kept saying something about my blood being different.’ I pause, noticing how closely Cora is watching me, despite her relaxed and nonchalant appearance. ‘Much like what you said at the party.’

Kian studies me for a long moment.

‘Why didn’t you run?’

‘I couldn’t get out. The door was deadbolted. It was trust Theo or let that vampire kill me.’

Cora does a slow clap. ‘Theo, the hero.’

Theo performs a bow, appearing so much like the man I first met down in the cell. She rolls her eyes in response.

‘That’s when Theo broke out?’

‘No,’ I say. ‘These guys in my family, who were acting as guards or something, found me down there. These were people I grew up with and it turns out they were working for my family and knew a hell of a lot more than I did. I was completely left in the dark.’

‘They’d be good to question,’ Cora suggests as Kian leans forward slightly, elbows digging into his thighs.

‘They’re dead,’ Theo says flatly, and my stomach tightens at the horrific memory of Lucy slaughtering them. So much has happened, I’ve barely had time to process all of it.

Even when Kian and Cora aren’t speaking to each other, they move like a matched set. Kian doesn’t have to look at Cora to know what she’s thinking, he just tilts his head slightly, and she’s already rising to her feet or finishing his sentence without a glance exchanged. There’s a flicker in the air when he steps closer to her. The same hum I’ve only ever felt when Theo is near me. That thread pulling tight between two people who aren’t just close, but tied.

They’re bonded, like Theo and I have become. I still don’t know much about it, but I could feel that something shifted with us when we blood shared.

‘I went back and saw Theo. Asked some questions. I thought he knew more than he did. He thought the same about me. It turned out that we were both pretty clueless about everything going on with the witches.’

I continue to share the rest of what happened. Theo takes over when the words of the boys’ deaths catch in my throat. Kian and Cora are deadly still as they listen, not interrupting.

‘Now you’re travelling with a vile, evil creature,’ Kian’s mouth curves. Not a smile, but something more than a smirk. ‘How interesting.’

‘Yeah. It’s sort of hard to wrap my head around it.’

Kian hasn’t taken his eyes off me. As though I’m a puzzle with missing pieces, and it’s irritating him that he can’t work it out.

‘When did the bond happen?’ he asks. ‘After the death of the guards?’

‘The bond?’ I glance at Theo. ‘I’m … not sure.’

‘After their death. When I escaped,’ he says.

The word feels foreign in my mouth. Bond. Like a contract. Theo goes still beside me.

The older vampire’s eyes flick between us. ‘You don’t know?’

A cold ripple moves through my stomach. ‘Know what?’

Theo’s jaw tightens. ‘Enough.’

I turn to him. ‘Enough of what?’

Silence stretches. Something prickles across my skin. It’s there again. That thread beneath my ribs. That pull I’ve been pretending is fear, or adrenaline, or the lingering shock of watching people I’ve grown up with be slaughtered.