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‘They’re experimenting on vampires,’ Tara says quietly, and every head turns in her direction. ‘Who knows what they’re capable of doing.’

Cora leans back in her chair, arms crossed. ‘Red Thorne’s controlled by witches, but they work with vampires. They need us. So why try to kill Tara? She’s not a threat. Wouldn’t they want her back? Or was that the whole point?’

‘Maybe they wanted her to turn,’ Kian says thoughtfully.

His words echo inside my head.

Maybe they wanted her to turn.

Tara shifts beside me, sitting close enough that I can feel the tension rolling off her.

‘They wouldn’t,’ I say, but even I hear the hesitation in my voice. ‘Would they? Why would they want her to become the very thing they hate?’

The others all exchange glances.

The witches lied about so much. Maybe this was part of the plan all along.

‘Maybe they want to use you as a weapon.’

A muscle in her jaw pops as she stares at Kian.

‘A weapon?’ I ask, looking puzzled.

‘There’s something off about all of this. I don’t think anything is a coincidence,’ he exhales, looking frustrated by the lack of answers.

Something twitches on Tara’s face and I feel the anger and betrayal rising in her, her emotions flooding through me with a violent force.

‘Okay,’ I intervene, shooting him a withering glare. ‘Enough guessing. What’s our next move?’

‘We go back,’ Kian says, levelling us with a steely expression, his lips curling into a thin, sinister smile. ‘We will go straight to them this time. And end this war. For good.’

The warm water washes the blood down my skin, hot enough to burn me.

Through the fog, my gaze slides to Tara. I hold out my hand to her and she takes it, stepping into the shower with me. I drag her to me, pulling her under the warm spray of the water and curling my fingers around her hips. Blood streaks down her skin and she tips her head back, letting the water spill over her.

An ache inside of me soothes with her nearness.

When her eyes reopen, she looks at me, looking very much like Tara, but also different. The vampire version of herself. I think she suits it, but I’m convinced I’d like any version of her.

‘Hey,’ I say gently, threading my fingers through the wet strands of her hair. ‘How are you doing?’

‘I don’t know,’ she replies honestly, releasing a breathy exhale. ‘I feel like I’m wearing someone else’s skin. Like I’m not inside the right version of me anymore. I’m hungry for something stronger than food. Everything smells too strong. I can hear things I’ve never heard before. I’m scared that I don’t recognise myself anymore.’

I lean forward, resting my forehead against hers. ‘This is all very normal. It’s a lot to feel at one time. I wish I could make this all easier for you.’ My thumbs massage her temples. ‘It does get easier.’

Her gaze lifts to mine. ‘Does it?’

‘The first few nights, I thought I’d lost myself. That I’d never be able to pull back from it. But I did, and you will too.’

She’s quiet for a long moment. ‘I don’t know if I wanted this.’

I flinch slightly. I hate that she had to make this decision before she was ready to do so.

‘You’re allowed to feel sad. You’re allowed to be angry with me too.’

‘I don’t regret it, I think I made the right decision at the time, but I don’t think I was ready for this. It’s not something I wanted right now, even though it probably would have happened later anyway.’

That surprises me more than it should. Tara shifts, just slightly, and her breath mingles with mine. My hands slide down her bare body.