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Cora steps in closer too, folding her arms again, but this time less defensively. ‘And if you need space and don’t want any of this, we understand that, too.’

Tara’s voice wavers just slightly. ‘I thought they were my family and what they said was true, but every single thing was a lie.’

‘They are not your family, they’re simply all you know,’ Raya corrects gently. ‘You have a family now. If you want to be part of it.’

‘I don’t know how to do this,’ Tara admits. ‘I don’t know how to just … be your sister.’

Cora lets out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh. ‘Good. Because I don’t know how to be one either.’

Raya smiles faintly. ‘We’ll learn together. It’ll take time.’

‘How, though?’ Tara asks.

Cora shrugs. ‘Same way we learned everything else. Trial and error. Probably some arguing.’

‘Definitely some arguing,’ Raya agrees.

A small, real smile finally breaks across Tara’s face. From where I’m standing, I see the exact moment something shifts. The tension in her shoulders eases. The uncertainty doesn’t disappear, but I’m hoping the loneliness she feels – and has felt for so long – has lifted.

Cora hesitates, then steps forward and pulls Tara into a quick, awkward hug. It’s stiff at first, like neither of them is sure where to put their arms. After a moment, Tara clings back. Raya wraps her arms around both of them a second later, resting her chin lightly against Tara’s shoulder.

Three of them. Sisters. Finally together.

Kian’s posture relaxes almost imperceptibly. Hunter watches quietly, something thoughtful in his expression, and I feel something settle in my chest that hasn’t since the battle ended. They’ve been through war, lies and betrayal, but right now, they’re just three girls who found each other too late, and are choosing not to waste any more time.

‘We should go back to Red Thorne,’ Raya says quietly, after the girls have all sat down again. All the heads in the room turn to her. ‘It’s still our home. Or it was. We won the battle, why should we stay here, hiding like fugitives?’

Kian exhales slowly through his nose, like he’s been waiting for someone to say it. ‘Yes. I agree about returning to Red Thorne. I have a lot of work to get back to.’ He pushes off the wall, straightening his sleeves like a man preparing for war all over again.

Cora raises an eyebrow. ‘That didn’t take long.’

‘No rest for the wicked,’ Kian says evenly.

I glance around the room. There’s no more running and no more hiding. We won the battle. Red Thorne is ours for the taking, and there is no one around anymore to stop us.

‘I say we go back,’ I say.

There’s a murmur of agreement amongst the group. My eyes slice to Tara’s. She nods at me.

‘It feels like the natural thing to do,’ she says. ‘I don’t really want to go back to the house, though.’

‘You live with me now,’ I say. ‘If you want. What’s mine is yours.’

‘Naw,’ Cora croons, offering me a cat-like grin.

25

TARA

The Host

There’s a familiar chill in the air as we return to Red Thorne.

Kian’s estate looms ahead, carved into the hillside like a fortress. Three stories of stone, glass, and darkness – regal, cold, and unmistakably his. I wouldn’t expect anything else.

We drive through the iron gates in two black SUVs, the tires crunching over the gravel path. The night air here is different. Old magic coats each inhale like it can wrap around your lungs, but it doesn’t feel as dark and dangerous as before. Like a lot of the evil has been flushed out. At least for now.

It’s strange how familiar it feels but also how different it is to be back here. I spent my life training to fight against the creatures that lurked in the dark.