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‘The good thing about being a vampire is that you have all the time in the world.’

It always feels like twilight here.

It doesn’t matter what time it is, it’s cold, gloomy, and dark, as if the shadows have shadows.

Theo walks beside me, hands in his jacket pockets, eyes sharp and scanning around us, although his shoulders are relaxed.

Buildings loom over us with gargoyles, wolves, even a few creatures looking suspiciously vampiric. No one does Halloween like Red Thorne. The streets are cobbled and slightly uneven, like they’ve shifted to trap anyone not paying attention.

A woman sweeps her porch across the street, dressed in a black veil and boots that clomp with each step. She doesn’t look up as she almost barges into us, rushing down the pavement as if something is chasing her.

‘God, I forgot how weird it is here,’ I mutter.

Theo chuckles under his breath. ‘Yeah, agreed. How does it feel being on the other side?’

The other side.

That’s exactly what it’s like. As though I’ve traded places and joined the dark forces, although I think the family I had before were more the bad guys than who I’m with now.

‘Like before I was someone looking in, face pressed against the glass, and now I’m inside,’ I whisper, hugging my arms around myself as we walk through the main street. As a vampire, I no longer feel the temperature around me, but Red Thorne still gives me a weird chill. ‘Does that make sense?’

‘Yeah,’ he replies softly, giving me a crooked grin.

A gust of wind curls around us, carrying the scent of rain. We pass by a storefront with stained glass windows. Theo slows, his shoulder bumping into mine as we both take in the busy street. There are markets on today; the stalls look dark and enchanting.

‘Are you sure you want to stay here long term?’ he asks.

‘Honestly, I want to see the world. I’ve never really left this place before, and I am very sure that there is a lot more out there.’

‘Me too. I’ve been here far too long. I’m ready to spread my wings,’ he says theatrically, concluding with a sultry wink and dramatic flare of his arms, almost taking out a person trying to walk by us. The man mutters something inaudible, side-eyeing us as he hurries down the street.

We walk through the stalls. On our left, a woman with silver contact lenses stands behind a table topped with weird-looking bottles that have swirling, glittery liquid inside. On our right, a man dressed in a cloak is selling heavy jewelled rings and necklaces that look as though they’ve come from the eighteen-hundreds.

Theo walks close beside me. He glances at me as we pass a stall full of teeth. I don’t think any of them are actually real, but it still looks very creepy.

‘So,’ he says, conversationally. ‘You don’t want to stay here.’

I shake my head slowly. ‘I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t mind it here, but there’s so much more to see and do.’ I run my fingers along the edge of a stall selling long velvet dresses.

Theo’s quiet for a moment.

‘Where would you go?’ he asks, finally.

‘We,’ I correct him, offering a half-smile.

We stop in front of a stall selling bloodfruit and dark honey. A man dressed up as a vampire nods at us but doesn’t speak. I wonder if he has any idea that he has two real vampires in front of him. When he notices our dark eyes, he straightens, his eyes narrowing, as if trying to work out whether or not we truly are vampires, or just pretending. He looks more like a vampire than we do.

‘I don’t know,’ I say, continuing our walk through the markets, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer. ‘I want to feel the sand between my toes. I know we can’t enjoy a beach like the humans do, but I’d love to go moonlight swimming. Have a cabin close to the sand. I want to be able to smell the sea salt as I lay in bed.’

‘Well, there’s plenty of that here in Australia. The humidity can be killer, but if we time things right in terms of sun exposure, we can go anywhere.’

‘I want to go somewhere that isn’t full of supernaturals and secrets. I want to be able to walk down the street and see children running, people laughing, just living a normal life. I don’t want this anymore,’ I gesture to the dark, creepy vibes surrounding us. ‘This is all I know and I need something different.’

He watches me for a beat, then nods. ‘Okay. We will leave whenever you’re ready. We don’t have to have a plan, we can just go.’

‘Yeah?’ I smile, capturing his hand in mind.

‘Yeah,’ he nods. ‘I want to do everything with you, Cupcake. The world is our oyster.’