The last vestiges of my morality slipped away as I leant into the kiss. His lips were warm and soft, and my whole being centred around his touch. His hands, firm and strong, moved to my waist and gripped me. I clutched at the back of his neck, drawing myself up and pressing against him. The storm waged out at sea, but even as the choppy waves brushed against my coastal shore I felt calm. The sun was shining, even as fat raindrops obscured its rays. Heat rose in my chest, making my heart thump against my ribcage. It tore its way free, finding its way into Cyrus’s hands and presenting itself to him. It was his, now. The feeling of his body against mine tasted forbidden, dark and dangerous, and my lips parted, desperate to drink all of him in. The whisper of a groan fell from his mouth to mine, and it was then that I knew, with no shadows clouding the truth. He was mine, too. His tousled hair was

“An ‘accident’?” Paps repeated, his eyebrows raising. His fingers jerked into air quotes around the word accident, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. I’d driven straight back to my Dads’ house. I needed to speak to Harper as soon as I could, but a mysterious accident just outside of Seafall felt too important to put off investigating. Besides, I told myself, it was safer for Harper if I focused on finding and eliminating the vampires. If the accident at Blackwood Castle was a clue, then telling my Dads about it was a priority. For now, my questions about Cyrus and his sudden upheaval would have to remain unanswered. Regardless of his behaviour, my choice was made. I could find out where it was, exactly, that he stood in due course. They’d both eyed my bruise with mild suspicion, but neither of them commented on it. They’d also avoided asking why I’d been driving towards

I was filled with a sudden sense of urgency, which did not abate even as I threw back more whiskey and allowed myself to be prodded upstairs to bed. The alcohol dulled it, but my stomach churned as I considered all of the possible ways that Veronica could have died. Could Cyrus have done it? Or was I simply fixating on him as the only possible suspect? Our other leads had gone nowhere, yet I kept circling back to him. I wanted to admonish myself for feeling fear towards him, but this was a new, strange circumstance for me. My life, and morals, had always been black and white: monsters were evil, humanity was good. I fought to protect the good, the innocent, and I fought against the evil. I rolled over in bed, facing the window. I’d left my curtains open, and my body was like lead against the mattress now; they would have to remain open tonight. The sky was moonless, clouded, and even the pinprick stars had disappea

A coarse wind howled outside, but it was drowned out by Harper’s abrupt, gut-wrenching sobs. I’d expected tears, but this was worse; guttural, world-ending tremors that wracked his body. I held him tight in my arms, fearful that he might splinter across our old, worn sofa. The firelight felt less dangerous, now. It was just firelight, and I was just a girl. The room opened up, warm in its familiarity, and as I tucked Harper’s head beneath my chin I felt wholly at home. Perhaps it was strange, to feel so welcome in the face of such anguish, but it felt as though, at long last, my life was beginning to align. Harper’s, too, though he did not know it yet. I’d had time to process this decision. He had not. His lips quivered as he rose from my embrace, but his eyes held mine with a strength I had not anticipated, but was grateful for. I loved him; crushing his spirit had never been my inten

The hour between the phone call and the meeting slipped through my fingers, too fast to hold on to. I sped to my Dads’ house, desperate for a hot shower, no matter how quick, and a hot drink to take with me. The endless rain had settled with a chill deep into my bones, and I didn’t want to see Cyrus with bedraggled hair and sodden clothes. I was not, however, desperate to talk to either of my Dads about the breakup, or where I was going in such a rush. I barged through the door, winced as it slammed behind me, and sprinted up the stairs, barely taking a second to kick off my wet boots. “Callie?” My Paps called up after me. “Is that you?” I scrubbed at my sore eyes, certain that, one way or another, I’d come face to face with him before I was ready. I raked my windswept hair back into a straggly ponytail, and ran to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. I’d already