Chapter 21 · Untitled Chapter

The bond yanks me out of Adrian's grip and drops me into someone else's body.

One second, I'm on the fire escape with blood soaking through Adrian's jacket. The next, my hands aren't mine. Dad's hands shake in front of me, slick with someone else's blood.

"You shouldn't have come."

Mom steps out of the warehouse shadows.

She looks exactly the way I remember her. Dark hair pulled back. Sharp cheekbones. That same calm posture, like she might hug you or gut you and hasn't decided which.

Her eyes are red.

"Sarah." Dad's voice comes out of my mouth, and the sound tears through me. "They said you were dead."

"I was." She walks closer, dressed in black hunter gear. A Council pin glints at her collar, silver around a red stone. "For a while."

"How long have you been one of them?"

"Since the night I disappeared. Victor found me bleeding in an alley. He gave me a choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Not when you're dying and your three-year-old daughter is waiting at home."

Dad's fingers curl into fists. My fingers. His anger burns through the bond so sharply I taste copper.

"You chose them over us.