I'm eating some sort of vegan meal for dinner with Fauna and Claudia. Fauna is the other girl I met along with Aspen at the nightclub- I had forgotten they were in the same gang- and Claudia is Crystal's second-in-command, which is why I've barely gotten to know her with her busy schedule. She's pale with curled, mahogany brown hair and sometimes reminds me of the female version of Blake with her obvious I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. She has been warming up to me, but I feel like there's more progress to be made.

Crystal, Claudia, Aspen, Fauna, Alyx, Pandora, Lilith, Ophelia and Elodie. It's not taken too much to remember the beauty of each name and the way they seem to match perfectly with their appearances and personalities.

Alyx enters the room, coloured paint smudged all over their hands. They smile at me, cheeks rosy with elation and their short hair spiky as if they've just sprinted from the other side of the house. "Aurora," they say, placing their hands on the back of my chair. "There are people here to see you."

I look over at Claudia and Fauna who both give me knowing smirks, and I'm out of my chair in less than a second. I know they follow me out of the door and run down the flights of stairs with me, ignoring the fierce pain of my ribs stabbing into my lungs as the high emotions overwhelm it all.

I walk down the last steps to see my thieves. They're injured and visibly exhausted, but they wear smiles on their faces as they talk with Crystal and the other Winter's. When they see me appear in the lobby, they stop and those smiles brighten. I lock eyes with Blake and everything is okay.

Maeve tackles me first, squealing and flying into my arms and we both laugh like we're high and giddy off the excitement.

"I missed you so much!" she says, kissing my cheek.

I laugh at her antics. "I missed you too."

Colby practically pushes her out of the way to embrace me with his long arms. "She has been going on and on about you for days," he smirks. I laugh again fondly, feeling like I haven't done so in too long.

Zavier steps forward and ruffles my hair, his stormy grey eyes alight with some sort of happiness. "It's good to have you back, kid."

Danielle appears beside him. Quietly, she gives me a tight hug, placing a motherly kiss to my head that almost causes the tears to fall freely. She pulls away, and even with the angry bruise on her forehead dangerously close to her eye and the white gauze wrapped around her arm, she looks just as powerful as I remember her being. "I'm so glad you're okay, Sweetheart," she says, before she leans closer to my ear while the others are distracted. "I'm sorry for leaving you, but the plan was always to get you out safely."

I shake my head with a small smile. "It's okay. It's nice here."

"I knew Crystal and the girls would take good care of you," she says.

As soon as she steps away to speak to Pandora, Jayden slings a heavy arm around me and we slowly start to walk. "Believe me, we have all missed the shit out of you," he smirks, squeezing me to his side. "But there's one person who has been depressed- well, even more depressed than he usually is- with you not around."

Our walk slows as we get closer to Blake, right up until I'm stood in front of him. I smile at Jayden as he stalks off to introduce himself to my father who has just appeared, before it feels like Blake and I are the only people stood in this mansion in the woods. There's a moment as the two of us smile at one another, just as we had when we danced in the ballroom, before Blake gently takes both of my hands in his and moves my arms up and around him. His large hands secure around my waist, our foreheads touch, and I'm filled with a warmth I didn't even realise I had been missing.

"I'm very, very glad you're not dead," he chuckles.

My bottom lip rolls between my teeth as I pull away slightly. "I missed you," I whisper, fearing my voice might crack. "I thought I wouldn't see you again."

"Don't be ridiculous," he smirks. "You can't get rid of me that easily." He eyes my body up and down, tracing the cuts and bruises on my skin until they land on my bare stomach, my sweater having raised with my arms around his neck. His brow furrows and his rough but gentle hand is placed upon the angry purple bruises along my torso, his touch so magical it feels like I'm instantly being healed. "Are you okay?"

I sigh. "It only hurts when I walk, or move, or breathe." I let out a small laugh, smoothing my hands down the material covering his chest. I'm a little hesitant, all of this being so new and foreign and exciting. "But I'm okay now. Are you?"

He nods, his eyes wandering away from mine. There's a small pause, the lump in his throat rising and falling and I feel his arms tighten around me. "Seeing you there, being beaten like that. The horror on your face when your brothers were brought out. To put it simply, it was my idea of hell. And I felt like shit because I couldn't do anything and-"

"Blake," I say softly, cutting him off. "Let's not think about what happened. We're here now. We're safe."

Blake's face turns sad. "Not all of us."

My heart tightens, the strings stretched to breaking point. "They're really gone? Chelsea and Enoch?"

Blake nods again. "There was nothing we could do. The bomb went off and the Drakan's were too quick for us. They almost took Maeve, too, but I shot the bastards that had her. I wish I could've done the same for Chelsea and Enoch, but they were knocked out and carried away."

"Are they dead?" I murmur, fighting the tears.

"We're not sure, but I hope they are."

My head rears back. "What?"

"They're with the Drakan's, Aurora," he says. "They're going to be beaten and tortured and raped. Anything is better than being kept prisoner by them."

I start crying then. It's pathetic, I know, but Enoch and Chelsea are two of the most loving souls in the world. Enoch is fun and laughter and kindness. Chelsea is beautiful inside and out and I promised her that she would see her baby again. They are humans who are now being treated like animals waiting to be slaughtered.

"What about Posie?" I ask through the tears. "Is she safe?"

Blake straightens up, placing a hand on my cheek. "She's fine. Adam has her at the moment and will be bringing her here when he can. She's in good hands." He then brings me into him. He smells of fresh air and coffee and spice and I shamelessly bury my face into his neck to capture more of it as the tears fall. We both made it out alive, along with Danielle and Zavier and the others in this room, but I don't feel complete. There's a huge part of me that feels lonely and guilty as I mourn the loss of my best friends.

"Hands off my daughter."

I chuckle through the tears as the two of us turn to face Dad. Blake keeps an arm around my shoulders.

"Dad," I say, wiping the wetness from my no-doubt blotchy face. "This is Blake."

Blake outstretches his other hand and Dad shakes it kindly, but I know he's hesitant. I don't exactly blame him; stereotypes unfortunately make Blake look like the kind of guy who sells drugs on street corners and sleeps with every girl he comes across, but soon Dad will come to realise he isn't that guy at heart. Dad and I are very similar people, so I know this for a fact.

"Blake," Dad says, testing the word on his tongue. "Can I just ask... how old are you, lad?"

I glance up at Blake, not able to meet Dad's eyes. Blake suddenly appears uncomfortable. "I'm, erm, twenty-one, sir."

"Twenty-one," Dad repeats. I feel his eyes on me. "And you two are together?"

"No," Blake and I say in unison.

"Not technically," I say, struggling for words. "We're not... we haven't..."

"Made it official?" Dad finishes for me.

I nod. "Exactly."

"And do you two plan on it?" he asks. "On making it official?"

"Dad," I say. "We don't know."

"Twenty-one, Aurora."

I cringe slightly. "I'm almost eighteen, it's not that bad."

"Have you slept together?"

My face falls in shock while Blake fails to hold in his laughter. "Dad!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry," Dad chuckles, holding up his hands. "I know, I'm sounding like your mother." He sighs, then his smile fades. "You know... I'm just worried about you. I already lost you once. I almost lost you again. I've been a shitty father recently and I want to make sure that you're okay from now on, even if it's making sure you don't get your heart broken."

I nod. "It's okay, Dad."

"She'd be perfectly safe with me, too," Blake says. "If we did decide to... make it official."

"Actually, Blake," Dad starts, his hands finding his pockets. "Can we have a word?"

I glance between the two of them, seeing Blake's jaw tighten. He nods slowly and turns to me. "I'll be back later," he murmurs. He and my father walk away before I can say anything, the two of them entering a room.

I'm not left by myself for long, as Danielle steps over with Crystal. I think about what Crystal had told me about their history together and realise that two of the most powerful people in the world are stood before me. I'm sure that if they did end up together, they'd have the entire human race at their feet.

"Aurora, we've brought a few bags of stuff for you," Danielle says. "You understand why we can't go back home, don't you?" Her voice fumbles slightly on the word 'home', so faintly I barely heard it. She's sad. Of course she is. Chelsea and Enoch are held hostage and she's been forced to leave the home she grew up in, the home where her mother raised her. We can't stay there anymore, it would be far too dangerous, but I know that Danielle would take that risk if it didn't mean we'd all be killed in a matter of days.

I nod my head in answer to her question. "Thank you."

"It's not much. Only some clothes and jewellery you often wore and things I know were special to you, but it'll do until we start raiding again."

"We are?" I ask.

"Of course, we don't mind you all staying here while you find somewhere safe," Crystal says, smiling kindly. "But we all have to earn our keep. You'll be joining my girls on their raids soon."

The fear of going on a raid again settles in quickly. I don't know how I'm going to be able to hold a gun again or even throw a punch without my thoughts being raided with flashbacks of what happened.

"What about my brothers?" I ask. "Or my dad?"

"Don't worry about them," Danielle says. "They're here because I know you want them here and they'll be safest with us. Their only duties include cooking occasionally and cleaning up after themselves."

I nod in understanding. "Good luck with getting Tristan to clean the dishes," I chuckle quietly. The two of them laugh, too, and Danielle wraps her arms around me once again.

*****

Maeve has been helping me unpack my stuff in my designated room, as if 'helping' was defined as laying on my bed and grilling me about my sudden and blatantly obvious interest in Blake. Then the conversation turned to how she has a crush on every one of the Winter thieves and doesn't know how to communicate with them like a human, before she started complaining of a headache due to her concussion and I gave her some of my painkillers. I'm folding my last t-shirt and placing it into a draw when I turn around and see her passed out on my bed, pink hair with dark roots fanned across her face.

I've been told that, after the bomb explosion, Maeve badly hit her head and the concussion has been denying her a good night of sleep. I'd feel bad about waking her up. So, I quietly drag the sliding glass door open and slip out onto the balcony.

There's a blue hue across the woodland as the day falls into night, not another house or car or person to be seen. I can hear the wolves playing down in the field and the laughter of some of the thieves who decided to eat dinner out in the garden, but other than that, there's a beautiful silence of only the breeze whispering through the trees.

I fold my arms across the railing, tracing the patterns of the stars with my eyes. I think of everything. I think of finally being reunited with my father and brothers. I think of Danielle's embrace and the elation I felt in my chest at seeing my thieves again. I think of Blake. I think of Posie. I think of Chelsea and Enoch, wondering where they are now. I send mental messages to them, telling them to fight back, not to lose hope. I tell them that we're coming to save them, even if it's too late for them to be saved.

I don't even realise someone has joined me until they appear beside me. I already know it's Blake, his familiar presence as strong as it would be as if he was stood a mile away. He doesn't speak for a long time.

"Do you want to be alone?" he says eventually.

I glance over at him for the first time, thinking. "No," I say.

He nods once, looking back out over the forest. "Aren't you cold?"

I shrug. "A bit." Honestly, I hadn't even realized the wind teasing my skin until he said it.

"Have this," he says, shrugging off his jacket and placing it across my shoulders. Instantly I'm surrounded by a cloud of nothing but him.

I let out a laugh before I even think about it.

"What?" Blake asks.

"I remember when you hated my guts and would have done anything to get rid of me," I mutter, as if speaking too loud would wake up the world. "And now... look at us."

"That's a bit harsh," he argues. "I never hated you."

"You just... disliked me?"

"No," he says simply. "You just... reminded me."

"Reminded you?"

He sighs, running a hand through his scruffy, dark hair. He seriously needs a hair cut. "Do you remember when I told you about Hattie?"

I think back to when he showed me the book. Hattie was stunning and Blake had told me he loved her, before she had killed herself by overdose. I think of her blonde hair and honey eyes and know what he's trying to tell me. "Oh," is all I can say.

"Oh," he says in agreement. He sighs again. "You look just like her. I thought it as soon as I saw you for the first time. I thought I was going fucking insane, thinking that I was seeing a vision of her or some shit. Admittedly, it freaked me out, but as much as I hated the constant reminder, the thought of you sharing the same fate as Hattie scared me even more. So I tried pushing you away, trying to make you believe that you didn't belong with us and that you'd be better off anywhere else. But the others fell in love with you so I eventually knew there was no chance and that I'd have to accept it. Then, fuck, it wasn't long before I got to know you and I realised that even being around you made things a bit more bearable. I didn't expect it to happen and I doubt you did either, but I kind of fell for you very, very quickly."

"So you're a simp?" I tease, unable to rid the giddy smile across my face.

He laughs, deep and husky, as he turns to face me. "I'm the biggest fucking simp out there."

I kiss him. It's not like when he pecked me on the lips at the ball. It's better. His hands are all over my face and hair, mine all over his chest and the back of his neck. It causes the butterflies to wreck havoc on every inch of my body and lightning strikes every time his tongue touches mine. He takes over, coiling my hair in his hand and angling my head, and in one swift movement, I'm pressed against the wall. His rock hard body presses into mine and I hear a moan. It takes a few moments for my brain to register that it was me.

Blake cuts the kiss much shorter than I would've liked. My soul hurts and kissing him is my only escape from that. He steps back, annoyed at himself, and I remind myself to breathe. We're both panting.

"What is it?" I ask through laboured breaths. "Do you regret it?"

"No," he says. He's back in front of me in a few steps. "I'm so sorry, Aurora. I got distracted."

"Distracted?"

He takes both of my hands in his. Then he swallows, hanging his head. "Your father, he..." he takes in a breath. "He wanted me to tell you something."

"What is it?" I ask again. When he doesn't answer, I step closer, squeezing his hands in mine. "Tell me, Blake."

My heart knocks against my chest as I wait for him. He looks so unsure of himself, not like the Blake I know at all. I panic, waiting for him to tell me that we can't be together, or that my father is dying.

"Uhh, your sister," he starts. "Your sister, Connie."

"What about her?" I ask, my voice cracking with the anxiety. I'm suddenly scared for my sister. My innocent, beautiful sister, who is as much of a victim of my mother as I was. Who was stripped of a childhood and forced to be a display for everyone to see. Who was tired and thin the last time I saw her and who has always deserved the world even when the world is a dick. "Blake?"

He cups both my elbows in his hands, as if bracing himself to catch me. What could he say that would make me fall?

I soon find out.

"The Drakan's have her too. They took Connie."