"Where's Huxley?" Calvin asked.

Anna glanced over at Rhys. The responsibility of Huxley's death laid heavy on her mind. It was her who wanted to go out sightseeing today. It was her who knew how fast the Nightingales moved. It was her brother who had staked him.

Rhys cleared his throat and straightened his posture.

"He's gone," he said. "Jonathan got him."

"What?" Calvin said in disbelief. "They are here already?"

"They are," he said. "We also have a bigger issue now. Don't we, Anna?"

They had shut the movie off long ago. It was now Rhys and Etienne standing at the front of the altar. Anna sat in the front pew next to Calvin and Nelly. Alice was lounged across the pew across the aisle. The rest of the church was packed with vampires. They had recruited everyone who was resting in the basement.

Anna stood and took a step toward the altar on shaky knees. Drew gave her a soft smile, knowing that she was about to confess her secret.

"I have been lying to you all," she said. "My last name is not Hollingsworth. It is Nightingale."

A chorus of gasps and swears came from the church. Anna sucked in her bottom lip. Rhys had his arms crossed over his chest and had not stopped scowling since they left the taxi. Etienne rubbed his hand along his jaw as he nodded.

"Traitor!" one vampire called out.

"Kill her!" another one shouted.

"Let us stake her!" someone else added.

Etienne held his hands out in front of him. It quieted the crowd.

"Now, now," he said. "Miss Anna here may be useful here. Who better to know the enemy than themselves?"

Anna let out a sigh of relief. Etienne smirked.

"I think that this will serve us well," he said. "I'm assuming you know all of their tactics."

"I do," Anna said. "I have been trained to kill vampires since I could walk."

"Perfect."

"In fact." The corner of Anna's lip lifted into a smile. "I have my grandmother's notebook. It is all the Nightingales know about vampires. There are so many falsehoods in there."

"Where is it?"

"In my bag."

"Go get it."

Anna nodded before dashing off and down to the basement.

—

Rhys watched Anna as she left. He stayed rigid as he made eye contact with Drew. Rage boiled his blood when he thought about Anna confiding in him. Even when she was compelled to him, she chose to divulge information to Drew instead.

"I don't think that this is going to work," Rhys said. "They must have changed their strategies since that book was written."

"You never know," Etienne said. "They have not faced a major war before. They have always preferred to pick us off one at a time."

"I think we should not let Anna fight. She is going to go soft on us."

In reality, Rhys was much more comfortable with the thought of Anna staying safe in the church rather than fighting in battle.

"She is clearly a smart girl," Etienne said. "She deceived us all. I say let her fight."

—

Anna came back to the altar with the notebook clutched to her chest. She took one look down at it before passing it to Rhys. He narrowed his eyes and held the book closer to his face to make out the loopy handwriting.

"Crosses? Rosary?" Rhys asked, shaking his head. "Nightingales believe all of this?"

"Doesn't a cross work?" Anna asked. "I used one on Drew the night I met you guys."

"That's because you had it sharpened into a stake," Drew said. "Staking a vampire works. Also, garlic and salt. I do not know why, but it does."

Rhys flipped through the pages of the notebook. His eyes scanned the scratchy diagrams that were drawn. Anna had a fear that Rhys would tear the yellowing pages out in frustration.

"We were always trained in hand-to-hand combat," Anna said. "My grandmother made sure Jonathan and I were always prepared to fight. Jonathan trained all the other recruits he could get that way."

"We must keep our distance," Etienne said.

"Humans have always been weaker," Rhys said. "We can use the crossbows. They have to aim for our chest or heads. We can easily injure them by hitting them anywhere."

"We just need to know where to fight," Etienne said. "Beat them there."

Anna tapped her foot as she thought. She tried to picture what Jonathan must be doing now. She knew he would be gearing up with his recruits. She could see him strapping the bow to his back and stakes to his hip.

"I don't know where, but I know when," Anna said.

"What do you mean?" Rhys asked.

Anna pulled the notebook out of his hands. She turned a few pages until she found the passage that she was looking for. She dragged her finger along the paper as she read out loud.

"Vampires are children of the damned," Anna read. "Their souls are part of hell. The only light that their skin can stand is brimstone and fire. The sun will leave the vampire vulnerable and injured. For these reasons vampires only hunt at night."

A chorus of chuckles came from the crowd. Rhys took the book back and reread the passage himself.

"They are going to attack us at night," Anna said. "They don't know where we are residing and they are going to assume that we will be out again at night to feed."

"Tonight it will be," Etienne said. "We need to figure out where."

Alice stood. She shuffled past the people sitting between her and the aisle. She flashed a smile, pushed her curls back, and walked up to the altar.

"I think I may be of assistance, boys," she said.

"How so?" Rhys asked.

Alice climbed up the few steps and threw her arm around Anna's shoulders. Anna raised a brow as she looked down at Alice.

"I know the perfect place," she said. "It is right where I died."

"Queenston Heights?" Anna asked.

"Excellent memory, Stretch."

"Why would we go to Queenston Heights?" Rhys asked.

Alice slid her arm off of Anna.

"Because the Nightingales would never attack us in a public space," Alice said. "There's a mixture of a hill and trees. We can totally use it to our advantage."

"She's right," Etienne said. "Tonight we will attack them at Queenston Heights."

"How do we get the Nightingales there?" Calvin asked from the front row.

"We leave a trail of bodies," Alice said and smirked. "I can do the honours."

"I'd be happy to help," Calvin said.

"Deal," she said.

--

Anna sat on the edge of her cot and laced up her shoes as the vampires began to leave the church. Only a few remained in the basement and they were preparing to leave.

Anna was relieved that Rhys had spent the day away from her. He had been talking to Etienne and handing out weapons for people to practice with. Anna pretended that she was tired, and she spent the afternoon lying on her cot. She pulled the blankets over her head so that no one could see the tears running down her cheeks. Her chest ached as she thought about Huxley.

Rhys came down the stairs and into the basement. He zipped up his jacket as he walked toward Anna. She averted her gaze as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

"We need to talk," he said.

"About what?" she asked.

"You are not coming with us tonight."

Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I am serious," he said. "You are not coming. It's too dangerous, especially since you are a Nightingale."

"Do not pretend that me being a Nightingale will make me weak," Anna said. "You did not want me fighting long before you found out I was a Nightingale."

"I need to focus," he said. "I do not need to worry about you the entire time."

"I think I have proven that I can hold my own. I can beat Alice in a fight. My aim with a bow is better than yours. I am going to be an asset."

"Are you prepared to kill your family?"

Anna closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Rhys's expression had softened.

"Jonathan was prepared to kill me," she said. "They are no longer my family. I have no family anymore."

The corner of Rhys's lips twitched into a smile.

"This would be a corny moment when Huxley would mention that we all are family," he said.

Anna could not hold back a laugh. She did not realize how much tension was built up in her body until she started to chuckle.

"If we make it through this maybe I'll start to consider us family," she said.

"That is all I can ask."