"Is it true?" Hadley demanded.

She'd found Ruqwik with Drew and Brownie.

It was difficult to be fully mad with the vampire right then. Hadley resisted the urge to smile at the cute scene made by Drew and Brownie attacking Ruq, and the vampire humouring them by dropping to the ground and dramatically feigning defeat, much to the delight of the boy and dog.

Ruq turned to Hadley. "Hello Hadley."

The vampire stood and asked Drew to give her and Hadley some privacy. Drew obliged, giving Ruq a hug and throwing a quick hello to Hadley before running towards Jamila in the distance, the dog following close. Hadley had noticed that it was either Ruq or Jamila that the boy was always seeking out to hang around. The little twinge of jealousy that zipped past her at the realisation caught her off guard, but she ignored it because she had something a lot more important to deal with right now.

"We'll be leaving soon," Ruqwik said, brushing leaves off her clothes. "Are you ready? I was looking for you earlier, but they told me that you'd left with Teroi."

"Were you looking for me so you could tell me about the Masters you're gathering behind my back to Turn me?" Hadley asked, almost shouting the words.

"As a matter of fact, I was," Ruq replied calmly. Her calm annoyed Hadley.

"No."

"What?"

"I don't want to be a vampire."

"Most humans would jump at this chance, Hadley."

"I can't believe you said that to me like you think I would care."

Ruqwik sighed but kept her calm.

"This isn't just about you, Hadley. It's bigger than you. Bigger than us both."

"How is this not about me? You're talking about turning me into a vampire!"

"If I don't become a Master a whole Enclave falls to ruins. This is about thousands of lives depending on us both. Depending on what we do in this moment. You can help me save them all." Ruq tried to explain.

Hadley didn't feel any of Ruq's urgency, and she didn't care to. Why would she? This wasn't her fight!

"Listen, Hadley. You may not have meant to, but you already started the Turning ritual," Ruq continued. "All we're doing is completing it. We'll settle the bond between us and gift you with immortality to protect that bond."

Hadley took a moment to breathe and sort out her thoughts.

"Would I still birth my child if you turn me?" Hadley asked, her voice shaking.

Ruqwik didn't hesitate. "No. You won't be able to give birth, but when you grow strong enough, you can become a Master. And then you can have as many vampire fledglings as you wish."

"How long?" Hadley asked.

"A hundred and fifty years for most vampires," Ruq said. Hadley's eyes went wide, her jaw hitting the ground. "It will go by faster than you think. I promise."

Hadley shook her head and backed away.

"Conception Day is only a few days away!" Hadley whispered. "My daughter is almost here. I can't... I can't just ignore that, Ruq."

"What?" Ruq asked, as if what Hadley had said didn't mean anything to her. But why would it? From what she'd just said, vampires had no concept of conception. No idea of how precious the gift of this capability was.

"I'll be pregnant soon, Ruq. I won't let that chance go! Not after everything I've done! All the shit I've in the last week has been because of my daughter! For my daughter. I won't let her go. Not for you, not for an Enclave that I know nothing about or care for, not for immortality, not for anything."

"I can't let you stay mortal, Hadley," Ruq said, suddenly gravely serious. "And it's not just because of the Enclave. This connection between us must be completed and protected. It endangers both of us! The outside world is nothing like your Barn! It is filled with elements trying to kill you, and as a human, you're vulnerable to them all! If anything happened to you, if you suffered a mortal wound, that would mean I would turn into a ghoul. A Venom ghoul. I don't want to be dramatic, but that would end the world. Again. As a mortal, you'll always be in danger and, consequently, so would the world!"

Hadley wasn't going to budge on this.

Her daughter was the core purpose of her life.

The only reason she was still here!

"Then keep me safe, Ruq!" she yelled.

Hadley took a moment to compose herself and was calm when she said her next words.

"And as you do, find someone else to Turn so you can become a Master, or whatever. Teroi is chomping at the bit to have you Turn him. And it would be perfect because he was actually born for this! Please, Ruq."

The vampire moved close and gently cupped Hadley's cheek. Hadley was almost crashed by the cloud of power suddenly gathering around them.

But this energy had a different flavour from any of the other projections she'd felt before.

It wasn't uncomfortable.

And it was a lot more potent.

Deeper.

"Hadley, it's you that I want as my first Turn," Ruq whispered, the words laden with emotions so strong it rattled Hadley's back teeth. "No one else will do."

Hadley lowered the vampire's hand and took a step back.

"I can't give you that, Ruq," Hadley said, tears in her eyes. She wiped the tears away as they fell, then looked back up at the vampire, her face as stoic as she could get it as she fought her heart screaming at her to walk back into the vampire's touch. "I need to go finish packing."

Hadley walked away, her eyes spilling over with so many tears, she thought it would never end.

Bringing down her tent was a welcome distraction. One of Trisca's humans volunteered to show Hadley how to break it down and roll it up into a small, tight, easy to carry bundle, and they were done quickly. He also helped Hadley with her new backpack, a gift from Trisca to Hadley and all her friends. It had more pockets, a hydration bladder, and a set of dry bags to keep everything dry inside in case it rained on their way to Trisca's Enclave. They were also all gifted freshly laundered clothes and shoes that fit the forest, a fact that Teroi, his men and the boys would be grateful for after traipsing through the woods for days in suits and dress shoes.

Hadley pat a small side pocket of the new backpack and smiled sadly when she felt the little pill vial that she'd slipped in there a few minutes before. She took it out again and re-examined the apple seeds. If she squinted just right, she could see little white beads at the tips, evidence that the seeds were sprouting. It would take a few more days, perhaps weeks, to see well-formed shoots. She would find the perfect home for them – a beautiful space she could dedicate to Aunt Zee and visit daily with her daughter, regaling the little one with stories about her grandaunt. Hadley pushed the vial back into the backpack pocket and worked on packing away her last few items.

"Hey Hadley," Jamila walked over to Hadley and helped with securing the tent on her bag. "Let me help."

"Thanks, Jay," Hadley replied, giving Jamila a peck on the lips in appreciation. She lifted the bag to her shoulders and tested the weight. "Is everyone all packed up?"

"I was just coming to ask you about the others," Jamila said, her brows furrowed. "I was exhausted and had a rest, but I woke up to find most of the others ready. Everyone else is waiting for you, and for the mothers and the children, so we can leave. Crystal and Billy are looking for their Progeny partners as well. They were taking care of the young ones, but now we can't find them anywhere."

Hadley shook her head. "I haven't seen them either. I was just about to come find you all."

Hadley and Jamila whipped their heads to the sound of a hysterically sobbing child. Drew exploded from the trees, his face wet and muddy from a mix of tears and soil. His clothes were torn and dirty, and there were lacerations and bruises where the holes in his clothes exposed skin. He launched himself at Jamila, trying to speak between sobs.

"Ruq..." the little boy screamed. "I think... they... you have to help her!"

"Drew, calm down," Hadley said softly as she gently rubbed his back. "Take a deep breath... there you go... deep breaths... we'll take them with you and count to ten. One, two, three..."

When she got to ten, the boy had calmed down considerably. He rubbed at his eyes and nose and was miserable. Hadley looked around for Brownie, but the little dog must have gone on a hunt. She wondered if that was the reason the boy was so upset.

It wasn't.

Drew looked both Jamila and Hadley in the eyes and said, "They killed everyone! And they'll kill Ruq! You have to help her!"

Vampire dogs!

They'd come back, just as Josal had warned!

"Where, Drew?" Hadley asked, shaking the bag off her shoulders, grabbing her sheathed machete, and making sure she had her carving knife strapped to her belt against her hip.

He pointed to the direction he'd come from, his sobs coming back.

Hadley turned to Jamila. "I'll find Ruq. Take Drew to the others."

"I can't let you go alone, Hadley!" Jamila protested.

"We can't take Drew with us, and we can't leave him here alone." Hadley pressed.

Jamila set her jaw. "I'm coming to find you both when he's safe with the others."

Hadley didn't reply. She was glad Jamila couldn't come. The thought of seeing her in a pool of blood in the same way she'd found Aunt Zee violently churned Hadley's stomach. Sweat dripped down her neck as she worked to keep her breakfast and her panic contained. Without saying another word, Hadley followed the trail of broken branches and brushed up leaves that Drew had left while running towards them, and hoped she wasn't too late. But a few moments later, Hadley had lost Drew's trail and had to stop to figure out where she was.

Then she felt it.

Felt Ruqwik.

Her power.

Like a beacon, Hadley followed the acrid feeling as it ate at her guts. She hadn't felt it be this awful before.

Something was very wrong.

Hadley slowed down, her head on a swivel, expecting to see vampire dogs, but she didn't see or hear the beasts, and nothing came up to her.

Yet, something was so very wrong.

She felt, rather than saw the cave first. Ruqwik was in there. Hadley could feel it. She hesitated, taking a step back rather than towards the entrance.

Something was so very, very wrong.

Hadley didn't want to enter that cave. Everything inside her screamed for her not too! But Ruqwik was in there and she was in trouble. Hadley could feel that too. She wanted to help. Had to help. After everything Ruq had done to keep them safe, this was the least she could do. Not to mention the fact that the vampire hadn't insisted on turning Hadley into a vampire after she'd refused the offer, even though Ruq could have easily overpowered Hadley and forced her into it.

"You had better teach me how to dance the Bachata once I save you, Ruq." Hadley whispered to herself, shaking her shoulders, swishing her machete, jumping on the spot, flexing her joints – pumping herself up and preparing for the worst.

She took a deep breath, ran into the cave...

...and skid to a halt!

Nothing could have prepared Hadley for this.

Ruqwik and Trisca were fighting. Ruqwik grabbed Trisca in a headlock, snapped her head and then ripped Trisca's head off her shoulders. Ruqwik held the severed head in her right hand by the mane of vibrant red hair. Blood dripped from its ragged neck to the cavern floor, joining a crimson ocean. A perfectly hewn square stone was in the centre of the cave. On it lay the exsanguinated corpse of an infant.

Hadley retched, chucking everything she had inside her. Her vomit fell on a headless torso at her feet, and she backed away in horror. The body belonged to a dead vampire. She looked around. The cavern floor was filled with other dead bodies. Not just vampires. Hadley recognised some. The mothers from the Compound. The two Progenies who had partnered with Billy and Crystal.

The children.

Hadley threw up again then wiped her mouth and looked up at Ruq. She froze. Even in the dimly lit cave, Hadley could see the vampire's eyes. They were glowing blue. Both eyes. Not a hint of red. Or green. And when she looked at Hadley, the vampire twitched, ready to attack.

"Ruq, no!"

The vampire roused herself as if waking from a daze. She looked down at the head in her right hand and then up at Hadley, who was gagging yet again. Hadley fell to her knees and threw up some more. She retched until it was just bile and dry heaves twisting her insides.

"Hadley..."

The vampire's voice was an ice pick against Hadley's temples. She felt the vampire's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't..." Hadley whispered, shrugging off the hand. Her eyes stayed glued to the blood-soaked ground.

"I'm sorry, Hadley..."

"Don't say my name!" Hadley yelled. She got back to her feet.

"...I was too late... I couldn't..."

Hadley finally looked up at Ruq.

One blue eye.

One green.

The faintest whisper of red in both.

"Don't say my name," Hadley said, her voice low and calm. "Don't talk to me. Don't follow me. Don't try to find me."

"But..."

Hadley looked back the cavern floor, at the bodies of those she'd led out of the Compound to die. Innocent and defenceless. All dead by the fangs of a vampire. All Hadley's fault.

A sob tore itself from Hadley's throat.

"Just don't... Ruq." Hadley said, walking away.

Hadley ran out of the cave, retracing her steps back to the main camp, sobbing the whole way. Her shuddering breaths played to the rhythm of her heart shattering into a million pieces. How was she going to explain this to the others? How would she ever sleep again with that image of the blood-soaked cavern floor replaying itself every time she closed her eyes, forever etched into her retinas? Almost blinded by her unceasing tears, tree roots reached out conspiratorially, sending her face first into the carpeted forest floor more than once. Still, Hadley got up every time and raced back to the camp. Back to the only speck of hope she now held.

She would find the others. The survivors. They would leave this place. This Enclave. They would find the Wildlings! She would have her daughter! Raise her as a family with Jamila and Jamila's daughter. Banish and bury the memory of this week under a lifetime of happy, hopeful moments.

This was the hope Hadley desperately clung to as she arrived at the camp.

Hadley exploded out of the tree line...

...and struck the flank of a vampire dog.

She tumbled forward in a roll, landing in a crouch, and turned to face the snarling vampire dog she'd collided with. Wielding her machete to attack, screams and growls around Trisca's camp filled her ears. How had she been so out of it that she hadn't noticed the noise? Not giving her time to think, the dog she'd tripped on pounced. Hadley struck the creature. The machete slashed its cheek, stopped by bone. The beast's ungodly screech rattled Hadley's bones as she backed away. The dog got back up and slowly turned to look at her. She watched in dismay as muscle and skin knit itself back together, even as the wound dripped a puddle of blood at the dog's feet.

The dog crouched and launched itself at her again. Hadley stumbled on a rock and fell but was able to get the machete between her and the dog before it took her head off. The machete's blade was in the dog's mouth. The creature pinned her to the ground, its mouth snapping dangerously close to her face, getting closer as it pressed down on her. The blade slowly cut past the dog's cheeks, a macabre expansion of its snapping mouth. Unphased, the dog pushed itself further against the blade, its teeth reaching closer to Hadley's face and its neon green eyes anticipating the prize of a mangled and mauled face. The machete blade hit bone. Hadley strained against the resulting pressure as the dog pushed ever closer.

A waterboard of saliva and blood was blinding and gagging Hadley when she felt Ruqwik arriving. The last words she'd spoken to the vampire played back in Hadley's mind. She'd meant every word. She wanted nothing to do with the vampire! But as she stared at the jaws of death snapping closer, her arms about to give, fetid dog spittle and coppery blood washing her face, the final thought in her mind wasn't about the vampire or the horrid week she'd just lived through. It was about her daughter. About the life she'd promised to find for her.

Conspiratorially, Hadley's mind betrayed her resolve and the name burst forth from her lips.

"Ruq!"

Almost as soon as she'd said it, the dog was pulled off her. It flew above the scene of ongoing carnage and smashed against a tree trunk, its backbone snapping at the impact. Ruqwik pulled Hadley to her feet. Hadley blanched at the intensity in the vampire's eyes, the green and blue rings blazing as she spoke. Two colours. Relief washed over Hadley mingling with the trepidation that had followed from the cave.

"I didn't kill them," Ruqwik said.

Hadley yelled as a skinny, S-shaped dog pounced at them. Ruqwik's eyes didn't leave Hadley as she grabbed the dog in mid jump from behind her, using its momentum to smash it to the ground at their feet. The dog didn't even get a chance to yelp before Ruqwik stumped her foot against its skull. The visceral crunch of bone reverberated through Hadley, causing her to stumble backwards, trip and fall, but she still kept backpedalling away from Ruqwik until she hit a tree trunk and couldn't move further away.

"I didn't kill them, Hadley." Ruqwik repeated, like she hadn't just added to the playlist of Hadley's future nightmares by crushing that dog's skull.

"Are you seriously talking about this now?" Hadley's head was on a swivel as she observed the chaos around them.

"I didn't kill them, but I was too late to save them." Ruqwik continued, undeterred. "Trisca... she... what I did... I had to."

The memory of the cave smashed against Hadley's brain, further throwing her off balance.

"They're dead," Hadley whispered. "They're all dead. It doesn't matter that it was your friend. I just... I can't..."

She got up and walked away from the vampire, trying to keep her composure...

...and her eyes fell on Jamila swinging a branch at a vampire dog.

Jamila missed.

The dog attacked.

Hadley's body was moving before her mind caught up to the action, racing towards Jamila. She vaulted over a vampire dog dragging a man as he helplessly grasped and clutched uselessly at debris on the ground to resist the hold. Dodged a vampire's head torn off and chucked by a dog, the vampire's deafening shriek abruptly cut off. Raced past a man sobbing into the limp body of a girl in a pool of blood leaking from an amputated leg. Swivelled past a girl trying to pry open a dog's mouth latched onto her forearm as is began tearing the arm off from the elbow.

When she got close, Hadley reached for her whittling knife sheathed against her hip.

Her hand found nothing.

The memory of her dropping it at the cave of horrors played back in her mind.

There was no time to think! Jamila was on the ground, and the tree branch keeping the dog at arm's length snapped into two. Just as the dog was about to crunch Jamila's face, Hadley rammed into its flank! A twinge of pain shot through Hadley's shoulder, her limbs tangling with the vampire dog's as they rolled across the forest floor. Fuelled by adrenaline, Hadley was back on her feet, running towards Jamila and helping her up.

"Are you okay?" Hadley asked.

"Your arm!" Jamila replied, staring at Hadley's right shoulder.

Hadley noticed she was using her left arm to help Jamila up. Her right arm hung hopelessly off her shoulder, the joint dislocated. The pain punched through then, stars exploding in Hadley's vision and her feet wobbling. Jamila caught her, sparing her a fall. A growl called their attention back to the vampire dog Hadley had crashed into. They watched in horror as the dog's mangled foreleg twisted and reshaped itself, healing fast. The dog slowly stood up, glaring at them.

One of its eyes was green.

The other was blue.

With her left hand, Hadley reached for one piece of the snapped branch that Jamila had wielded, gritting her teeth against the pain in her right shoulder. Jamila reached for the other piece of the branch. They squared off against dog, which was now focussed on Hadley. Jamila slowly slinked away. Hadley instantly understood the plan – she would play bait, holding the monster's attention, while Jamila snuck around it and attacked from behind.

"Go ahead! Give me your worst!" Hadley yelled as she took a defensive stance, brandishing the branch with arcs and swishes.

The dog growled again and hunched its shoulders, its eyes a laser of pure hate burning through Hadley as if nothing else existed but her. Jamila yelled as she smashed her branch against the back of the dog's skull. Hadley took that chance to rush at the dog, smack its snout with her branch, and heel kick its forelegs to drop it. But the dog didn't go down without a fight. It snapped at Hadley's foot, teeth crunching through skin and bone. Jamila was pummelling the dog's flank with her branch, but every bruise and cut began to heal after each hit. Hadley was on the ground, the dog's mouth clamped against her foot. If it decided to shake its head, Hadley's shin would snap in half.

It didn't get a chance to.

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Teroi charged towards them holding a massive, thick, stumpy log above his head. At the sound, the dog looked up, letting go of Hadley's leg as it did. Hadley used her good leg and hand to backpedal as fast as she could, while Teroi brought the full weight of the log down on the vampire dog's head, splattering them with blood and brains as its skull shattered under the force.

The three paused, each of them gasping for air. Hadley reached up and pulled a piece of brain from her hair, unable to hide her disgust as she stared at the offal.

Jamila laughed.

Teroi snickered then laughed.

Hadley felt a smile pull at the corners of her mouth and was guffawing in seconds.

The horror of the moment wasn't lost on them, but this was way better than hysterically crying and falling apart, like Hadley wanted to.

Jamila finally helped Hadley to her feet and Hadley instructed her on how to snap her shoulder back into place while she tried not to wake the dead with a muffled scream of sheer agony. Teroi took off his shirt and tore it into strips he used to wrap Hadley's mangled foot. Hadley thanked him, tested her weight on her foot before arming herself with the branch once more.

"Jamila, we need to get back to the hot springs." Hadley said.

"Aren't we going to Trisca's Enclave?" Teroi pointed out.

"We can't," Hadley quickly explained. "The others... the ones you were looking for...? The mothers, the children, the other Progenies...? They're dead! And Trisca too! We can't stay here. We need to find the Wildlings! Get everyone else back to the hot springs. I'll be right behind you!"

"Where are you going?" Jamila asked.

Hadley took a deep breath and slowly let it out, hoping for another rush of adrenaline to push through the pain wracking her body.

"I'm going to find Ruq." Hadley said, limping away. Despite everything that had happened, she needed to make sure that the vampire was alright. It was a desperate need that pressed against her. One that she couldn't stop any more than she could stop herself from breathing. But once she was certain the vampire was okay, Hadley would bid Ruq goodbye, and then she would leave. This was it. This was where they would part ways.

"Teroi, you heard her," Jamila said. "Get everyone to the hot springs. We'll find you!"

Hadley turned to Jamila, ready for a fervent confrontation if that meant convincing Jamila to go with Teroi.

Jamila didn't let her speak.

"We can stay here and argue, or we can go find Ruq." Jamila said, walking past Hadley without waiting for a response.

All Hadley could do was smile and follow, admittedly glad to have Jamila for company.

The clearing was free from dogs, but Hadley could still hear them growling towards the direction she'd left Ruqwik. They had all converged to attack the vampire. Hadley tried to run, but her limp held her back. Beside her, Jamila kept her pace. Hadley was lost in thoughts of what she could do once she reached Ruq and the dogs, when a voice reached her.

"Help, please!"

Hadley turned to the man who'd called out.

Without a second thought, she quickly limped over, tore a strip off his shirt, found a branch, and created a torniquet about the bleeding gashes on his thigh. She looked around at the bodies littering the clearing, really seeing them for the first time. Most of them were squirming and groaning in pain.

Alive!

"I need my bag." Hadley called out to Jamila.

"Jael packed it on one of the sleds when we were waiting for you to come back, before the dogs..." Jamila explained, trailing off. She set her jaw and started running. "I'll go get it before they get too far!"

When she had made it back, Jamila found Hadley triaging the casualties. With Hadley's instructions guiding her, Jamila helped Hadley attend to the patients. Hadley felt Ruqwik's presence before the vampire had walked over to them. It was then that she noticed the silence. No more growling. Hadley didn't want to imagine how Ruqwik looked. She'd already been drenched in blood from the cave. Hadley ignored the vampire, focussing on the girl in her arms at the edge of death. The girl suddenly fell past the edge, dying in her arms.

"Hadley?" Ruqwik whispered behind her.

To Hadley, all sound around her was suddenly muffled, blood rushing past her ears. She carefully lowered the girl to the ground and shuffled away from the body, hugging her knees to her chest.

"She's dead," Hadley choked.

"You did everything you could," Ruqwik said, sitting next to her and wrapping herself around Hadley as she silently sobbed. Hadley's shoulder throbbed and her foot was stiff and painfully numb, but none of it reached the level of pain from all the needless loss of life around her.

"That could have been Jamila," Hadley said between the sobs, her voice cracking. "Or Crystal. Or Billy. Or Drew!"

"But it's not." Ruqwik whispered.

Hadley continued to sob.

"We should leave soon." The vampire whispered.

Hadley gently pried herself from Ruq's embrace and stood up, hopping on her good leg to get stable. She stoically wiped her tearing eyes and dribbling nose and grabbed what was left of her backpack. The contents of the medical kit that she had so conscientiously and carefully put together at the blood café were strewn all around her, most of it dressing the wounds of those she'd helped patch up. That was the last of her medical supplies.

She studied the aftermath of the vampire dog attack, then pinned her gaze on Ruqwik.

"You just killed a Baron, Ruqwik! She could have helped us here!" she yelled. She motioned around the clearing. "With all this talk about saving Lujeo's Enclave, you just doomed another Enclave without batting an eyelid!"

"Trisca was far from innocent," Ruqwik threw back. "She killed your people!"

The words were a slap across Hadley's face.

The image of Trisca's decapitated head in Ruq's hand played back in Hadley's mind, taking on new meaning. If that was true, if Ruq had truly avenged Hadley's friends, then Hadley couldn't see how else that situation would have resolved itself better. But at what cost? Hadley looked at the dead and hurt humans and vampires around the clearing. Trisca was a Baron. An Ageless One. She was powerful. If she had been here, helping them fight against the dogs, how many lives could they have saved? But Hadley had also seen the carnage at the cave, and if what Ruqwik said was true...

"That doesn't make you judge, jury, and executioner, Ruqwik!" Hadley threw back, even though her rage was less about her conviction and more of a cathartic venting from the crippling dissonance that haunted her thoughts. "You said that Barons play an important role in every Enclave. That without them, everything would fall apart! You even tried to convince me that saving an Enclave was more important than the life of my child! You said it was bigger than us! Bigger than our wants! I almost believed you!"

Exhaustion enveloped Hadley after the tirade. She began to limp away from the vampire, slowly accepting that she would be eternally unsure of how to feel about any of this.

An infinitely tragic realisation.

"We're going back to the hot springs, Ruq," Hadleysaid, her voice calm and stoic.

She stopped and turned to face the vampire. This was why she had come back to find Ruq in the first place. To make sure she was still alive, and to say goodbye. That last part was the most important part.

Incapacitate and run.

That's the treatment any vampire who dared to come up against her or the others would receive from this time forward.

"I'm going to find the Wildlings. Don't followus." Hadley continued. "I'm done with vampires. I'm done with your Enclaves andyour Barons and all the shit in between."

They held each other's gaze, silence enveloping them for a long moment before Hadley found the strength to express her final thought.

"And I am done with you, Ruq."

Hadley and Jamila walked away, leaving the casualties they'd patched up under the care of a group of uninjured Trisca's vampires and humans who had survived the attack unscathed. They walked in silence through the trees and down a narrow trail in the forest to catch up with the others. Hadley pushed everything she felt into the darkness in her mind, welcoming the numbness, even though she knew it would exacerbate her disconnection and make it harder to come back.

She was disconnecting faster than she'd ever imagined.

Losing herself.

Her hand went to her stomach.

Would she ever feel affection for her daughter?

Would she ever love the little one?

Would she ever love?

"What the...?" Jamila suddenly called out beside Hadley.

Hadley turned to Jamila and froze.

A dart was sticking out of Jamila's neck and her eyes rolled back as she fell to the forest floor. Before Hadley could react, there was a sharp prick against her own neck. Reaching up to it, she discovered a dart like the one in Jamila's neck.

The trees swam in Hadley's vision.

Trying to think became as difficult as wading through a river of molasses.

And then the world was lost to her.