Wrapping my arms around myself, I can't warm the deep chill I've been carrying since I entered that dark void. Seeing the scene from my nightmares all over again and right in front of my face is something that has scorned my bones and soiled my blood. 

    In a way, it also healed a small part of me to see a little girl standing there, watching something horrific as opposed to a twenty-year-old girl watching it happen helplessly. I was just a kid, I didn't know any better, fear paralysing me is not out of the ordinary.

    Alis is still knocked out, now in her bed, as I shut the front door and lock it behind me. I asked Alex to stay and watch her, considering I trust him completely and his bloodlust is almost non-existent, especially towards people he grew up with. 

    Looking up between Thomas and Levi, I didn't realise how much of an awkward situation I've put myself in until now. 

    "Jump on," Thomas says, nodding his head behind him before stepping down the stairs in front of me. He looks at me over his shoulder, his hands out to help me hoist myself on his back.

    "I'd rather not-"

    "Just do it," He cuts me off. Sighing, I climb onto his back, securing myself with my arms tightly around his shoulders and my ankles locked in front of him. I feel like a child clinging to him even if the harsh wind from him taking off into a run causes me to latch on tighter from fear of falling off.

    Within what feels like seconds, I feel the wind come to an abrupt stop, my hair falling beside my face as my feet hit the ground once more. 

   "Can I ask, what exactly did you see?" Thomas turned to me as he let me down from his back and I walked around to face him. 

    "Something your Dad said," I admit, realising how stupid it sounds that I'm listening to Lance in the first place. 

    "Something we missed last time?" He asks, no hint of judgement in his voice. I know he thinks I'm stupid for coming all the way over here on the words of his less-than-trustworthy father, but he doesn't show it one bit. 

    "I think so," I nod, walking along the trail with Thomas and Levi at my side, "No digging this time though, hopefully,"

    "Hey, I'll be right back," Levi mumbles out of nowhere, barely giving us enough time to register what he said before turning and walking off down another path.

    I furrow my eyebrows, turning to Thomas in confusion, "What's his problem?"

    "Oh, um," He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck as we get closer to the headstone in question, "His mother is buried here too,"

    "Oh," I say for lack of a better word, feeling a slight sense of guilt for dragging him here. "I didn't know his Mum was..."

    "It was a long time ago," He dismisses, clearly sensing the awkwardness now between us, "Hey, maybe he was going to tell you on the second date,"

    I roll my eyes, turning a corner to get closer to my parents' grave, "I don't want to hear it. It was a moment of weakness,"

    "Which part?" He inquires, making my chest clench in nerves, the sound of me saying Thomas's name by accident filling my head. It's odd, I've never really felt nervous before, at least not over normal things like this.

    "Every part," I grumble, walking up to my parent's grave, a square of freshly sealed dirt staring back at me from our last visit. 

    you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free - John 8:32

    I stare at the inscription hard as if studying every inch of it will make it transform into something else, something clear and helpful. I wish my mother could sit down with me and tell me every detail while my father clears up the confusing parts for me the way they used to. I've forgotten the sounds of their voices, even their faces are becoming blurry in my memories. 

    Walking up to their headstone, I run my finger along the stone, the blood from my necklace cleaned up since the last time. There has to be something here, something that points me in the right direction. 

    I inspect every inch of the stone, down to the cracks in between the materials and the blades of grass surrounding the base. Nothing looks out of the ordinary or like a clue in the slightest. 

    Clenching my jaw, I stand up straight and turn my back to the headstone, "Looks like I need to blast a few more bullets into your Father, Tommy,"

    He laughs dryly, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he falls into step beside me, "I won't say he doesn't deserve it,"

    "I really hate that you guys can't tell me anything," I sigh, looking down at my feet as we walk down the coble path, "It's infuriating to be on the outside looking in, to feel like everything is at the tips of my fingers but I just... can't reach it,"

    "Trust me, it's just as frustrating to try to find loopholes to say anything remotely helpful," He admits, also looking down at his shoes. "You're smarter than you give yourself credit for, Michaela, a lot closer to the truth too,"

    "I still don't get the fledglings and why your family wants to implicate mine," I furrow my brows, thinking more about what started this whole thing: the growing fledgling population. "I know they're a distraction for something else but, if you guys are making them, why would you be trying to distract me and get me closer to the truth?"

    "All I can say is, those pink marks are easily identifiable and hard to wash off. Not every fledgling has one," He vaguely responds. 

    His words settle in my mind, stirring around like a whirlpool. I pause my steps, Thomas stopping beside me as he studies my reaction. Looking up at him, my mouth slightly falls open, "You're making a secret army, aren't you?"

     He looks at me in shock, almost as if he is surprised I got the answer right with that little information. After the shock, he blinks in relief, his head moving slightly in a nod, "I can tell you more details about that, not everything, but I haven't been compelled against it, no one else knows about it,"

    "That's what the parties are for, they're a cover for you and the others to turn people and what... compel them?" I throw out a suggestion. He nods, confirming that they compel their fledglings. "Compell them to do what?"

    "To choose the right side," He says ominously, chills covering my body at his words. 

    "So... fledglings without a pink mark are... on whatever other side there is? Your Dad's side?" I spit-ball questions, my headache fading at the relief of finally getting something right. He nods. "That means, other Vampires are making fledglings too,"

    "Hence, the stamps," He all but confirms, providing an explanation as to why they separate their turned fledglings from others. I have to admit, it's genius disguising the markers with a party stamp. That's why Alex still has remnants of his stamp even from so long ago. 

    "There's something big coming, isn't there?" I almost whisper, feeling my gut clench at the realisation of why they would need an army in the first place. He looks at me sadly, his lips sealed like he wishes he could open them and give me a different answer. 

     "I know you can handle it," He says softly, reassuring me of my capabilities. I become all to aware of how close we are, how I have to angle my head to make eye contact with him and how he looks down at me with a glint in his eyes that makes my stomach turn. 

    Our hands dangle down by our respective sides, his pinky ever so slightly grazing mine. My heart pounds in my chest, my brain screaming at me before I clear my throat and step back.

    "Let's go find Levi and get the hell out of here," I deflect, holding my arms tightly around myself in comfort. It's weird, I had a similar moment with Levi and didn't hesitate but with Thomas? It feels more intimate, my skin feels bare and on fire in a way that causes me to retreat into myself.

    Maybe, some part of me knows what he is and can't see past it, can't accept it despite his proven acts of virtue. 

    "Levi," I call out to him, his back to us as he stands facing a single headstone. I reach his side, Thomas close behind me as Levi doesn't move. I feel a clench in my gut, the scene reminding me of myself. I know all too well that pain and loss, something I can see reflecting in his eyes like a mirror. "You ready?"

    "Yeah, I'm ready," He responds, turning away from the grave as if looking at it any longer would stop him from leaving at all. He looks at me, forcing a smile through his dim expression, "Find anything useful?"

    "No," I admit in defeat, sneaking a glance at his Mother's headstone.

                  Estelle Callahan
        December 29th, 1975 - October 26th, 2015. 

    I would have missed it if it weren't for the way the bile in my stomach threatened my throat at the sight. My face drops and my body goes rigid in an instant. The males sense my change but, neither of them say anything as I step closer to the grave and inspect the dates sprawled out there.

    That can't be a coincidence. If it is, it's a cruel one for the universe to play. 

    "What is it?" Levi asks, curious about my fascination with his Mother's resting pace.

    I reach my hand out, tracing the lines of the death date as if it would change under my touch as if the illusion of coincidence would cease the moment I interfere. 

    The carvings don't change, twisting my stomach further into itself.

    "That's the same night my parents died,"