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“We have the antidote, but there’s a catch. And you’re not going to like it.”

“Acatch?” I asked, my breath caught in my throat.

I knew it was too good to be true. I wantedone thingto work outfor once. It was always one step forward, three steps back, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could endure it.

We needed a win. We needed the tides to turn in our favor.

Tess nodded. “I’ll explain everything, but first, let’s get you bathed and fed.”

She slung her arm around my shoulder, guiding me towards the cabin.

“We need to convene the council,” I told her.

“I agree, but first you need to take care of yourself. Give yourself a minute, Diana. You just got back from escaping capture. Mother only knows what you endured while youwere there, and while I can’t wait to hear all about it, you need to take a beat. You smell, babe.”

She laughed, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

The pit of dread in my stomach was growing, expanding within me as I rifled through all the reasons getting the antidote might not be such a good thing. Whatever it was, we would deal with it. If there was a way we could save Nik and Isaac, and the other innocents that Donika had experimented on without their permission, we had to take it.

I followed Tess inside and she set a fresh set of clothes out for me in the bedroom I had stayed in when I had first come to the cabin. After Nik had first been turned Noctani and I was utterly broken inside.

I released a heavy exhale as I stripped out of the clothes I had stolen from him, both happy and sad to be rid of the reminder of that time we spent together. I left them piled on the bathroom floor as I scrubbed my skin clean until it was pink and raw. I didn’t want a single reminder of it left on my body. Not an ounce of blood or dirt leftover. When I had finished and pulled the curtain aside, the clothes I had come back in were gone.

Those clothes were the only thing I had left of him at this point, but I detested them all the same. I didn’t need to see them again. I needed to move forward, not think about what had already transpired in the past. There was nothing I could do to change it now.

I dried off, shrugging on the clothes Tess had left for me. Thankfully, they fit much better. I hadn’t seen Annelise or Zion yet, but Amiyah was in the small kitchen when Ireturned to the main living space. Tess and Puck were perched at the dining table, their eyes turning towards me as I cracked the door open.

“Better?” Tess asked, a knowing smile on her lips.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll be even better once I eat something,” I replied, my hand resting on my stomach as it gave a knowing growl.

“Glad to hear it,” Amiyah called from the stove. “I hope you’re hungry.”

I fell into one of the seats at the table across from Tess. “Famished.”

My mouth watered as she set a roasted chicken before us, along with a bowl of bright green vegetables. My nose filled with the aroma, and my stomach grumbled once more. I was thankful for the food, and thankful to be back here with family.

“Eat up you three. We’ll be outside when you’re ready.” Amiyah gave me a soft smile as she brushed her hands off on her apron, pulling it over her head and leaving it on the counter. She exited down the narrow driftwood steps, leaving us alone in the cabin.

I could see through the small window over the couch that Saanvi and Kenna were walking down the beach, hand in hand. The table by the coast where we had the last council meeting was visible from here, and Annelise and Zion sat there talking, their heads bent towards one another.

I helped myself to a generous portion of the meal Amiyah had prepared, knowing that I would need my strength in the coming days.

Tess spoke around a mouthful of food. “I figured we could discuss some of the… less savory topics. Just us. Before regrouping with the others.”

I smiled my appreciation. “You don’t want the others to know he bit me?” I asked, my brow raising in challenge.

Puck choked on the bite he had been chewing, not expecting me to come right out with it.

“I don’t care, but I figuredyoumight.” She shrugged, as if we were talking about something completely normal.

Once he regained his composure, Puck’s gaze fell to his plate, his eyes dark. “Are you ok?”

I nodded. “I’m ok, Puck.”

“But he… he hurt you.”

I flinched. “He did.”