“Rose, Sofia and I can escort them,” my father said. “There’s no need for all of us to come. The rest of you just wait here for us.” He glanced toward the horizon. “We’ll be as quick as possible.”

With that, the three of us set off with the humans toward the road. There were hardly any cars around at this early hour.

“If any of you spot a phone booth, let us know,” my mother said.

We walked along the sidewalk for the next ten minutes. Our pace was frustratingly slow. I just wasn’t used to traveling at regular human speed any more.

Finally, one of the girls called out. “Look, there’s one on the other side.”

We crossed the road and approached the booth. My father picked up the phone, dialed 911 and turned to my mother and me as he held the phone to his ear.

“Check the name of this road,” he said.

My mother and I stepped away, located a signpost and noted the name.

After the call had connected, we gave my father the details he needed. Less than a minute later, he was done talking and replaced the phone.

“They’re coming for you,” he said, looking around at the humans.

They positively beamed.

“Rose, Sofia,” he said, “We’ll wait on the other side of the road, behind those bushes, until the police arrive—just to make sure they get picked up okay.”

“Good idea,” I said. There was no point in waiting here in full view of the police or they’d just entangle us in questions.

“Where do you live?” one of the girls asked, eyeing my father.

The three of us exchanged glances. “Not in California,” was all the answer she received from him.

We said goodbye to the humans and then ducked down behind the bushes on the opposite sidewalk. We didn’t have to wait long. The police arrived within ten minutes. I could hear the police asking them who had brought them here. The humans replied that they didn’t even know who we were and that we had just left. We were grateful that they didn’t point out our location in the bushes.

The police piled them into police cars and after ten minutes of fussing about, they drove away, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

My father placed an arm around me and my mother. He planted a kiss on each of our heads before saying, “Now it’s time for us to go home.”

Chapter 34: Rose

The familiar sight of The Shade’s Port sent a warm feeling rushing through me.

We’re home.

I could breathe freely for what felt like the first time since leaving our island. After all that had happened this past year, I swore to never take this place for granted again.

It being still early in the morning, most people would likely be asleep.

“Corrine, Ibrahim,” my father said, his voice quiet. “Why don’t you treat those among us who need it before turning in for the night?”

“Who needs medical attention?” Corrine asked, looking around each of us.

I looked down at my own chest. It was still red, but it wasn’t really bothering me anymore. I supposed that it was best to get treated just in case it developed into something worse.

Most of the vampires chose to do without help, saying that they would be fine and their bodies would heal themselves after some nourishment. Kiev seemed to be the most seriously injured of the vampires, but Mona said that she would be able to treat him at home. In the end, it was just me, Micah, my grandfather, and Ashley who went to see Corrine and Ibrahim. Caleb accompanied me as we headed to their home.

I waited in line for my turn, and then lay down on Corrine’s kitchen table, which she had turned into a treatment bed. She applied a cold compress to my chest and shoulders that stung momentarily.

“Nothing serious,” she said.

After five minutes, she allowed me to sit up. I looked down at my skin. It was tinged slightly pink, but otherwise it was pretty close to its usual color.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Caleb, how about you?” she asked. “You don’t need any help?”

“I will be all right,” he said. “The injuries I sustained have mostly healed themselves already.”

“All right. The two of you should go and get some rest,” she said, even as she yawned.

Caleb and I left the Sanctuary and began making our way through the forest. As we neared the Residences, we came across my parents standing with Vivienne and Xavier in the middle of the path.

I ran up and flung my arms around my aunt.

“Rose!” she said, hugging me back tightly. I felt the bump in her stomach.

Then I hugged my uncle.

“Your parents have just been telling us about your adventures,” Vivienne said, smiling.

Adventures. Huh. That’s one way to put it.

“Let’s return to our apartment,” my mother said, “where we can all sit comfortably and catch up.”

Although I was exhausted, and my body wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep, I was too curious to find out what had been happening around the island since we had been gone. So Caleb and I joined them in returning to my parents’ penthouse. We all gathered in the living room, taking seats on the sofa.

We spent the next three hours recounting everything from our visit to the Blood Keep to our battle with the black witches. Once we had told all there was to tell, my father asked, “How have things been around here?”

“Suspiciously peaceful,” Xavier said. “There is nothing much to report at all.”