The first thing she saw—the only thing she saw—was Tristan, staring at her with heartbreak on his face and glowing green eyes. Relief surged out of him as he pulled her up against his chest and muttered, “Oh thank God, thank God.”
Scarlet let her eyes fall closed against his warm body and let the love and regret and loyalty and fear from his heart pour out of him and swarm into her.
He loved her.
She could feel every tendril of every fiber inside his soul.
And his soul sang for her.
“I can’t feel you,” Tristan said, pulling back from her and looking over her body. “I can’t feel your heart.” Scarlet felt the fear, sadness and confusion that tumbled about inside him.
“But I can still feel you,” Scarlet looked at his glowing eyes.
She gasped with a realization. “The transition is complete.”
Tristan blinked and his lips parted.
In an instant, thousands of memories assaulted Scarlet’s mind, bursting in her brain like fireworks. A storm of knowledge and time filled her head and Scarlet jumped to her feet, her amnesia completely gone.
She knew who she was.
She knew exactly who she was.
“We have to go,” she said in a no-nonsense manner as she watched Tristan get to his feet as well. “Raven has Heather.”
A muscle flexed beneath his chin. “Okay, why don’t you go back to the cabin with Nate—”
“No.” Scarlet stepped over and stuck her hand into Tristan’s coat, retrieving a dagger from the waist of his jeans. Holding it up to the moonlight, she examined it to ensure it was still coated in dried blood. “I’m not going anywhere, Hunter.”
Tristan cocked his head to the side. “What did you just call me?”
“Hunter.” Scarlet raised a brow.
Tristan’s eyes searched her face carefully. “Do you remember me?”
Scarlet gave him a mischievous smile. “I remember everything.”
She met his stunned gaze with hope and determination filling her soul. “We have to find Heather. Are you with me?”
He gave her a smile that spoke a thousand words and flashed a thousand memories. “Always.”
“Then let’s go.” Scarlet turned to leave. “We cannot fail.”
“We won’t. Raven will die.”
Scarlet stopped walking and looked at Tristan. “Raven is the least of our worries.”
“What do you mean?”
Scarlet gestured at the empty graves. “This is nothing.” She looked back at Tristan. “There are much more dangerous things ahead of us.” She looked beyond the graveyard gate. “Deadly things.”
Tristan looked beyond the gate as well. “Well, in that case,” he turned his eyes back to Scarlet, “lead the way.”
Scarlet took a deep breath and, with determination in her veins, headed out the gate of the ancient graveyard with her Hunter by her side and a bloodstained dagger in her hand.
There is no victory without a battle.
Acknowledgements
I am so grateful to my grandparents, Johnny and Milly, for their endless encouragement and unconditional love. Thank you for your text messages and phone calls to tell me you’re proud and that you love me. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for believing in me always. You are my home. Thanks to my very first friend and editor, Cameron, for running critical eyes over my story over and over again. You never cease to amaze me with your brilliance at keeping me focused.
Thanks to the crew of the Awry photo shoot: Ashley and Jon, your photographic talents blow my mind and I’m so grateful for your photography work on both Anew and Awry. Ashley, my soul sister, you were a shining light for me this year and I love you like whoa. Lonnie Weisgerber, thank you for being the oh-so-gorgeous face of Tristan and Gabriel. You are so talented and captivating and no one else could have done my characters justice. Kasey Goff, you are Scarlet incarnate and you sweep people away. Thank you for sharing your beautiful face with my readers and for being so beautiful on the inside as well. Cristina Gammage, goddess of hair and makeup, you make everyone beautiful. Thank you for your time and artistic skill in bringing Tristan, Gabriel and Scarlet to life through Lonnie and Kasey. And thank you for always telling me how it is and being my mama bear. Mwah! Sarah Bel Gray, stylist extraordinaire, thank you for putting my characters together and bringing their personalities to reality. You are truly talented. Thank you also for being my very first supporter and always sparking stories in me when we talk about music and heartbreak. Kristen Miller, the hostess with the mostess, thank you for taking care of us all. Thank you for bringing me soup so I would remember to eat, tea so I would remember to sleep, and laughter so I would remember why I write.
A huge and very special thanks to my agent, the incredible Suzie Townsend. You rock my face off. And last, but never least, my husband Brett. You keep the world turning and the house standing when I’m in my cave of concentration. And you feed me. I love that you feed me.