Theo didn't answer immediately. Fireworks continued to go off outside the house, bathing the room in red and blue. Kate waited, her heart beating quicker in her chest. She held on to consciousness with a white-knuckled grip.

Theo still didn't break the silence.

"What are you?" she demanded more forcefully. "And don't lie to me."

Kate could feel him trying to build a wall through the bond to block her out. She pressed harder against his attempts at hiding and felt his ...