My feet barely strike the ground before he bounds over and leaps at me. I catch him against my chest, his little body soft and warm and crackling with a low purr.

“I missed you too,” I tell him, and for the first time in my life, arriving at an inn doesn’t feel like starting over again.

It feels like coming home.

We head for the library, where we find the twins, Nora, and Gran sitting by the fire. Nora and Gran both stand with matching apologetic looks on their faces.

“We’re so sorry, Colin,” Nora says. “I was scared, and too quick to react.”

“And I let my guard down,” Gran says with a bow of her head. “That wraith shouldn’t have gotten near me.”

Their apologies are the warmth of a fire after a cold rain, and the last of the tension in my chest fades. “It’s okay,” I say, and look to Nora. “You were only doing what you thought was best.”

Nora lays a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I told you that you were welcome here for as long as you wanted, and I meant it. We should never have sent you away.” She enfolds me in a hug, and it’s so strong, so comforting, that I never want her to let go.

“All right, Nor, don’t smother the poor kid!” Roy claps me on the shoulder as Nora releases me with a warm smile.

“We need a plan for Samhain.” Elaine stands before the fire, her arms crossed as we all join the twins on the couches. “We know who we’re up against now, and we know what he wants: to destroy the Shield. With Ravenfall being a weak spot in the Shield, this is the best place for them to strike, and we know they’re coming for Colin. It’s safe to assume they’ll be at the party tomorrow night.”

Nora’s fingers worry at her mouth as she says, “Our first step is to identify him.”

“I know it was the wraith talking, but Gran’s plan with Anna’s powers still makes sense to me,” Colin says. “She just has to touch Fin at the party, and she’ll get the same vision she did when she touched me.”

Kara snorts loudly. “Have you ever been to— Oh, no, I guess you haven’t. Well, there are a lot of people here on Samhain.”

“Anna can’t touch all of them,” Rose says worriedly. “How will she keep track of who she’s tested already?”

“That’s what the rest of you are for,” Anna jumps in. “His glamour is too strong for Rose and Kara to use their powers on him, but that alone is a sign of who he is. If Kara finds someone whose mind she can’t read or Rose someone whose emotions she can’t detect, it might be him, and I can check.”