I felt like an idiot.
“And he didn’t tell me.”
“He couldn’t Seph. It’s not his fault.”
“He couldn’t,” I said, my voice flat.
“No.”
The sting came late, sharp and precise. “Sure. Why would he? It’s not like he hasn’t lied to me for years.”
The taste in my mouth was unfamiliar. Bitter.
“It had to happen that way,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
I stared at her.
“I watched you die,” I said. My voice shook. “They shot you. Over and over.” My fingers curled into the blankets, claws of white knuckle and breath. “They locked me up. First in a holding cell. Then—”
I broke off, choking.
Sable straightened.
“I didn’t plan it like that,” she said. “But when the opportunity came, I took it.”
“For what?” I whispered.
“To end it,” she said simply. “For both of us.”
Her eyes met mine then — steady. Resolved.
“I won’t let you live like that again, Seph,” she said. “Not even if you hate me for it.”
I watched her carefully.
My whole life, I had wished I was her. Her golden hair. Her perfect, heart-shaped face. Her light.
I had envied her.
But looking at her now, I realised something cold and unfamiliar had settled in my chest.
I didn’t know her.
This Sable was a stranger.
“You couldn’t have told me?” I asked quietly. “You couldn’t have let me know something. Anything. Just enough to know you were alive?”
Sable looked away, her jaw tightening.
“You don’t see it,” she said. “You’ve never had to.”
I pushed myself upright, the sheets sliding to my waist. “I’ve been jailed,” I said. “Hunted. Experimented on. Beaten. Hatedfor existing.” My voice shook, but I didn’t stop. “I’ve lived my entire life as a mistake, Sable. And you think I’m naïve?”
Her expression hardened.
“You don’t know what real war looks like,” she said flatly. “The things I’ve seen. The bodies. The systems that grind people down until there’s nothing left of them.” Her gaze snapped back to mine. “You were protected. By me. By the institute. Even by Father.”
“Protected?” I laughed once, sharp and broken.
