Page 106 of Us Defiant Few

“Khalani!” Winnie exclaimed.

She shut the book frantically and turned to Winnie, whose hands were shaking.

“What is it, Winnie?” she whispered.

Winnie’s face was chalky pale as she lifted her wide-eyed gaze, giving her the strangest look.

She held up the album.

Khalani moved closer.

It was a close-up photo of a girl, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. The girl stared above with a strange intensity and fervor, like she wanted to reach out and smash through the underground city that surrounded her.

It was a face Khalani knew by heart.

The picture was of her.

26

The truth obliterates us all.

Khalani’s mouth hung open. The organ in her chest wasn’t racing. It had stopped beating entirely.

She kept staring at the picture. The girl had the same oval face, nose, lips, and smile. Even the expression in her glimmering eyes matched what Khalani stared at in the mirror.

But it wasn’t her.

It couldn’t be.

She lifted her gaze to Winnie and Takeshi, searching for assurance. Waiting for one of them to agree that the picture meant nothing.

It was pure coincidence that the girl looked like her.

There were a lot of people in the world who looked alike.

But Winnie’s face had gone pale, her body frozen. Takeshi barely breathed beside her. His dark eyes were cemented on the photo, studying every minute detail. And when he shifted his focus back to Khalani, she saw the answer in his tense expression.

“No.” She flicked her hand. “Th-that…that is obviously fake.”

“Khalani,” Winnie whispered.

It was the first time Winnie had ever looked at her with fear. Not for herself, but for Khalani.

Derek walked over to see the photo for himself.

“I don’t understand.” He looked up. “Why is there a picture of you in here?”

“It’s not fucking me!”

“Kanes.” Takeshi took a slow step toward her, cautious, as if she were one breath away from exploding. “Just calm down.”

“Calm down. You want me to calm down?!” she reiterated in disbelief.

Her legs started to wobble, nearly collapsing. Takeshi moved to catch her, the lines of his face etched in deep concern, but she held up her palm.

She couldn’t handle anyone holding her.

She could barely hold herself.