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“I feel—” my shadow coughed. “I feel cold.”
“Good, that’s all you deserve. Now, hold on.” Jackson took my hands, and in a flash of bright red light, the fog of Matteo’s spell exploded across my vision and peeled back again, leaving us both standing inside the cemetery. I heard Nadia’s footsteps walking back and forth a few feet away and my heart started to race again. Terror pulsed through me, but I was helpless. I knew what was coming, but I couldn’t stop it.
Jackson stepped in front of my shadow, tugged the lapels of her jacket and winked. Red energy rippled over his face and he shrank to my height. His muscles thinned. His hair extended down past his shoulders, and then lifted into a ponytail. His pecs became breasts, and his clothes shifted into the same outfit my shadow wore. He was my twin in every way.
“Now,” he said with my voice. “Be a good girl and go watch from the shadows. I want you to see the pain you bring upon those closest to you.”
My shadow nodded and marched around to the other side of the mausoleum. Walking behind her, I found myself standing in the same spot where I’d watched the vision of Nadia’s death, and it played out exactly as I remembered. Nadia spoke to the second version of me. The second shadow stabbed Nadia in the neck, then smiled at my shadow still hiding around the mausoleum, and stood up.
“You don’t deserve the life you have, Rebekah. You’ve done nothing to earn it. You are a curse on this world, and as much as I’d like you to remember this, now is not the time.” My twin walked across the cemetery path and stopped toe to toe with my shadow. “But rest assured, I will make you pay for everything you stole from me. Now sleep.”
My twin snapped her fingers, and the fog billowed up from the ground. The spell buzzed along my spine, and I opened my eyes back inside Matteo’s shop, staring up at the ceiling.
“Rebekah, are you okay?” he asked, his voice shaking on the last word.
I couldn’t answer. Physically, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. My limbs ached, and my head throbbed. Mentally, I was shattered. I hadn’t killed Viktor, and that was a relief. I hadn’t killed Nadia, and that felt good too. But, Jackson? There were still so many questions. My gut screamed that something was fundamentally wrong about that memory. It was a pile of misdirects and lies. It had to be. Jackson couldn’t have done any of that. He couldn’t!
Sitting up, I rubbed my hands over my face. My cheeks were wet with tears, but I couldn’t remember crying. “I’m so tired.”
“You're welcome to one of the beds. You can help yourself to my liquor. It’s the least I can do after you saved my life.” Matteo smiled weakly.
I shook my head. “I’ve got to go home. I’ve gotta process, and…and sort out what parts of that were true.”
He nodded. “Okay, I can open a portal rift for you.”
“No, no, I have a—”
“Please, let me help. Neither of those visions were pleasant. I feel like I need to do something nice for you. Hell, you even fixed my window. I owe you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Send me home.”
Matteo nodded and hopped to his feet. The silver heals of his shoes flashed in the light and he offered me his hand. I hesitated for a moment out of habit, then took it, wincing apologetically. He lifted me with a grunt and turned to the open space in front of the door. He muttered a spell under his breath in a nearly unintelligible form of Deep Fae and raked his fingers through the air. It reminded me of Klingon. A line of purple light trailed from his nails and spiraled into a circular rift.
I gave Matteo a small smile. “Thank you. I’ll send payment as soon as I can.”
“It’s on the house this time. But do come back and visit soon. I missed you.” He chuckled.
I nodded and made my way through the shimmering door. His magic passed over my skin, and I shivered, stepping out into the center of my office. The rift faded behind me and I sighed heavily, relieved to be on my home turf for a few precious seconds.
Jackson cleared his throat and stood up from his perch at the foot of the stairs. “Welcome home.”
14
Answers and Half Truths
Jackson’s eyes narrowed when I didn’t speak. He sniffed the air, smelling something off, and his shoulders sagged as he settled his weight squarely on his feet, bracing for an impact. “What’s wrong?”
My hands shook with want. I just couldn’t be sure if I wanted to kill him or if I wanted a bottle to drown my sorrows in.
“Rebekah, what’s wrong?” he repeated, the edge of his gaze turning yellow.
I opened my mouth, the words catching in my throat. “T-Tell—Tell me again what you were doing before you came to find me at the cemetery.”
His eyebrows drew together. “What?”
“What were you doing before Natalie called you to come to the cemetery? Where were you?” I asked, enunciating every word.
Jackson’s jaw twitched, the muscles clenching visibly in the low light. “I was asleep.”
