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She is already walking away. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive you for that.”
Chapter One
Secrets are like cancer. It only takes the tiniest one to grow and mutate into something that will destroy you from the inside out.
I stare at Olivia. Happiness and fear mingle in a way that robs me of breath. Until thirty seconds ago, I never thought I’d see her conscious again.
Now, she is standing less than five feet away from me.
Our father moves in between us, as if even he isn’t sure what might happen next.
“You were in a coma!” I exclaim, unable to help myself.
She shrugs like I just said she was on vacation in Cancun. “I guess I got better.”
Her presence is blinding, making it difficult for me to think about anything past her presence in front of me.
I can’t take my eyes off her, cataloguing all the differences I find with a manic interest. Her skin is pale, like the sun hasn’t touched it in weeks. But her hair is dyed darker than mine has ever been, which only makes me focus on eyes that glow with blue fire.
I want to cry and I want to hug her. Maybe even beg for her forgiveness and promise that I’ve finally figured out how to make it all right again.
But something in her expression stops me short.
“I missed you,” I say awkwardly. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”
Her smile widens, but it looks a lot more like she is baring her teeth. “Ah. You sound just like a Hallmark card. How sweet.”
My mouth opens and closes again. I’m sure I look like a large-mouthed bass as I finally sputter out a response. “What are you doing here?”
Her gaze flicks around the suite. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
“I…”
“Or did you just trip and accidentally fall into my life?”
I want to explain myself to her. About five seconds ago, I would have been absolutely resolute in the reasons I had for coming here. Even after everything that had gone wrong, I still would have argued that I made the right decision.
The words of explanation die on my tongue as I stare at my identical twin sister.
It’s like looking into a funhouse mirror, a distorted reflection that only resembles you in the most disturbing ways. The degree to which we look alike on the outside is only eclipsed by how different we’ve become on the inside.
Her face sets into unforgiving lines. She looks at me like my presence here is an infestation that she would rather not be dealing with. A rat scurrying across the floor would be more welcome to her than I am.
The shock of her appearance fades as a painful sort of awareness washes over me.
Drake flies off to Pennsylvania to confront a disgraced Havoc Boy and then my father shows up after months of silence to make vague threats about consequences. Now the sister I thought was comatose, the one whose identity I’ve stolen, is standing right in front of me.
Nothing about this is a coincidence.
Reality crashes in on me like a splash of cold water. The worst mistake any soldier can make in war is to underestimate their opponent.
“What did you do to Drake?”
Olivia blinks, seeming surprised for a flashing second. Then one eyebrow raises in mockery as she surveys me. “Who?”
My hands tremble with a sudden urge to do violence. “The guy you apparently just told the police attacked you last year.”
She looks at my father, her expression going wide and innocent as he places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
