Her tone was giddy, deranged. Was she even mentally stable? How the hell had she been able to hide this so perfectly well?
But another, sharper thought crashed down. It was morning. My mother would be worried sick that I hadn’t called. And Thrax...Thrax must have thought I’d gone.
No, he wouldn’t. He always knew where I was, even when I wasn’t in danger. Could he feel me somewhere in Nimorran now?
“No,” I rasped. “Why are you doing this to me? Why did you drug and tie me up?”
“Because you have something we want,” Amelia said smoothly, crossing her arms as she paced while her brother’s hard stare burned into me.
“And what is that?”
She stopped in front of me, crouched low, and tilted my chin up with one long finger. Her whisper was a venomous caress that crawled right into my ears and poisoned my blood. “The Soulless Man.”
My eyes widened with furrowed brows, heart slamming against my chest in surprise.
“How… how—”
She laughed, brushing off my shock as she rose. “Oh, don’t stress, Sanora.” Her heels clicked as she returned to her brother’s side. “We’ve known that for two years now.”
“What?” My gaze darted between them, panic clawing through me. How did they know about Thrax? Who were they?
And did Thrax know they’d been watching?
“I know what’s swimming in that head of yours,” Amelia sang, dragging a chair forward and settling gracefully into it. She crossed her legs, beaming. “Let me put you out of your misery. But I’m getting something from you in return. Deal?”
I clenched my jaw. As much as I wanted answers, I wouldn’t trade away a secret of mine or Thrax’s. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’ll make a deal with you.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically. “We know, we know, baby. But we dragged you here anyway. Look, my twin brother and I are just hungry researchers, the same way our ancestors were. Let’s say we’re carrying on the mission of the bloodline because everyone has refused to rest in peace until we search every crook of this world for the Soulless Man. And we found him two years ago. So they’re probably at rest now. The hunger has been running in our blood, you see.” She cast a conspiratorial glance at her brother. “We should ask them for a treat in the afterlife for being the ones who finally tracked down the immortal, don’t you think?”
Her brother actually smiled at that.
Disgust was evident on my face as I asked, “How did you know he was the one?”
She smirked. “Please. Our ancestors died piecing it together. Each of us picked up where the last left off. Before they got to our generation, everyone had gathered enough clues. We only followed the trails.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t hard.”
My jaw tightened as I remembered the book she’d given me in the library, claiming she’d taken it from her grandfather’s belongings right before it was burnt. How much of that story had been the truth? Was the life she projected to the outside world, was everything a set up? Were they in Nimorran simply because Thrax was? “So why am I here? To tell you more about Thrax?”
“No,” she said, smiling wider. “Yes. But no. We’re just curious.”
I frowned at her.
This time Merton spoke, his voice cold. “Why is the Soulless Man living with you? At first we thought there was some kind of history, a bond or maybe there was something extraordinary between you two.”
And?
“But then,” Amelia picked up, “we realised you didn’t even know who you were living with.” Her laughter was grating. “It was hilarious, watching you gather books on him while he was underyourroof. I thought you two were some kind of…special arrangement, something beyond us mere human understanding.”
My brows knitted as the truth struck. “Did you give me that book because—”
“Yes, baby. Because I wanted to juggle your senses in the right direction. I was hoping you’d catch up on who you were living with in that book, and you did. Hurray!” she said, suddenly sounding bored.
“How could you not know? And why is he staying with...you?” Merton said, and theyoucould not have sounded more irritated.
I sighed, lowering my head. Damn obsessed researchers, the type that saw everything, including kidnapping, a positive thing so long it benefited their research. I would never have guessed Amelia and Merton were history-crazed, carrying on a hunt most people had abandoned long ago because it was hopeless trying to track down the Soulless Man. No one really looked for him anymore, they wouldn’t even find him if they tried. The world outside was evolving and constantly changing. He’d blended with humans, and if there was no backup help for the twins, they probably wouldn’t even have found out.
And I understood Merton’s anger. I’d be baffled too if I weren’t in my own skin—why Thrax stayed with someone like me.
“And you didn’t know about the cave.” Merton scoffed, and I dragged my tired gaze up to him. “I’d cooked up the story about going there with my friends to get a little hint from you on why he always went there, but you didn’t even know the cave existed until I mentioned it. Do you even know anything?” He turned to his sister, definitely disgusted with the fact that I was not of any help to him likehe’d expected. “I told you we shouldn’t waste any time on her that day.”
