Hope bloomed in my chest. If my mother hadn’t enlisted Isadora’s help, then she might not know my sister was trying to kill me. “We are family. Surely—”
“You arenotmy family,” she cried, pressing closer. “Mother left you behind. She pickedme. Do you understand?Me!I’m the one she trusts the most; I’m the one she confides in. You she liked to keep in the dark, in a different continent. You’re deluded if you think she cares for you as much as she does for me.” She cocked the gun, her hand steady.
“Inez,” Whit whispered, inching closer to me. “The rifle.”
I didn’t let my eyes flick downward, but I had seen where he had tossed the loaded weapon. It had landed to my left, just ahead of a grouping of rocks.
“Stop moving,” Isadora cried.
I flinched at her enraged tone. “Sister, please—”
“I’m not your sister,” Isadora said through clenched teeth. “No matter how many times Mother spoke of you, no matter how much Mother triedto get me to see you that way. I have done everything to be the daughter she always wanted. Did exactly what she wanted, learned how to exist in the world she created with my father. She promised me her old life was over and thatIwas her whole world now.”
“But then she tried to save Inez over and over again,” Whit said. “Did she often compare you to her? A daughter you could never compete with?”
“You’re trying to make me angry,” Isadora said in a silky voice. “Do you want me to lose control? Make a mistake? I think before I act, you imbecile. What else did Cleopatra show you?”
“Think this through carefully,” I asked. “Do you really believe Mamá would support your actions?”
“Tell me what you know, Inez,” Isadora repeated.
“Do you think she’d love you more if she knew that you were threatening me?” I countered.
“Maybe not,” she agreed. “But she can’t love a ghost, can she?”
Whit leapt, shoving me aside as she pulled the trigger.
I landed hard on the ground with a surprised cry. Whit groaned, his eyes squeezed shut. He clutched at his side, blood seeping through his fingers.
“No,” I whispered. “No.”
“The gun,” Whit said through clenched teeth.
My knees throbbed as I reached for the rifle, but Isadora kicked it out of the way. “Last chance, Inez. Tell me what you saw.”
Desperate, I grabbed a handful of rocks and pebbles and sand and flung it at her. She flinched, blinking rapidly, and I scrambled to my feet as the sound of another shot rent the air. Isadora had missed.
Whit tried to kick her, but she jumped over him, laughing.
“Run,” Whit cried hoarsely. “Run!”
My heart tore in two as I stumbled away from him. Isadora came after me, shooting wildly, herding me farther from the entrance to the lighthouse. I ducked as another shot thundered behind me. The crumbling steps were ahead, and I rushed forward, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. I followed the curve of the wall, finding notcheswherever I could to gain purchase as I climbed higher and higher. My heart slammed against my ribs, one bruising beat at a time.
“There’s nowhere for you to go,” Isadora called from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder, watching in terror as she reloaded her weapon, calmly following in my footsteps.
I stumbled up another few steps, and I let out a sharp cry. So many of them had broken off. Chunks of stone blocked most of the path upward, and I had to pick through the debris while navigating the disappearing staircase. Soon, I’d run out of steps. Sweat dripped down my face. My skirt made it nearly impossible to see what was under my feet, and impatiently, I bent at the waist to grab the fabric.
Another shot rang out.
“So close,” Isadora cooed. “You have nowhere left to go.”
I reached for a rock the size of my palm and threw it at her. She nimbly ducked, her brows pinched tight. She raised her arm but I threw another rock. It smacked her hand as she pulled the trigger, and the gun fell from her grasp, plummeting to the ground below.
I dropped onto the step, pain shooting from my knees at the contact as the shot hurtled over my head. I leaned over the edge of the step, my eyes stinging. We were thirty or so feet from the floor. Whit was crawling forward, clutching his side but looking up at me, frantic.
“Inez!Watch out!”
