She’s me.
Maybe I’ve been wrong all this time. Maybe Noah isn’t my mirror. Maybe it’s her. Maybe my twin sister reflects my own brutality back at me.
I’m suddenly aware of how completelyaloneI am. How alone and empty. If she’s come to cut out my heart, she’s too late – it’s already long gone.
Malloy Manor has been teaming with people for so many months, I’ve almost forgotten the crushing weight of loneliness.
Now, it’s just me and her.
And isn’t it fitting? It was always going to come to this – fighting to the death against my reflection.
Mackenzie twists her lips into a terrifying smile as she grinds her heel into my spine. “Where are your three little boyfriends? They’re not going to leap in and save you this time?”
“Why do you care?” I shoot back. A cold dread settles in my stomach. And suddenly I don’t give a fuck what she does to me, but if she hurts Eli, Noah, or Gabriel…
“Relax, sis. You look so spooked. I’m not going to hurt them. Why would I break up that sexy sandwich? After I kill you and assume your life, they will becomemyboyfriends. I must congratulate you on your excellent taste. I always knew Noah Marlowe would be dynamite in the sack, and even drippy Eli Hart sure grew up good.” Her cold eyes twinkle. “But Gabriel Fallen?Nice. I’m going to enjoy breaking him.”
At first, I don’t understand what she’s talking about, but as she digs her nails into my wrist and her hair tickles my cheek, it hits me.
She’s not just here to kill me, she’s here to insert herself into my life.
Mackenzie Malloy will die tonight, by my hand or hers, and one of us will get to keep living as Claudia.
I jerk my body, trying to knock her foot off so I can get up, but she digs a knee into my back, pinning me good. It’s a move that would do Antony proud.
“Atta girl.” Mackenzie trails a finger down my cheek. “You understand now. I’m here to take back what’s mine, the life I was supposed to have, the life youstolefrom me. But don’t worry, I promise I’m going to enjoy every minute of being Claudia August.”
I try to curl my legs under my body to get some leverage, but she presses my cheek into the cold marble. Something sharp jabs into my neck.
“Ow, fuck. What are you doing?”
“You mean this old thing?” She glances at the syringe in her hand. “I stole it from Eli. It’s some kind of tranquilizer for the animals. I figure if this will bring down a lion it’ll probably kill a tiny, insignificant human girl. Goodnight, sister. Thank you for building an empire for me. I’m so excited to step into your life.Mylife. Kisses.”
She air-kisses my cheeks as she jams her thumb down, emptying the syringe into my neck. I try to kick, to scream, but a grey fog envelops the edges of my eyes and makes my tongue flop about uselessly. The last thing I see before the fog takes me is my own reflection laughing at me.
Then everything goes black.
44
Claudia
I’m underwater, chest heaving, bubbles escaping my mouth. My whole body screams for oxygen, but I don’t want to go up just yet. I like being down here where it’s quiet, where no one expects anything from me.
Where my father can’t hurt me.
Eli’s calling me. I look up and see him silhouetted against the harsh sunlight – a skinny boy of eleven, eyes wide as he begs me to surface, to stop scaring him, to stop pretending I want to give up. He plunges into the water, wrapping his arms around me and pulling, pulling… and I don’t want to go…
Wait,no. Those aren’t my memories. This isn’t my life. It’s the life I stole from Mackenzie…
The hands around me aren’t Eli’s. The arms are thick, veins standing up beneath intricate tattoos, the skin on the hands rough from fighting. I sink deeper into the warmth of those familiar arms. A name dances in front of my face, but I’m not sure if I say it aloud or just dream it.
“Antony?”
“C’mon, Claws.” He drags me – a dead weight, my feet scraping on rough stone. “It’s this way.”
“Wha…” I fight to keep my eyes open. I’m no longer in the swimming pool, no longer cocooned in that calm, cool water. I’m assaulted by everything that’swrong– the throbbing in my neck, the damp, thick air of the tunnels, the concerning fact that I can no longer feel the cavity where my heart used to be. I can no longer feel anything at all below my neck.
“It’s okay, cousin,” Antony murmurs as he drags me like I weigh nothing at all, which to him I probably don’t. “Everything’s going to be fine. I sorted it out, like I always do. I spoke to the guys. They’re waiting for us at Colosseum. I just have to get you out of here before she finds us, so do me a favor and move those legs.”
