What the hell…?
“Okay. Don’t panic. But I think I might be going insane,” I said to myself.
“You’re not,” said the Sarina by the door, draping herself on the end of her bed. “I’m Corra. It’s nice to finally officially meet you.”
“And technically I’m Sarra, but please don’t call me that. Sarina is my name here for a reason.” Sarina set her notes down. “We’re twins.”
“Well, triplets, actually,” Corra corrected her.
I sat on my bed, letting the shock sink in. “Triplets.” I repeated.
My chest constricted. Everyone knew what happened to triplets on Mesmoria.
“Yeah,” Sarina said, her tone bland. “Hanna was the third born, and Mom decided that whoever was last would be...” she trailed off, letting the sentence hang. “I don't even remember her, but it still hurts, every time I think about her.”
And now it made sense why Sarina hated her birthday.
Unlike overcrowding, multiple births above two were a decriminalized natural phenomenon. Still, the only exception to the two children per mother rule was for those who had wonBaby Lottery tickets. Women who gave birth to multiples above two had to make an impossible choice. They had to decide which of their newborns to return to the Devourer.
Seeing Sarina and Corra sitting together in the same room, the resemblance was remarkable. It was like an invisible mirror divided the space between them.
“Okay,” I said, processing everything. “So why Sarina and not Sarra? And why haven’t I met Corra before?”
“You have,” Corra answered. “You just didn’t know it was me and not Sarra.”
“It’sSarina.” Sarina repeated. “It's personal. And I wasn't ready to talk about it.”
Irritation swelled up in me, pummeling confusion down. I shouldn't have underestimated Sarina, that much was obvious after playing Haburi with her. But she was my roommate, someone I shared meals with everyday for months, and she had lied to me about who she was. What her name even was.
It hurt. She hadn't trusted me.
But then again, there was quite a lot I hadn't trusted her with either. Could I fault her?
I leaned back against a pillow, feeling more tired than was reasonable, given the early hour.
“I’m staying as Corra,” Corra said.
“Nobody asked.” Sarina shoved at her. Corra laughed. “You can't tell anyone,” Sarina added, turning back to me.
“Or repeat any of this,” Corra added, looking up and pinning me with her stare. “To anyone. Swear it.”
“Bit late to demand my silence,” I said, annoyance leaking into my voice.
“I’m serious,” Sarina pressed. “If anyone finds out, it could ruin everything.”
“You literally just asked me to deliver a message to that Priest,” I said.
“You did what?” Corra demanded, whirling to face Sarina. “Why would you do that?”
“To tell Mom we’re alive, and fine,” she defended. “And Lisia doesn’t look anything like us. If anyone follows up on it, they’ll find her, not us.”
“That was risky and careless,” Corra said. “It’s not just your future at stake here.”
“It’s kinda hard to get a hold of you for a conversation,” Sarina argued.
“Whatever, if we get caught, you’re going to be the spare next time, sleeping on Fitness mats and eating lukewarm scraps,” Corra said.
I rubbed at my temples, headache brewing from listening to them. “What does ‘ruin everything’ mean?”
