Page 278 of Sinister

“But how can you still say you wanted me to fall for you when you manipulated everything to make it happen?”

“Because I never manipulated your feelings, Petra. They are your own.”

Another thing I can’t quite argue with. There might have been an insane attraction between the two of us from the beginning, but I only started to fall for him after we spent more time together, after we talked, after he listened to me and cared about me and my dreams and passions.

He listened. That’s what truly made me fall for him. Not only now, but in the past, too. He saw me for myself, something no one else had ever tried to do before.

Moments of silence later, although I wish I had a clever comeback to deny his claims, he continues.

“The other reason why I could not tell you everything is because it’s not entirely my story to tell.”

“You mean Leah and Arnoult?”

“Yes. You’ve seen how their relationship has been misconstrued in some articles, how Arnoult himself has been vilified throughout history.”

“You did repeat some of the same stories,” I add wryly.

“I did, and I did not. I told you what was common knowledge, something any native person in Radcliffe would know, but I’ve also given you small enough clues so you could question the narrative, to investigate and get to your own conclusions. The most vital part of this equation was your dreams.”

“How did you even know I would dream of it?” I shoot back.

“Because that night at the Elias’s party, alcohol was not the only thing we drank.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“The bottle was infused with Jí, a potion that helps a person remember their past life.”

“Y-You gave me a magical potion?”

“Fret not, Petra. It did not harm you in any way.”

Thinking back, now I realize that the dreams began after the party. And he was the one who engineered this, too? At this point, what hasn’t he done?

“You remembering everything was key to understanding how everything fit in. Although I did not know when or how long it would take for you to remember everything. You weren’t exactly forthcoming to me about your dreams . . .”

“Because I thought I was going insane!” I cry out. “I was seeing this other version of myself living in the eighteen hundreds and this person who looked exactly like you, and I did not know what to make of it.”

“I’m sorry. If I could have made things easier for you, I would have. But I did not know how either. I am sorry for my shortcomings. I am sorry that my actions have confused and hurt you. I did the best I could with the resources I had.”

“Back up a little. You gave me a magical potion without my consent!”

“I think that’s the least bad thing I’ve done, all things considered,” he replies drily.

“Right. I suppose so. But why would you be so concerned as to whether I found out about Arnoult and Leah from you or by seeing it in my dreams? They’re dead. It’s not like—” I stop. “They are dead, aren’t they?”

He chuckles. “In a way?”

“Sin . . . What are you talking about? Explain yourself!”

“Well, you’ve met them.”

I blink, shocked.

“What?”

“My current parents,” he says. “Leah was reincarnated as Lisa, and Arnoult as Tom. My sister, too, happens to be the reincarnation of the baby that died with Leah.”

I stare at the door, shock reverberating through me.