What had he done? What had he done?

Tavi still held the little statue in his hands, the one that Rex had given him for their last birthday, and his hands shook so much he thought he was going to drop it. Not that it would break. The fact that it had connected with the back of Rex’s head without shattering told him plenty about the quality — but then, he wouldn’t have expected anything less from something his twin had commissioned.

The panther was caught mid-pounce, its features fierce but sleek, and he’d thought more than once that it was held captive there in the stone.

Just like he had been held captive for so long now.

He’d expected it at first. Everyone knew that witches who didn’t manifest magic by sixteen were pretty much useless, and they knew what it meant when those “witches” disappeared. He’d kept hoping that his magic would just… show up, but it never had.

Tavi was alive, but some days…

Some days, he wished he wasn’t.

If he thought the punishments had been bad before, they’d be nothing compared to what Rex would do now. He didn’t even know what his brother would do. He’d gotten so possessive, so obsessive, that Tavi couldn’t even begin to guess. His breathing began to come faster, and as he stared down at his twin, he knew he had two choices.

He could run again and risk being caught… again.

He could stay here and grovel and hope to be forgiven.

Both options made his stomach churn.

Then a third idea occurred to him, and it terrified even him.

No.

He wasn’t that type of person, was he? Through it all, Tavi did love his brother, and he didn’t want to see him suffer.

But Rex had never seen his own overbearing presence as anything but a way to protect him. Maybe…

Maybe it was time to see how Rex felt about being completely helpless.

The thought sent a chill through him. It was ridiculous. How would he even manage it? Rex had magic. He could easily overpower Tavi on that basis alone. If he was going to go, he was going to have to go right then, right there, and he didn’t want to be hunted down again.

Instead, he grabbed Rex’s phone and took a leap of faith.

 

***

 

Nyla looked down at their sibling in her usual way, assessing and calculating. “If the Enforcers were to ask more questions about what happened, he’d realize his memory was tampered with,” she remarked matter-of-factly. “So that isn’t an option.”

“I… I know.” Tavi swallowed hard. “That’s not…”

She quirked a brow. “Tavi, neither of us has time for this. He’ll be waking up any moment, and you can’t counter his magic.”

“That’s why I called you,” Tavi said. “I was hoping you could, you know, talk some sense into him.”

Nyla looked unimpressed. “Running low on time. Just tell me the truth, Tavi.”

What if she turned on him, too? His oldest sister had always been sympathetic, to the point where Tavi wondered just what she did in her spare time. At the same time, she was every bit as ruthless as the rest of their family, and he wasn’t sure she’d do anything to risk her standing in the community.

“Tavi.” Nyla’s voice was sharper, and he flinched. “Now or never.”

That scared him more than he wanted to admit, that his sister would press him so hard, but Rex was seconds from starting to stir. He panicked, and it was only that terror that made him blurt out, “I want to be him.”

His sister stared at him. “I can’t swap your bodies,” she said.

“We’re identical twins, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Tavi said, panic making his own voice harsh. “The only thing we don’t have in common is magic.” He glanced at his wrist, where the design and number had been inked into his skin years ago. “And I guess this.”

She inhaled sharply, catching on to what he meant much more quickly than he’d have thought. Damn it. Nyla had always been intelligent, capable, and she’d been one of his most crucial protectors. But she’d changed in the past few years.

When had she gotten so fucking dangerous?

She was everything a witch was supposed to be — perfectly coiffed and groomed even at a moment’s notice. She’d always resisted to a point when she’d been growing up, but their parents and oldest brother had gotten their claws into her. He felt guilty, because on some level…

On some level, he knew it was partially because of him that she was tumbling down the path of becoming a proper witch rather than what she could’ve been.

“You want to take his place,” she summarized.

Tavi hesitated, pressing his lips together, then tentatively nodded.

“All right.” She shrugged, and when she crouched down, she looked more like the sister he’d known than the elegant lady he saw in front of him.

“All right?” he asked, stunned.

“Why are you so surprised?” Nyla asked, and there was the first flicker of amusement in her voice. “You called me here for a reason, Tav.”

She gazed down at Rex for a moment.

“I don’t like it,” she stated calmly before clarifying, “what he’s been doing to you.” Her dark eyes sought out his own. “I would take you from him if I could.”

The thought of it wasn’t as appealing as he might’ve thought it would be, but right now, he was terrified enough to where he wasn’t ready to try to make sense of that.

“Why couldn’t you?” Tavi whispered, his voice hoarse. “You could’ve claimed me, just like he did.”

Nyla’s smile was brittle. “You’re better off here than in my home, Tavi. Safer.”

But Nyla wouldn’t have hurt him. She could’ve—

He met her eyes, and he flinched at what he saw in them. “Nyla, I—”

“What are you going to do with him?” she interrupted, as though they hadn’t both just acknowledged some terrible truth of why she hadn’t done more to protect him. “Magicless, helpless, seeming to be you while you seem to be him?”

“I… I’m not sure yet. Show him what it’s like to be smothered like this. Not literally smothered,” Tavi quickly added. “But to be trapped and forced into this, and to want freedom more than anything.” He couldn’t stop the yearning from seeping into his voice.

“And he’d never let you go. Even though he’d never see through one of my illusions, you’d be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life,” she said frankly.

Well, Nyla always had been confident about her abilities, and the truth was that after so many years of competing to be better than seven siblings — six, really, because it wasn’t like Tavi was competition — he didn’t know anyone who was better than her at casting illusions.

He didn’t even know anyone who could break them, and he was pretty sure hers could last years. It was terrifying in a way, to know that he held his brother’s fate in his hands, but at the same time—

“Decide, or I’ll decide for you,” Nyla warned.

“For fuck’s sake, Ny,” he complained. “It’s not like this changes my entire life or anything!”

“I need to be gone before he rouses,” she replied. “You know perfectly well that if he sees me, you forfeit everything. Now stop thinking and give me your answer. Now.”

She’d gone full-on witch on him, but at the same time, she was helping him. He could understand it. If Rex saw Nyla there, he’d instantly know what had happened, and he’d eventually tell someone. Nyla would lose everything. If she survived the backlash — and she probably would because she was like the regal panther that way — she’d have worse than a nightmare at home to contend with along the way.

On its own, her magic was too tidy to trace and nearly impossible to detect. It was an impressive feat, but if Rex spoke up, the fact that it was so neat would identify—

“Yes,” he blurted out.

Nyla didn’t bother to reply. She gestured, and he gingerly moved closer and knelt beside her. Up close, he could see the shadow of a bruise just below the sleeve of her dress.

He quickly looked away — and wasn’t that just a trait that ran in the family?

Her eyes drifted half-closed, expression taking on a distant look for a moment as her lips silently moved. He felt a jolt when her warm fingers touched his wrist, and he saw Rex’s body jerk just a little where she touched his.

She rose smoothly in seconds, drawing back from him. With what seemed like little effort, she casually gestured, and another spell lifted Rex and settled him onto the bed. “I suggest you have him tied up when he wakes up,” she remarked.

“But his magic—”

Nyla was already halfway out the door. “Bound for… mm, fifteen hours or so, maybe less, maybe more. After that, it’s on you. The scent of my perfume here is more dangerous than he is right now, Tavi.”

He trailed after her like a puppy, looking desperately behind him. Rex would be awake any second, and he had no idea what to do!

Nyla paused only when they were out of sight of the bedroom door, then dipped her hand into her purse. It came out with an unlabeled bottle of pills. “Make sure he takes half of one of these every twelve hours. They last longer, but don’t get careless. When you’re almost out, let me know, but so fucking help me, Tavi…”

He met her eyes, and he saw murder in them. He shivered, taking the bottle but edging back.

“You’d really do it,” he whispered. “If anyone found out, you’d kill me.”

His sister simply nodded, and shock threatened to stop his heart. As though this situation wasn’t already hard enough! He’d always been able to count on her.

She took a deep breath, reaching out to touch his hair, but Tavi jerked away from her touch. “Tavi,” she said, her voice softer, more like what he was familiar with from her, and this was almost a physical ache.

He bit his lip, and this time, he let her run her fingers through his hair.

“You know I’ve always done my best to protect you. If they find out what’s happened here, I can get out of it,” Nyla murmured in his ear. “You can’t. Death would be a mercy, love. I would do you that kindness, yes.”

Tavi couldn’t breathe. He had to fight back tears, knowing she was right. There’d be no simple slavery for him, no simple death. A quick death would be more than he could realistically hope for. He nodded, inhaling her familiar scent.

“He’s still going to be a danger, physically,” Nyla quietly warned. “I suggest you subdue him quickly. I need to leave.” After placing a gentle kiss on his forehead, she departed with a soft, “Good luck, Tavi.”

He stood there in shock, unable to comprehend what had happened. His sister had cast an illusion and bound his twin’s magic in the space of several seconds? She’d kill him if she felt it was necessary, even though she had always demanded he remain alive? She’d had pills to take away someone else’s magic on her and just casually gave them away?

To Tavi, though, and that seemed to be an important distinction.

He wasn’t sure anyone in their family realized how powerful she was, and he sure as hell didn’t know what she was up to.

The bruise…

He had a feeling it would be better if he didn’t know. He felt like a fucking coward, but she had her own battles to fight — and so did he.

He hurried back to the bedroom, where Rex was starting to sit up, rubbing his eyes blearily.

“Tavi?” Rex mumbled. “What…”

Tavi grabbed the ropes that had been used on him, quickly taking advantage of his brother’s confusion to tie his wrists to opposite corners of the bed. He’d have to get the more secure bondage gear from his twin’s room, but without Rex having magic, this would be enough for now.

Hopefully.

“Tavi!” he exclaimed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Tavi met his eyes, and an unexpected thrill ran through him. “I’m going to show you what it’s like to be protected at any cost,” he said softly. “You’re going to get a crash course in what it’s like to be helpless.”

Rex struggled, of course.

Tavi had expected nothing else, and he grabbed a clean sock from the drawer before he spoke again. He yanked the sash from his bathrobe, doing the best he could with what he had. He could dig through his brother’s supply later, but for now… Tavi shoved the sock into Rex’s mouth the next time he opened it.

Rex tried to bite his hand. Tavi fumbled with the belt to tie the sock into place before he took a step back.

Guilt shot through him as he saw the way his twin’s wrists were getting rubbed raw, the way he twisted himself into unnatural positions as he tried to free himself. But Rex couldn’t do it, and for a moment…

For a moment, Tavi felt a terrible sense of victory, too, over the fact that he’d done this.

He hated himself for it every bit as much as he was relieved by it, riding a giddy high that didn’t feel like he’d ever come down from. Even Nyla’s grim warnings couldn’t bring him down when he saw the way Rex’s disbelief turned into terrible realization.

“I’m sorry,” Tavi said, running his fingers slowly along Rex’s cheek, smooth until it hit the sash of the bathrobe then smoothing out once again beneath it. “Well.” He shivered, and for a moment he felt horrible, even as he admitted, “I’m not. Not really. You don’t… You don’t know what it’s been like, Rex.”

His brother tried to talk again, but Tavi couldn’t make out anything more than muffled sounds. That was a good thing, considering he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand it if Rex tried to plead with him.

He always gave in to Rex. Always.

Funny. It shouldn’t really have been a concern. Rex wasn’t the type to plead. He’d just order Tavi around and make it that much worse, give Tavi that much more conviction. Maybe that was what Tavi needed, though, something that would remind him why he was doing this — why it was necessary. He’d taken the first step, and now he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. It was a massive wave, and now that he was at the top, he had no choice but to ride it until the very end.

“There’s no going back,” he told Rex. His brother knew that, but it had been so long since Tavi had shown that he had a mind of his own that the shock didn’t seem to want to leave Rex’s expression.

Rex jerked at the ropes again, and Tavi winced as he saw the blood.

He was going to leave you in here.

He took in a deep, shaky breath. Nyla had given him the chance to have a life for the first time in over a decade. Even thinking about that made him hesitate. What if he fucked up? What if someone else found out?

She’d kill him, assuming she could get to him first. If not…

Well. Tavi would just have to hope she could.

Tavi looked away from where his brother was bound on the bed. “I… I’ll be back soon,” he promised — or threatened. He wasn’t quite sure which it was at that point.

The good part about the world being such a fucked-up place was that he could get away with this. As long as Nyla’s spells were good, as long as they held, he would be… safe. For the first time in twelve years, he would be able to walk the streets without worrying that someone might grab him and send him tumbling into a life worse than being controlled by an overprotective brother.

He bit his lip to keep from laughing, knowing the sound would show his near-hysteria. Right. He made it sound like his brother fussed and grounded him, not like he…

Not like Rex did the sorts of things he’d done.

But all of that was going to change now. All of this felt insane, all of it, but Tavi knew he had no way of turning back now. He had to stop thinking about it. He had to start thinking about how to move forward.

He closed the door behind him, abruptly cutting off the sound of his twin’s struggles. He wasn’t going to get free — Tavi knew that all too well — but it still made him nervous. He was going to have to hurry.