“Isobel, you came.” The woman in front of Sienna lay in a four-poster bed. Her eyes were sunken far into her head; her white lace nightgown was dotted with yellowed sweat stains. Sienna’s stomach flipped over. She felt deathly afraid of the woman, but at the same time had a deep admiration for her. For what she used to be. Were these Isobel’s memories, or her own? Was the floor beneath her feet even real?

“Isobel.”

She reached out a trembling hand, and pushed a wave of black hair away from the woman’s face.

Claudia.

The name echoed in her mind, rattling about before falling away.

Sienna spoke, the sharpness gone from her voice, and in its place a thick coating of grief. “Mom?”

Claudia reached out a hand. The bones were covered by paper-thin skin, blue veins showing through. Every detail of the room seemed to shrink and grow with her focus. It was as if she’d be able to see under Claudia’s skin, see what was sucking the life from her, if only she could look deeply enough.

A rough palm brushed over her face, and Sienna fought the urge to recoil. Isobel’s memories mixed with her own and she fought to separate them. It couldn’t all be real. She had to be inside Isobel’s head! They must have fallen through together when Isobel threw the blade of glass that sliced through her own memory.

“I want you to remember, Isobel, always fight. It will be difficult, but you are worthy. The people need you. You were born to change the world.” The hand still resting on hers patted at her lightly, slipping off in the end. “I’ve worked for decades, devoted my entire life to ensuring you have everything you need to save it.”

Sienna’s mouth moved without conscious thought. “I will.” A deep sadness came over her, and yet she showed no outward emotion.

No. Isobel showed no outward emotion. Sienna could see it now, almost like a line forming down the middle of her psyche, splitting her, freeing her. They may be genetically identical, but that’s where it ended. Isobel was nothing like her. Her own light was strong, and pulsed deep down in her mind, warm, and free. She just had to take it in her hand.

As if sensing her departure, Claudia reached out and snatched at Sienna’s wrist. “Nothing will stop you. You keep sight of that. It’s impossible. You’re protected. I’ve made sure of it.”

Before Sienna could ask her how, her light surged up. The bedroom fell away and she was standing back in the warehouse. The fight still raged about her. Sienna spun around, making a frantic head count. Some seemed a little worse for wear, but her heart slowed from a rapid gallop to a fast thump when everyone was accounted for.

“They can’t touch us, you know. Either of us.” Isobel tapped the side of her head. “You’re untrained. I’ve had years to practice. My mother taught me well.”

“Your mother was insane,” Sienna growled out.

Isobel growled. Her jaw clenched and color filled her cheeks, but still her eyes were cold. “I handled her with love and dignity, and then I walked away. I walked away and did what I was destined for.” Her lip curled. “What did you do when your mother died? You threw a hissy fit. You can’t control yourself. You’ll never control it.”

“I loved her!” Sienna’s voice cracked but she refused to give in. She pushed her light forward, felt it growing hotter against her own skin. She’d burn the bitch with it if she could. “You were cold and detached because you never loved her, just like your mother never loved you. You were a tool for her. Nothing more. You don’t even know what love is. I know. My mother showed me every day, and so does everyone standing here before you.”

Sienna was sitting in her mother’s lap, pinching her nose and giggling. The scene spun out and then she was sitting on the ground, crying from a skinned knee. Her mom kissed it better before dressing it with a colorful band-aid. The world spun again, and then they were in the garden together, then cooking, then the playground, then simply lying on the couch together, laughing over their favorite TV show.

There had been more, so much more to her mom than some dusty old boxes and a tent hidden away under the staircase. Lost in her grief, her fear, and then chasing those responsible, Sienna had let herself forget. She was never going to forget again. Sienna and her mom had had a connection that Isobel had never experienced. She was never going to beat Sienna. She couldn’t.

Sienna pushed her light outward. Every single second of happiness she’d had with her mom—she hurled it at Isobel, the intensity building up, sprouting tendrils that whipped out at Isobel’s light. It pressed it in, intensifying and holding it. The woman had her face, but not her soul—she had stolen Sienna’s love, her heart, and now Sienna was taking it back.

She brought her shield down, raining on the field like fire and lightning. It tore whatever was left of Isobel’s away and pushed her down. For the first time since their arrival—how long had it been?—Isobel lost her feet. Her hands shot out to stop her fall, and Cole took his chance, wrenching away from her even as she fell. Sienna felt a small tug and then a pop on her shield as Payton rushed forward and grabbed him, half dragging him backward. She shot her light out to envelop them once more. It was as easy as wrapping them in a hug, Payton’s own light sparking gently under her shield. Was that it? Did she simply have to wish them to be protected, and they were? At the thought, her shield wobbled and then solidified some.

Cole shot to his feet, his head whipping around as he threw a punch at a man Payton was ready to fly at, knocking him to the ground. Jason stood just a few feet away. “Motherfucker!” he yelled out, slamming his foot against the man’s back as he tried to struggle to his feet. Without pausing, he pulled his gun from a holster at his side and took down another sneaking up behind them. A yell sounded behind her and Sienna spun around. Reece and Aaron still fought on the other side of her, Keila pushing to her feet behind them, blood running from a gash to her cheek.

“You won’t win,” Isobel said, gliding back to her feet. “My mother saw it. This love you think protects you? It is pulling you down. Even now it splits your focus. You cannot hope to protect them all. Your mother let you down, left you untrained, and now you’ll pay with your blood.”

Isobel’s shield crashed back into her, pushing hard against her mind and threatening to break down any remaining barrier between them. Sienna bit down on the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood. Her fists clenched and legs shook, but she couldn’t let go. If she didn’t hold, then they were all dead. This was what her mother had meant all along. When it came down to it, she was alone.

“Sienna!” Jace called her name. She looked over to where he stood. He threw a man to the ground and moved toward her. He was closer by the second and yet his voice seemed further and further away. Black spots shaded her vision. She was growing weak. The shields were meeting, driving sparks between them, and hers was going to give. She had to fight. She had to push back. She couldn’t let Isobel in. Her legs buckled, forcing her to her knees as a warm trickle ran down her face.

“Jace!” Payton this time. She was wrapped around Cole, taking blows meant for him, her back arching with every hit. “Get to her. Hold on and don’t let her go.”

He pushed forward, fighting with the swirl of lights—Sienna’s wanting so badly to reach him, touch him, while Isobel’s held him back. Jace thrust his arm through the pulsing, swirling orbs, forcing his hand close to hers. “Grab my hand!”

She couldn’t. She couldn’t look back and she couldn’t move her hand. If one spark of concentration fell, then it would all be over.

“Come on, gorgeous girl. Take my hand.” Something warm pressed into her palm and Sienna’s fingers folded around it, as instinctively as a baby grasped her mother’s finger. Jace used the leverage to push aside the light blocking his path and grab Sienna by the wrist. His other arm shot out, snagging Emily. “Grab my hand. If we can pull her away from Isobel’s shield, we might have a chance.”

Payton was next, and then Lainey and Keila. Sienna groaned. It wasn’t going to work. Her shield was cracking, her energy dissipating. Any moment, it would fall, and Isobel would give the order for her men to storm them, to take them to the ground. The spots took over her vision again, and she fought the urge to collapse entirely.

Payton screamed out to Jace, the whirlwind of their lights a living thing, spinning through the air. “Give her to me, Jace. You got her here, now let us take over. I can see the path.”

No!

Sienna gripped tighter onto Jace’s hand, her shield wavering further with the strength it took to hang on. “Oh, sweet girl,” he said, reaching out to wipe the blood away. “You’ve done it. All you need to do is take Payton’s hand, and she’ll show you the rest of the way.” He moved over, grabbing on to Payton and slipping her hand into Sienna’s, then stepped back, out into the open. Out of reach of her failing shield. Sienna’s head fell back as she screamed. There were no words, but an anguished cry. Payton’s hand slammed into hers, locking their grip and then everything changed. The world shrunk in on itself, condensing everything inside the circle into a large, seething, pulling ball of energy. Every thought, every experience, from all five, flooded into the center, pulsing along light trails. They were their own minds, but sharing a common heart, connected by threads shooting in between them. Strength returned to Sienna’s shaking limbs and her mind cleared, as each locked into hers.

She turned, and locked her gaze with Isobel’s. Sienna pushed her shield—no, their shield—forward, shaking the ground.