“Here.” James thrust a red cup in front of my face. “Looks like you could use this.”
Catching the strong scent of alcohol, I frowned. “What’s in this?”
“Just try it.” James plopped down on a lounge chair, stretching his legs out. “Trust me. Whatever you got going on right now that you absolutely refuse to talk about, this will definitely take your mind off of it.”
My mind was off of it, because I just wasn’t going to deal with at this moment. Nope. I was Captain Nope at the moment.
I’d left the photo album and that picture of the three of them on the window seat and walked out of the house. By then, school was over and I called the one person who I was rarely tempted to confide in.
James.
I’d forgotten all about Coop’s party until James told me to meet him there.
So here I was, sitting by a pool like my entire life hadn’t blown up this morning, pretending I hadn’t seen Grayson in my rearview mirror as I parked. I ignored him and he ignored me. Perfect.
I had no idea what I was going to do tonight, but I didn’t want to go home. I peeked at James. He’d probably let me stay at his place, sneak me in right under his parents’ noses.
But that would be kind of weird.
Hearing the laughter and shouts and the steady thump of music coming from inside the house was also kind of weird after everything that had happened.
I took a drink and immediately regretted it. Fire poured down my throat and hit my nearly empty stomach.
“What’s in this drink?” I asked again, flapping one hand in front of my face.
James chuckled as water splashed over the pool patio, drawing my attention. It didn’t feel warm enough to swim, but that hadn’t stopped anyone. Neither did the lack of bathing suits. I was seeing waaay more than I ever needed to.
I sat beside his legs, to stay out of the reach of the cold water.
“A little of this and a little of that.”
I frowned. “It tastes like gasoline—gasoline on fire.”
“It’s not that bad.”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head and then leaned over his legs, placing my cup on the table. “It’s bad.”
“You’re such a lightweight.” He knocked his foot against my hip. “Drink up.”
“Nah. I think I’ll pass.” I folded my arms in my lap. “I’m driving.”
“You could always crash here,” he suggested. “Half the people here will.”
I shook my head as my gaze crawled back to the pool. I saw April standing on the other side, her arms across her chest as her mouth appeared to be moving a mile a minute. A small group surrounded her, obviously enraptured by whatever hateful crap she was spewing.
I dragged my gaze from her, to those in the pool. So many smiling faces. It was almost like Colleen and Amanda hadn’t died. Okay. Maybe that wasn’t fair.
Or maybe they were just having fun, letting loose to remind themselves that they were very much still alive. My gaze dropped to the cup, but whatever the hell devil mix that drink was wasn’t going to prove that I was alive—that I was real and not a fraud. If I drank, it would probably make it worse.
What was I going to do?
Could I go home and go to bed, wake up tomorrow and pretend everything was okay? How could I?
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” James replied.
I exhaled roughly. “What would you do if you found out you weren’t really James?”
“What?” He laughed.
It sounded stupid. “Never mind.”
He stared at me a moment and then sat up. “Like if I found out I was adopted or something?”
Yeah, no. That was not what I was going for, because this was nothing like finding out you were adopted. I would’ve been cool with that. Shocked. But cool. I lifted a shoulder.
“That’s not what you’re asking.” He dropped his feet to the patio next to mine. “You mean if I found out I wasn’t me?”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
His brows furrowed in the flickering light from a nearby tiki torch. “Why are you asking something like that?”
“I don’t know.” I feigned casual indifference. “Just something I read about online earlier. You know, one of those . . . kidnap stories.” Man, I was proud of how fast I’d come up with that. “Where a kid was taken at a young age and was basically given a whole new identity.”
“Oh.” He scrunched his fingers through his hair. “I guess I would want to figure out who I was and why I was taken. I’d hope there’d be a good reason for it. Not something creepy.” He paused. “Though I doubt there’s ever a non-creepy reason for taking a child.”
I hadn’t been taken.
I’d been given away . . . to be saved.
Swallowing hard, I let my head fall back. The stars were out in full force, blanketing the sky. Somewhere up there was where the Luxen had come from. Crazy.
“Evie?”
I sucked in a sharp breath and then shook out my shoulders. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m perfect. Just in a weird mood.” Time to get moving before I did something stupid, like blurting out everything, for example. I stood, needing to use the bathroom. “I’ll be back.”
“You better.”
Waving my hand, I turned and made my way around the pool and across the deck, entering the back of the house. The kitchen was packed, and the air was sticky, smelling of perfume and spilled beer.
Coop’s parties were popular, so people were everywhere. I had no idea what his parents did for a living, but they were never home on the weekends, and their house was huge. Unfortunately, there was a line for the downstairs bathroom, so I crossed what I thought was a marble floor and held on tight to the railing as I climbed a set of stairs.
I wasn’t at all surprised to see that the upstairs hallway wasn’t vacant. I turned sideways and slid past a couple who looked like they were literally seconds away from making a baby right then and there, and two girls who appeared to be on the verge of vomiting all over the place. Yikes.
Wait.
I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Was that guy Coop? From what I could see of his fair head and face, I was pretty sure that was him. It was his house. Why wasn’t he in, I don’t know, his bedroom? For a moment I was filled with such envy. I wanted to be him. Well, not him. Just anyone who honestly didn’t find out that they were some dead girl.
Well, Nadia hadn’t died. That was the whole point of all of this. Right? I shook my head and started walking again.
“Bathroom. Bathroom,” I murmured, keeping my arms folded tightly across my chest. “If I was a bathroom, where would I be?”
Probably anywhere far, far away from here.
Passing a few doors that were cracked open, I spied a closed one at the end of the hall that I figured had to be a bathroom. I picked up my pace, thinking I might not make it. Thankfully I did because it was a bathroom. A few moments later, I was washing my hands.
Drying my hands with a nearby towel, I looked up at my reflection. My cheeks were a little flushed. It was my face. My hair. My eyes. My mouth. I was Evie, because . . . because I’d been told I was her. I closed my eyes.
What was I going to do?
I couldn’t stay in the bathroom all night. Though at least that would be a plan. I opened my eyes again and pushed away from the vanity. I opened the door and stepped back out into the hallway. Coop and whoever he was practically eating the face off of were still at the end of the hall, completely oblivious to me. The green-around-the-gills girls were gone, though. I’d started walking, making it halfway down the hall, when I heard a voice.
Zoe.
“I don’t think you should be here right now,” she was saying.
What in the hell? I stopped. Zoe never came to these parties. Ever. What was she doing here?
Placing a hand against the wall, I strained to hear what she was saying and who she was talking to.
“It’s probably best you just take a step back,” she continued. “Give it time. This is a big deal and we have it covered.”
I held my breath, waiting to hear a response.
And it came in the form of a deep, slightly melodic tone that was familiar—too familiar. “I’ve done nothing but give it time.”
My breath stalled in my chest, and for a brief second my brain completely emptied. It was like a switch had been thrown, sucking all thoughts right out of my head. I knew that voice. It made no sense, but I knew that voice.
It was Luc.
“I know,” Zoe replied softly.
Oh my God, Zoe was talking to Luc.
I didn’t even know where to start with this. Luc had never mentioned Zoe, and vice versa, and I’d talked to her about him before. Why wouldn’t she tell me that she knew him?
Why wouldn’t Luc . . . ?
A chill moved down my spine as I pushed away from the wall. There was only one reason why she wouldn’t have told me. I stepped in front of the door and slammed my fist into it, knocking it wide open.
“Hi!” I chirped, stalking into the bedroom. “Funny to see you two here.”
Shock splashed over Luc’s face, and seeing that would’ve been funny under any other circumstances. “Shit.”
My entire body was shaking as I focused on Zoe. Her eyes were so big, they could’ve popped out of her face. “So I’m guessing this friendship isn’t a recent one, is it?”
Zoe stepped forward. “Evie—”
“Are you sure that’s the name you want to use?”
Her pretty face tensed.
The door swung shut behind me, and my narrowed gaze zeroed in on Luc. “I want to know what the hell is going on, because I’m literally this close to flipping the hell out. And I mean a full-on flip-out that’s going to draw a lot of attention.”
“We’re here because you are.” It was Zoe who spoke. “Things are a little dangerous right now, with the Origin—”
“I don’t care about him.” My hands closed into fists as I zeroed in on Luc. “I don’t care about any of that right now. I told you—”
“I know what you told me,” he said, features sharp. “But I’m not going to leave you unprotected until I know it’s safe for you.”
“Grayson followed me here. So I’m not unprotected, and there is no reason for you to be here. Or is there?”
Luc’s jaw locked down. “We can explain everything, but I think we should go someplace else first.”
I was breathing heavy. “We’re not going anywhere. I want to know why you two are in here talking!”
“Because I’m what he is,” Zoe replied, and then for the second time in one day, I watched someone pull out contacts. Zoe’s eyes were the same shade as Luc’s.
My mouth dropped open.
What felt like an entire minute passed before I could speak. “Are you freaking kidding me? Is there not a single person around me who hasn’t lied to me? My mother. Heidi. Him.” I stabbed my finger in his general direction. “And now you?”
“Heidi?” Zoe asked, her brows knitting.
“The whole Emery-being-a-Luxen thing.”
“Oh,” she said, blinking. “Heidi hasn’t told me that. She doesn’t know what I am or that I know Emery.”
I threw up my hands. “Is that supposed to make this better?”
“No.” She cringed. “But it’s not like an everyone-knew-but-you kind of thing.”
Luc took a step forward. “Evie—”
“You. Shut up.”
He shut up, but he did not look happy about it.
“And you? You’re an Origin?” When she nodded, I laughed and it was scary sounding. “I thought all the Origins—”
“I told you that some were still around.” Luc knew where I was going with that. “I told you that some were okay.”
I couldn’t even deal with all that. I refocused on Zoe. “And you’ve known Luc for how long?”
“A little longer than you,” she replied, clasping her hands in front of her. “And I don’t mean as Evie. I’ve known both of you about the same length of time.”
Floored, all I could do was stare. “What?”
“I don’t think this is the place for this.” Luc’s voice was gentle. “You’ve been through a lot today.”
Pressure clamped down on my lungs as I turned to Zoe. “What does that mean, Zoe?”
Her face contorted with sympathy, and that—that terrified me. “I knew you before you were Evie.”
“What?” I screeched, my hands opening at my sides.
She nodded. “I met you three or four times, whenever I’d see Luc after he . . . Well, that’s a long story. But the three of us? We used to play Mario Bros. together.”
“I always won,” Luc felt the need to add at that moment.
“And when you . . . you became Evie and you stayed with Sylvia, that’s when I came to Columbia,” she explained. “Luc couldn’t be around you. That was the deal he’d made, but that deal didn’t extend to me.”
My mouth dropped open and my legs almost gave out on me. “Are you saying . . . are you saying you purposely became friends with me so you could watch over me? That—”
“No,” she was quick to insist. “We knew each other before. We were friends. Not extremely close, but you liked me.”
Luc nodded. “You liked her. You . . . you liked everyone. Even Archer. You don’t remember this, but you met him the first time he was out in the real world, and was incredibly socially awkward. You ate breadsticks with him.”
I remembered Archer from the club. Not the Archer I . . . ate breadsticks with.
“I don’t think that’s helping, Luc,” Zoe said.
There were several long moments where I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry. Or scream. Screaming until my voice went hoarse sounded like a good plan at this point.
“When you called me today, while you were at school, you . . . you knew what happened today?” My voice shook.
“Luc called and gave me a heads-up,” she admitted. “I should’ve said something right then. I was going to. I swear. But I didn’t want to do it over the phone.”
“Yeah, because doing it in person is easier.” I took a breath, but it didn’t help the sudden dizzy feeling. “This is why you never came around my house when my mom was home, isn’t it?”
She had the decency to look sheepish. “I couldn’t risk her realizing what I was.”
“Because you always knew she was a Luxen?”
Zoe nodded.
Staring at them, I didn’t really see them. Not anymore. “I . . . I need space right now.”
“I understand that, but—”
“You don’t understand that,” I cut Zoe off. “How could you possibly understand this—any of this?”
She started to speak, but I couldn’t be in that room any longer. I couldn’t be around either of them. This was too much. My legs stared moving, and I pivoted, relieved when I found that the door was open for me.
I bumped into the couple, drawing them apart. I murmured an apology and hurried through the hall. My heart was racing as I went down the spiral staircase, and I felt—oh my God, I felt sick. Like I might hurl.
Hurt brimmed to the surface as I pushed past the dancing bodies, making a beeline for the door. I couldn’t deal with this. It was too much. Disappointment curled low in my stomach, slushing through my veins like muddy water.
Zoe was my most logical friend. She was the one who I always trusted to stop me from doing something stupid, and she was the last person I’d ever expected to be lying to me.
Skirting the edge of the packed pool, I ignored my name being called out and kept walking. I pushed open the gate and stalked down the driveway, my hands curling into fists yet again. Reaching the road, I drew up short and ended up staring at the dark houses across the street. “Where in the hell did I park?”
Way down the block.
I had no idea where I was going. I was just going. Maybe get on the interstate and head west, keep driving until I ran out of gas. I figured—
Evie . . .
Tiny hairs rose all over my body. My name. I heard my name, but it hadn’t been—It didn’t sound like it had been out loud. More like it had been in my head, but that made no sense.
Okay.
I had been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours. Attacked. Had my arm broken and healed. Found out I wasn’t even Evie. So I shouldn’t be surprised that I was hearing voices. That seemed like the most expected thing to be happening.
Evie . . .
There it was again. I stopped, frowning. What in the world?
Slowly, I turned around even as every part of my being screamed that I should hightail my behind right back to the party, but that wasn’t what I did. I stepped out onto the sidewalk. “Hello?”
I scanned the street and sidewalk, seeing nothing but cars. I walked toward the corner, sticking close to the large retaining wall. I reached the corner and looked around. Nothing. Nothing at all . . . My gaze dropped.
Something was lying there. Like a bundle of clothing. I stepped closer, squinting. The streetlamps cast a dim glow, and I knelt down. The clothing looked rumpled, but there was a shape to it. I breathed in sharply and there was the scent of . . . of burnt flesh.
I jerked back and stumbled to the side. That wasn’t just clothes. Oh my God, that wasn’t just clothes at all. Two legs were stretched at an awkward angle. A torso twisted to the side, and a mouth gaped open, skin charred at the corners. Burnt sockets where eyes should’ve been. The entire face was charred.
I dragged in gulps of tainted air as I pinwheeled backward. Horror seized me. Oh God, that was a body—a body like Colleen’s and Amanda’s, and the bodies of that family. I spun around, blindly reaching for my phone and stun gun, but I’d left both of them in my car.
Because I was an idiot in the middle of an utter breakdown—
The streetlamp popped, exploding in a shower of sparks. I whirled as the one across the street blew out too. One after the other, all the way down the street, lamps burst, pitching the entire block into darkness.
My mouth dry, I backed up and then turned. Darkness blanketed the sidewalk, blocking out the cars parked along the road. It was so dark, it was like I’d lost my vision. I exhaled roughly, and my breath puffed out as a misty cloud in the air. Goose bumps spread across my flesh. The temperature felt like it had dropped twenty or more degrees.
He was back—oh God, I was such an idiot, and I was going to get myself killed.
The darkness suddenly shifted and it—it pulsed, expanding and deepening, reaching out toward me in thick tendrils. Icy air stirred around me, lifting the hair off my shoulders and sending it flying across my face. A startled scream burst out of me as the thing took shape right before my eyes.
Oh crap.
That wasn’t a shadow or darkness. I didn’t even think it was the psycho Origin. This was something straight out of nightmares. Was it an Arum? Emery and Kent had said they looked like shadows, but hearing about them and actually seeing something like them were two very different things.
Instinct flared to life once more, demanding I listen to it, and this time I gave in. I spun around and took off, running as fast as I could. I darted into the right, utterly blind in the cloaking darkness. Panic dug in, but I kept going—
My legs and hips slammed into something hard—something metal. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs and my legs out from underneath me. I screamed as I lost my balance, falling backward. I threw out my arms, but there was nothing to grab on to except cold air.
I went down fast, my back and shoulders slamming into the sidewalk a second before the back of my head collided with cement. Raw pain exploded all along the base of my neck and skull, shooting stark white-hot pain down my lips. Light burst behind my eyelids and then . . . then there was nothing.