Chapter 16 · The Other Ivy

"Ivy Kline." The voice came from the barrier core, and it was mine. Same pitch. Same rasp. Same clipped ending when fear caught in my throat. "You took my place."

My knees locked. Leon's hands clamped onto my shoulders before I could fall.

"Ivy." His breath hit my ear. "What the hell is that?"

I couldn't answer. Selina was on her knees beside the open door, staring at the key fused into her palm. Silver lines crawled up her wrist beneath the skin.

The black-robed figure stood between us and the core. Karl's face. Karl's smile. Whatever part of him had survived, it was enjoying this.

"There she is," he said. "The original scholarship winner."

I forced myself to look past him.

A girl hung inside the gap in the air. Dark hair. My height. My shoulders. The same burn scar marked the back of her left hand—the scar I'd gotten in the distillery fire three years ago.

Her eyes were open, but there was nothing behind them.

"What did you do?" My voice cracked. "What is she?"

"That's Ivy Kline." Karl stepped aside. "The girl who earned the scholarship. Aced the entrance exam.