Chapter 28 · The Other Me Draws First

"Which one of you assholes killed me last time?"

The other Rowan didn't flinch. He stood three feet away in the center of City Hall's marble foyer, one hand loose at his side, the other holding a blade I recognized because I'd stolen it two loops ago. Same jacket. Same boots. Same scar under his jaw I got when I was twelve.

"You talk too much," he said.

Mara stepped up beside me, her hand already on her holster. "Crowe made two of you."

"More than two." The other Rowan tilted his head. "You're just the first one dumb enough to make it this far."

I kept my eyes on him. "How many loops?"

"Doesn't matter."

"It does if you're the version that stopped counting."

His mouth twitched. Not a smile. Something colder. "I stopped counting after I realized you'd just keep waking up and making the same stupid choices."

"Like what?"

"Like thinking you can save her."

Mara's fingers tightened on the grip. "I'm right here."

"Not for long." The other Rowan's gaze shifted to her, then back to me. "Crowe's upstairs. He's got the bell. You walk through that door, you lose. You turn around, you lose slower.