Chapter 25 · My Sister Woke Up Wrong

Ivy's eyes weren't hers.

They opened slow, like someone testing weight on a bad leg, and the gray in them rolled wrong. Not sick-gray. Not tired. Something older. Something that had been waiting.

Lucan didn't move. His hand was still wrapped around hers, and her fingers were cold. Too cold. The pulse under her wrist felt thin, like it might snap if he squeezed.

"Ivy," he said.

Her head turned. The motion was smooth, deliberate, like she was learning how necks worked. Her lips pulled into something that might've been a smile if smiles didn't usually involve warmth.

"Took you long enough, brother."

The voice was hers. The cadence wasn't.

Behind him, Mira's blade scraped an inch out of its sheath. Cassian swore under his breath and backed toward the door, his good hand already fishing for something in his coat.

Lucan didn't let go.

"Ivy," he said again, quieter this time. "It's me. It's Noah."

Her smile widened. "I know who you are."

The rift in the corner of the room pulsed once, a low hum that rattled the IV stand and made the overhead light flicker. The air tasted like copper and ash.