Page 15 of The Evil Twin

Althea had been right.

I’d barely even begun napping when I was jolted awake by Tennyson in my brain.

Attack confirmed, was all he said.

I jumped out of bed, barely aware of what I was doing, and raced for the door. I needed details.

When I got back to the Golden House, only Althea was there. She was sitting in her favorite chair with her book. Her eyes were closed. She was so still that for a moment I was worried she was dead. Like, maybe the visions were too much for her brain or something.

She opened her eyes, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you having a vision?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, sorry. I must have nodded off.”

“Where is everyone? Tennyson said that my father has attacked.”

“Tennyson and Nikolai went along with your counterpart to do some surveillance and make sure she stuck to the plan. The others are all in class, as far as I know.”

“I hope they’re okay,” I said. I didn’t like the thought of Tennyson so close to my father.

“Harper has a history quiz that I’m sure she’ll fail, but apart from that, I think everyone is fine.”

I smiled, pleased that she felt well enough to make a joke. I’d never heard of people having visions before, not in real life. There was no end to the things I didn’t know, it seemed.

“Your visions, what are they like?” I asked her. “Are they like watching a scene from a movie, or do you just suddenly know stuff?”

She bit her bottom lip, thinking for a moment. “No, they’re more like a dream, even though I’m awake. It’s as if I’m there, a part of what’s happening, but I can’t do anything, only watch. Then there’s a pain, as if I’m being stabbed in the eyes, and then it’s over.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Yikes.”

She shrugged. “I only had that one, right after I woke up. It might have been a one-off, because of whatever the other-you did.”

“Maybe,” I said. Though I had a feeling that as long as her skin still shimmered like that, the visions would stick around.

“There’s something else,” she said. “Something I didn’t want to say in front of the others.”

The tone of her voice told me that it was nothing good. I braced myself.

“She can’t stay here,” Althea said. “The two of you can’t exist in the same space. Having her here causes a kind of… dual soul paradox, I suppose.”

I nodded. “When I touched her, I was thrown across the room. Hannah said it was like a feedback loop.”

Althea looked worried. “It will only get worse. The longer she stays here, the more it will affect the world around us. Magic will destabilize, reality will fracture.”

I wasn’t sure what that would involve, exactly, but it sure didn’t sound good.

“I’m all for getting rid of her,” I said. “As soon as I get my powers back, I’ll shove her through that portal back to her world as fast as I can.”

Althea looked as if she wanted to say something else, then stopped herself. I was curious about what it might be, and would have asked, but I had a feeling it was something I didn’t want to hear.

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was late by the time Tennyson and Nikolai got back. Everyone else had drifted in after dinner and then back out to bed. I didn’t want to talk to Tennyson through our bond, it might throw him off if he was in the middle of something. It was too risky. Still, I hated not knowing.

The later it got, the harder it became to concentrate on deciphering the pages of the book, or on homework, or anything. I gave up and paced around the common room instead. I was just about to throw caution to the wind and try to contact Tennyson despite the danger when I heard them approach. I slumped back into my seat in relief.

They looked exhausted when they came in, but otherwise fine. Nikolai didn’t even speak; he just waved goodnight from the doorway and headed to bed. Tennyson came in and sat beside me.

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