‘‘Well, of course it’s not a coincidence,’’ I said, thinking as quickly as I could. I allowed outrage to fill my voice. ‘‘She’s my sister! Do you think I’m going to stand around and let you guys do who knows what with her? This whole thing about poor May being a thief is ridiculous. Ridiculous! She’s as innocent as I am!’’

The second the words left my lips, hindsight pointed out that that claim wasn’t, perhaps, the most judicious to make at the moment.

‘‘Indeed,’’ Dr. Kostich said, speaking up for the first time since I’d marched into the room. He gave me an appraising glance that I had a horrible feeling saw much more than I would have liked. ‘‘I find that statement difficult to believe.’’

I lifted my chin in haughty scorn, allowing a slight sneer to enter my voice. Mages and elemental beings had a long history of disagreement, and I knew that Cyrene was no fonder of him than I was. ‘‘Do you question my word, mage?’’

‘‘It is not your word I question, naiad,’’ he answered smoothly. ‘‘It is, perhaps, your identity that I wonder at.’’

‘‘My identity?’’ I scoffed, throwing as much disbelief as I could into the word. ‘‘You don’t believe that I am a naiad?’’

‘‘You are very much like your sister,’’ Monish said slowly as both men eyed me. ‘‘Are you twins?’’

I couldn’t lie. Both men looked too savvy to not sense an outright untruth when spoken. Subterfuge was one thing—that was natural to a doppelganger. But I seldom spoke lies simply because I didn’t do it well. ‘‘Yes, we’re twins. But there are obvious differences between us!’’ Such as the fact that I was a doppelganger, while Cyrene was an elemental being.

‘‘In that case, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind proving you are who you say you are?’’ Dr. Kostich said with a slight smile.

‘‘Oh, for the love of the twelve gods . . . you question me? Me, the ninth sister of the house of Hydriades? I am a naiad, a daughter of Tethys, and you have the audacity to question me? I have never been so insulted!’’

‘‘It is not meant as an insult,’’ Kostich said, the belligerent look easing as I slammed my hands down on the table in front of him. ‘‘More as a way to verify—’’