“No—stop!” Riley says as they reach the van. “You don’t understand! I have to tell her—”

“Riles, come on,” says a female voice, her camouflaged form pushing him inside the vehicle.

“Wait!” I cry, infusing as much intent as I can manage into the word. The light that flashes is nearly blinding, but still, nothing happens. Nobody waits—they’re slamming the door shut, the tires already spinning to get away. “No!”

I start sprinting after the van, knowing it’s useless. Without my Speaking ability, there’s nothing I can do to stop them from getting away.

A tinted window slides open, and Riley’s head appears.

“Lyss—you have to remember!” he screams at me.

“Remember what?” I yell back.

His face is anguished, and what he says next has me stumbling to a halt in the middle of the street as the van disappears around the corner.

“I’m Riley Scott! I’m your brother!”

Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I’m your brother.

I’m your brother.

I’m

your

brother.

I’

M

Y

O

U

R

B

R

O

T

H

E

R

The words echo around my mind, over and over again as I lead Cami and Arryn through the zoo and finally into the underground tunnel system that connects to the catacombs.

The two of them are hauling Ward along, as if they know I’m unable to carry any extra weight right now. Not with Riley’s bombshell still screaming in my ears.

It doesn’t make sense. I don’t have a brother. I can’t for the life of me figure out why he would have claimed otherwise.

Lyss—you have to remember!

How am I supposed to remember something that isn’t real?

And … why does he think it is?

“Where the hell have you been?”

Kael’s furious voice yanks me from my thoughts as he charges up the flame-lit tunnel toward us. I see the realization on his face as he looks past me and discovers the answer to his question, then staggers to a disbelieving halt.

“Tell me you didn’t,” he seethes.

We’re just about to reach the three-pronged fork in the path, but instead of continuing down one of the passageways, we stop in front of Kael.

“What’s done is done,” Arryn tells him firmly, echoing what I said to Cami earlier. “You can be as pissed as you want, but you can’t deny the results.”

She indicates Ward, but if anything, Kael only seems more furious. “Do you have any idea what you risked?”

His enraged words set my teeth on edge, especially when his dark eyes settle pointedly on me. I’m not in the mood for any kind of alpha-male protective nonsense right now. Not after the day I’ve had.