When we entered the building, we didn't exactly *enter* it. Liam and I passed through the door, but it didn't take us inside—it was as if we stepped *out* of somewhere instead.
"This isn't where we came?" I spun back in panic, only to slam against a bricked wall.
The truth sank in—this was Oblivion again, twisting paths, never leading where it promised.
I turned, trying to take it in, when a sudden stabbing pain tore through my chest. I doubled over, clutching myself.
"Are you okay?" Liam caught my arm.
"I don't know… it feels like something was ripped out of me. I don't even know what." The pain vanished, but a hollow emptiness remained.
We scanned the world around us. A city—yet not a city. A whole continent shaped like a fortress. Above us, a pale, sunless sky. Around us, walls of dark gray brick. Everywhere, armed men.
"If we're caught, who knows what they'll do!" Liam pulled at my sleeve.
"Yes. We need to get out."
Ahead stretched a wall, waist-high. I leaned over—sea churned restlessly below, waves striking against unmoving air. To the right, an open gate yawned, leading onto a vast bridge that spanned out into the distance.
"What is this place?" I muttered as we edged closer.
But before we could cross, a soldier spotted us. He snatched his walkie-talkie, barking into it, "She's here! At the city gate, sir!"
Our instincts screamed—we bolted onto the bridge, the thunder of boots and shouts crashing after us.
"He's too fast!" I shouted. "Liam, left!"
We switched places mid-run. I scrambled up the bridge wall, stretched one hand into the rushing water, the other mimicking the flick of a frisbee. A surge answered—an arc of liquid twisting forward, hardening into a slick slide beneath our pursuers' feet. They tumbled, crashing backward in a spray, while the others froze behind them.
"Get Mei!" someone roared.
The name hit me like a blade, forcing my eyes wide. We couldn't stop. Ahead loomed the city wall, dark gray and towering, its archway yawning open.
We darted through. Smoke swallowed us whole, thick and acrid, reeking of burning charcoal. Military camps stretched in rows, shadows of soldiers moving inside. We crouched low, weaving between canvas and embers—until the static cut through.
"Sir, Zinnia Paragon entered the city. She has a man with her—white hair."
Another voice answered, low, commanding, too familiar. "Close the gates. If she's inside, she's not leaving."
I froze. That voice gnawed at memory.
"Why are they after you?" Liam whispered.
"This has to be Monroe's territory," I whispered, the only answer that made sense.
Then came the order: "Ryan! Find her. Bring her to me—alive!"
Ryan's name hollowed my chest. The ground fell away beneath me.
"They betrayed us?" The words escaped like a gasp.
"Is that… Sheriff Isaac?" Liam stared, stunned.
"Only one way to know." I opened my palms.
"Zinnia, no!" Liam warned, but I was already stepping out, icicles forming in my clenched fists.
A figure waited in the glow of firelight. A wheelchair creaked.
"What are you planning?" I demanded through my teeth.
"To strip away your mask," he sneered, rolling forward. "To reveal your ugly face to yourself."
The light caught his face. Sheriff.
My breath hitched. "How could you betray my aunt?" My voice hardened, disbelief burning through me. "We trusted you."
His eyes glistened with venom. "And I could ask the same of you."
My hands faltered. "What do you mean?"
Before he could answer, something struck the back of my skull with brutal force. Darkness swallowed me whole.
When I came back to my senses, Liam and I were in a cell. I lay on a narrow bed while he sat stiffly on a bench carved from the wall.
"Easy," he rushed over as I groaned, pain throbbing in my skull.
"What happened?" My eyes darted around.
"You didn't listen to me—that's what happened." His brow lifted with sharp irritation.
I staggered to the bars. The corridor stretched in both directions, stone walls damp and cold, open to the sky but only the corridor. Flames flickered from torches; no electric light anywhere. It felt like an old dungeon pulled from another age. Few prisoners, many cells.
"You finally decided to wake up," a voice drifted from the shadows. I leaned forward, straining to see. A figure moved closer, stepping into the light.
Maddie.
"Maddie, you're safe!" Relief escaped me—but her glare cut it down.
"Safe? Don't pretend nothing happened! Better to feed a snake than train you to fight. If I'd known you'd betray us, I would have killed you then and there!" She clutched the bars, rage shaking her voice.
"What are you talking about?" My confusion tightened into fear. She gave no answer.
"Why are you locked up?" I pressed.
"I'm not doing this with you." She turned her back, shoulders stiff.
"They've done something to her," Liam whispered near my ear.
Maddie twisted halfway, eyes narrowing. "Who's in there with you?" She craned her neck to see, but the shadows kept Liam hidden.
He stepped forward, and Maddie's gasp sliced the silence. "Ah, I see. That's why you're playing nice—because your brother's back, and you don't want him to know." She let out a hollow laugh before vanishing into the shadows of her cell.
"What are you talking about?" I called, but silence swallowed my words.
"Maddie?" Still nothing—until her voice drifted faintly, cold and bitter.
"Tell me… was it worth it?"
Hours dragged by. I waited, restless, for Sheriff Isaac to demand answers, to understand why everyone was against me.
At last, the door creaked open. Wheels squealed against the stone. I rose as he appeared.
"You have questions, I presume?" He settled back, calm yet watchful.
"What have you done to Maddie?" My voice shook with fury.
"Me?" His cackle echoed through the dungeon. Then his laughter died, his face hardening into fury. "You dare ask *me* that?" His eyes bore into mine, and suddenly my chest constricted. Breath caught in my throat, veins burned across my skin, my vision reddened as if the life was being pulled from me.
"Stop!" Liam roared, yanking off his glove.
"You cannot use your powers here, Liam. And my fight is not with you." Isaac's lips curved into a cruel smile.
"Then why keep him locked up?" I rasped, finally breaking free from his grip of power.
"Because he will try to save you. Because he is your brother. And he loves you… as we all once did." His voice cooled, heavy with venom. He turned his chair and rolled back toward the door, leaving those words to hang like chains around us.
"If you loved me, then why did you betray me?" I shouted.
"Ahan!" He lifted a finger. "Betrayal is the right word—but your sentence is wrong. You should be saying: *Mr. Smith, if I loved you all, then why did I betray you?*"
"Me? What did I do?" My voice cracked, but he gave no answer, only turned and left.
"What the hell did I do?" I roared, slamming my fists against the bars.
Time dragged. Night fell. Moonlight bled through the cracks, silvering the prison stone. Helplessness sank its claws into us—until a sound stirred. Soft. Subtle. Someone is slipping through the door.
I sat frozen on the bed as Liam leaned closer to the bars. Footsteps echoed faintly, drawing nearer—then a figure emerged from the shadows.
My breath caught. My eyes widened. Liam's too.
It was me.
"Zinnia?" Liam whispered, confusion tearing at his voice. The other me pressed a finger to her lips, urging silence.
"You're alive?" Tears shone in her eyes as she cupped Liam's face. He recoiled, but she smiled faintly through her trembling voice. "Of course you are alive. But… do you hate me too? I did everything just to bring you back." Her sigh faded, and then her gaze locked on mine.
She turned back to Liam, voice low. "Step back."
He obeyed. She raised her hands, palms open. Frost spread across the bars, creeping fast until the metal froze solid. With a long breath, chin lifted, she released the hold. The ice shattered, melting away, leaving the way ajar.
We were free.
We slipped out, the corridor lined with guards frozen solid. Their lifeless eyes glistened with frost. I knew the other Zinnia was behind it—but why? Was she a doppelgänger? Someone wearing my face? If she meant to ruin my name, why help me escape?
Was she possessed? Twisted by our enemies? My stare clung to her until she whispered, "I'll answer all your questions," and led us away into the night.
We reached the hills, crouched low in their shadows. "What have you done?" I demanded.
Her eyes lowered. "Do you think I'm proud of it? One wrong choice breeds another, and another, until you're trapped in them forever. If I found joy in my decisions, I'd never let you walk free now." Shame weighed in her gaze.
"Tell me how I can fix this." I took her hand. The touch was eerie—like holding my own.
"You want change?" she murmured. "Then let me show you a glimpse of what waits ahead. Maybe this time you'll choose differently." She tightened her grip, and Liam and I followed.
She brought us deep into the jungle. In her hand shimmered a small flask. "This holds drops from the River Nile. Lie down on that bench." She pointed to a long, smoothed stump.
I obeyed. Tilting the flask, she let a drop fall into each of my eyes. Darkness swelled as my lids closed—
Then, the sound of footsteps pounded toward us. I snapped my eyes open. She whirled, face tense.
"You need to get out of here now!" Her voice was sharp, urgent. She gripped our shoulders, spinning us left. "There's a cave entrance deeper in the jungle. Go straight—you'll find it. Once inside, you'll know what to do."
With a shove, she pushed us forward. "Go!"