I should have known something was off, something was weird when Adam hadn’t waited for me outside the changing room like he usually did.
Instead, I’d found him in the cafeteria, sitting at our regular table. I hadn’t thought much of it, had just rushed to sit with him. Now that I had, I realized something.
His aura.
I couldn’t see it.
Rubbing at my brow as I wondered why on earth that was, and how I could recognize him even without the aura clueing me in, I muttered, “Cain, how unpleasant it is to see you.”
“You really can tell the difference between us, can’t you?” he replied, his head tilting to the side as he studied me like I was some kind of butterfly he had pinned down on a slide. Like he was trying to see what species I was and determine what was wrong with me.
“Yes. I can.”
“How is that? Even our parents can’t tell the difference between us.”
No pair of twins was so identical their own parents couldn’t tell the difference between them… “Something I’m sure you’ve allowed to happen.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” I said slowly, “that they won’t be able to differentiate between the pair of you if you constantly change identities.”
“What? You think this is some kind of Parent Trap?” he scoffed.
“I’d never put you down as a fan of Lindsey Lohan. Especially not when she was a little girl,” I retorted.
His mouth twisted. “He’s turned you against me.”
“Has he?” I arched a brow as I reached for my apple. Taking a bite of it, I murmured, “As far as I’m aware, he’s done nothing of the kind.”
“Then why don’t you like me?” This came with a disturbing pout of displeasure.
“Do I have to? I barely know you.”
He shook his head. “Everyone likes me.”
“I highly doubt that.” I chewed on my apple. “What are you doing here?”
“Adam’s routine has changed this past week or so. And over the last eight days, he’s been acting oddly. I was curious.”
“You followed him here?” He shrugged, and I frowned. “Is that normal behavior between siblings?”
“I care about him.”
A likely story.
I hummed under my breath. “If you say so. And are you concerned about his welfare now that you know he trains here every morning?”
“I’m not concerned, but I’m sure Mother would be. She has such high hopes for us,” was his retort, and it was so slick and sly, uttered so coyly that I wanted to slap him.
“Well, he’s doing exactly as she’d want, I’m sure—”
“There’s more than one way to make a mother proud. You’re hardly the kind of girl she’d like us to be associating with.”
“Really? What’s wrong with me? Just too poor for your family’s tastes?”
“Mom came from poverty. If there’s anyone who should understand that we’re more than the sum of our past, it’s her,” Adam rasped, breaking into the conversation with a glower. His hands were trayless, and instead, they were balled into fists at his sides. I understood. His anger was intense where his brother was concerned.
I could never hope to know what had gone on between the brothers, but equally, I didn’t need to. I trusted Adam. And before my ability to read auras had gone on the fritz, I’d seen Cain for what he was.
Squinting at Adam, I tried to discern his aura, and felt stupid for failing to have realized the lack of one around him. My only excuse was the second I’d arrived at the center, I’d felt close to fainting. Just getting here had been a lesson in torture, and climbing out of bed had felt like ascending Everest.
When he’d arrived, I’d been more concerned about seeing him than his aura. Especially when, until Cain, I hadn’t really taken much notice of it. The ability didn’t exactly help me with my desire to fit in, did it?
The fact I couldn’t see, but could only sense his anger, was proof enough that I’d done something when I’d healed Louisa. Or, I guessed, attempted to heal Louisa.
I pushed that thought aside as I turned my focus back to the twins. Adam’s shoulders were bunched, and I could feel his outrage as he snarled, “What the hell are you even doing here?”
“As I was explaining to Theodosia, you’ve been weird this past week. I was concerned.”
“You’re never concerned about me,” Adam scoffed, his mouth twisting into a snarl. “Why the hell did you follow me?”