I sat and looked at it—her—as the steam dissolved away.
She looked exactly like me. Same face, same height, same scar just below the jawline from when I took a header off a bike at eight. But her eyes weren't silver. They were white. Glowing. Cold.
"Who—" My voice cracked. "What are you?"
She smiled—my smile, but sharper. Wrong.
"I'm your shadow," she said. "The one they made when you wouldn't cooperate."
Rowan positioned himself in front of me, his hand on his gun. "Take another step and I shoot."
She didn't flinch. "Go ahead. I don't bleed like you do."
I shook my head. "This isn't possible. Clones degrade. "No one has ever stabilized a complete genetic match."
"It's not just about the genetic match you're making," she said, locking eyes with me. "You're a blueprint. A prophecy locked in cells. Blackwood cracked it. I'm the perfected version."
Then why are you in a pod?" Rowan snarled.
She smiled wider. "Because I killed the last three that came for me. Guess I was a little too perfect.
I reached for Rowan's arm. "Let's go. Now."
"You should listen to her," the duplicate added. "The council knows she triggered the Vault. They've already sent their Sentinels."
Rowan's eyes narrowed. "How would you know that?"
"Because," she said, moving closer, "I told them."
The Vault lights flickered.
Alarms blared.
Behind us, the corridor glowed red strobes.
Beheld: A mechanical voice rang through the ceiling:
"UNAUTHORIZED BREACH. COUNCIL ENFORCERS DEPLOYED. EXTERNAL EXIT SEALED."
"She triggered it," I whispered. "She lured us in."
"Exactly," she said, pleased. "And now they'll get you instead."
She lunged.
Rowan fired.
The bullet hit her shoulder — she wobbled, but did not fall.
Didn't even bleed.
Just smiled again.
"I told you. I don't die like you do."
Rowan grabbed my wrist. "We're moving."
He threw me down past the main vault doors as she lunged for the wall controls, slamming the exit override with the heel of her palm.
The hallway collapsed behind us.
A piece of ceiling winged Rowan's shoulder — he hissed, but did not lower his pace.
"Where does this tunnel lead?" I gasped.
"Emergency conduit. It is linked to the woods beyond. We have minutes."
We ran down the curving tunnel as stone creaked over us.
Ahead, dim moonlight made starlight through a ragged grate.
Almost there.
Almost—
"Stop right there!" a voice boomed.
Four Council enforcers sprang from the ceiling vents ahead, guns leveled. Their armor was emblazoned with the crest of the Council—a silver fang atop a black flame.
"Maris Hayes," one said coldly. "In the name of the Council of Elders, you are under arrest."
I stepped forward, hands raised. "For what?! "
"Treason. Theft of sacred relics. Tampering with the Vault. Brand falsification."
I laughed once, breathless. "You mean existing?"
Their leader didn't blink. "You are to be taken alive. Your Alpha may die or yield."
Rowan didn't move.
"Put down you weapon, Alpha Blackwood," the enforcer said. "[Unless] you want to issue an estate-wide order?"
"Funny," Rowan said coldly. "I don't recall authorizing open season on sacred-blood Luna candidates."
The enforcers didn't flinch.
Then Rowan turned his head toward me and whispered, "The second I shoot, change and go."
I shook my head. "You'll get killed."
His voice softened. "Better me than you."
I stepped in front of him. "No. I'm done being protected."
The air vibrated.
My mark flared.
And somewhere behind the enforcers, something rustled in the darkness.
A wolf.
But not just any wolf.
Elian.
His body was thinner. Wounded. His left eye was swollen shut from having been bloodied. But his mark was glowing—stabilized.
He surged forwards, hit the leading enforcer.
Chaos exploded.
Rowan fired twice—another guard dropped.
I took the third from the rear, turning part-way in mid-air—I shredded it's reinforced panzerplating. The fourth pointed his rifle and swung it at Rowan, but Elian leveled him with a growl.
All four were on the ground—motionless—within seconds.
I turned to Elian, gasping.
"Elian, how—"
"No time," he panted. "There's more coming. That thing in the Vault — she's coming for you.
Rowan cursed. "We need to split. Head north. Deep ridge. Tunnels are beyond the reach of council surveillance."
Elian turned to me, his eyes no longer as clouded.
"She said… she was created to become as you.
I nodded. "She still might try."
He grabbed my shoulders. "Then we don't let her."
"Wait — what happened, how did you make it through the branding? The backlash?"
He hesitated. "Someone helped me. A mole inside the program. I never saw their face."
Rowan's comm crackled.
Another alert.
"Surveillance breach. Drone emergency swarm to targeted Lune Vale perimeter."
I stared at Rowan. "We can't outrun drones."
"No," he said. "But we can erase them."
He pulled open a concealed hatch in the tunnel wall and exposed the dust covered, obsolete console.
"What is that?"
"Old-world defense grid. Used to protect the Vault. Nobody remembers it exists."
He typed quickly, eyes darting across the screen.
Outside, we heard the drone wings hum — metallic, deep, coming quickly.
Rowan hit send and the override button hard.
The ground trembled.
Towering, as from a bole of the eminence on which it stood, huge spires sprang up into the air.
Red laser pulses flickered in the sky.
Drones began falling like fireflies.
I turned to Rowan. "Must remember not to underestimate you.
He gave me a grim smile. "Just sign the contract next time.
I laughed. It hurt.
And the ridge behind us erupted.
The outer ring of the Vault exploded in flames, roaring toward the sky in a column of light.
And stepping directly from the smoke—
My replica.
Untouched.
Unburned.
Eyes locked on mine.
"That chain of yours," she sang, her voice reverberating. "It's cute. Let's see how for how long… when your Alpha is dead first.