Page 30 of Ashes
Luther’s jaw twitches impatiently. “Nova, she didn’t recognize Nico because he isnotSam.”
A laugh bubbles up in my chest. “Of course, he’s Sam. He has the burns, and the birthmark. And Iknowit’s him… nothing Sarah said proves that Nico isn’t Sam.”
“Except that Sam went missing when he was sixteen and she hasn’t heard from him since.” Luther inhales slowly, like he’s trying to bite down a clot of frustration. “Nova, she told me explicitly that Nico isnotyour brother.”
“That wasn’t on the tape.” I square up to him. He’s hated Nico from the moment he saw him; they all have. But IknowNico’s my brother. I feel it. There’s a connection between us, something completely different from what I feel for Tanner, or Kole, or Mack.
As rage builds in my gut, smoke plumes on my skin. It swirls into the room. Luther moves closer. He’s head and shoulders taller than me. Fire flashes in his eyes. The heat coming off him meets the heat coming off me and the air between us starts to shimmer.
“Guys, calm down.” Tanner gently takes hold of my arms, inching me backwards.
Kole crosses the room and smooths his hands over my arms, flinching at the heat that scalds his palms. “It’s okay, little star, we’ll figure it out,” he whispers, close to my neck.
“Wereallydon’t have time for this.” Luther swipes his phone open again. He jerks it at me, and I take it. “Sarah had these with her. Pictures of you and Sam, and your parents. It’s undeniable that he and Nico share a resemblance. But they’re not the same person, Nova… just look.”
Reluctantly, I scroll through the images. When I reach one of me, my parents, and Sam, my legs give way and I drop to the floor.
“It’s been years since I saw a picture of them,” I whisper as Tanner sinks down next to me. My eyes fill quickly with tears. Hot and salty, they stream down my cheeks. “Johnny destroyed the only photo I had.” I run my thumb over the screen. “Isn’t she beautiful?” I ask, staring at my mother.
“She is.” Tanner leans closer. Gently, he pinches the image and zooms in on Sam. “There…” he points to his wrist. “The birthmark.” He looks up at Luther. “Nico has the same one, Luther. I don’t like the guy, but maybe—”
“Which wrist?” Luther’s question is sharp and pointed and hangs in the air. Kole and Mack move closer too and peer over my shoulder at the phone.
I swallow hard and close my eyes. “Sam’s birthmark is on his left wrist,” I whisper.
“And Nico’s?” Luther asks, crouching down and fixing his eyes on mine. The fire is gone now. He’s softened. So have I. “Which wrist is Nico’s birthmark on, Nova?”
I look from Luther to Tanner and wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Nico’s birthmark is on his right.” I pass the phone back to Luther. “It’s on his right.”
* * *
Betrayal turns quickly to fury. I scream and hurl a swirling ball of fire across the kitchen. Tanner dampens it before it catches anything alight.
“They faked the burns? The birthmark?” I can barely breathe. I’m pacing back and forth. My chest is tight. My lungs constricting. I shake my arms. Flames lap at my veins, desperate to be free.
“Nova, remember what we practiced.” Mack side steps in front of me but I push him aside and hurtle out of the door. I need cold air on my face. I need to breathe.
When I reach the fountain, I grip the rim of the basin. Steam rises from the water inside it.
“Breathe.” Luther puts his hands on my shoulders. Standing behind me, he says, “Breathe through the fire. Imagine a cold wind sweeping through your body, putting out the flames.” He counts to four, inhaling slowly. I copy the movement of his chest against my back.
As the flames subside, so does the tension I’ve been holding in my shoulders. Deflated, I turn around and lean back against the edge of the fountain. The water is no longer steaming hot. A cool spray dances on my neck.
“All right?” Luther asks firmly.
I nod, suddenly self-conscious beneath his gaze.
Mack, Kole, and Tanner are watching us from the kitchen. When I look over at them, they trot down the steps and gather around me.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “I’m just so…humiliated.” I shake my head, a bitter laugh shaking my chest. “I can’t believe how easily he fooled me. I fell for it. The whole thing.” I pause then, a little more quietly, add, “I really believed he was my brother. I really believed he was Sam.”
“Nova, they played you. They knew what they were doing,” Kole says. He was on that stage with me; he alone knows what it was like up there. “They timed it exactly right. You were primed, your emotions running close to the surface. They wanted a reaction from you, and they used Nico to get it.”
I slot my hand into Tanner’s and squeeze. He sits down next to me and puts his arm around my waist, diverting the water with a flick of his hand so its spray doesn’t dampen my clothes.
“I brought him right back here to live in our midst.” My mouth is suddenly dry. “And now he’s at the hospital, accessing my files…” I look at Tanner. “Can we stop him? Can you call them?”
He scrapes his fingers through his hair. “I can try—”