The mystique

softer than it really was. A cool breeze slipped between the taller buildings, brushing past my collar and tugging at the end

slow rivulets. I wasn't drunk, but I liked the heat it left in my chest. A good kind of

heard h

ather called f

lready knowing who it was, but still-there was that strang

n

The same posture, the same attitude. She looked like me, of course-we shared the same blood, the same carved-from-marble kind o

glass down on the iron tabl

er. She hugged back without hesitation, her grip warm, tigh

one that used to get us out of trouble. The one that made people lo

h, Nevvy?" she teased, ey

this place is intoler

u missed me, you idiot?" she laughe

for half a year. Maybe I ju

e. "Did you grow taller? No way

The world's a little heavier when you'r

smiling. "Still a moron. I did miss you, tho

tell you all the nonsense you missed, but I'd rathe

n eyebrow. "

bed the bottle of tequila, and p

ly. Her eyes drifted out to the skyline. "Weird, isn't it? The old ma

he way the sun glinted off the towers downtown. "I've laid the groundwork. Thi

e nineteen, Neven. You're still here, drinking the same tequila,

, unbothered by the jab. "Every

it. I've been making my own exits. Slowly. Quietly. This h

ght my a

ace her. "You

this time. "Yeah. Like something's coming. S

city lights began to twinkle on one by one, like the sta

. "What do you think

again. Maybe we have a half-brother in Prague we've never met. Honestly? I wouldn't b

e most honest thi

on it. Whatever it is, it won't be as groundbreaking

ng both our glasses. "Anyway-y

sexy teal dress, the one that makes rich men regret their marriage

" I said, smiling int

nk in a mock toast

against hers.

we d

laughed after, and just for a moment, it was like we were back on the coast again

idn't la

us, in one of the cold, dark chambers of this mansion, our fa