Sofia stopped breathing.The hand around hers felt almost human.Almost.It was warm, but the fingers were wrong.There were eight of them.Sofia stared into the darkness.She couldn’t see Ethan.She couldn’t see her sister.She couldn’t see anything.Only the hand holding hers.“Don’t turn around,” her own voice whispered again.Sofia swallowed.“Who are you?”The thing behind her tightened its grip.“You already know.”“No.”“You’ve known since the beginning.”Sofia slowly shook her head.“I don’t.”A soft laugh came from behind her.“You just don’t remember.”Suddenly the lights returned.Sofia spun around.Nothing was there.Her hand was empty.Ethan was standing several feet away.His face was pale.“Sofia?”She stared at him.“Did you touch me?”“No.”“You’re sure?”Ethan looked confused.“I was standing over there.”Sofia looked at the floor.There were no footprints.Nothing.Then she noticed something on her wrist.Four tiny marks.Like fingerprints.She quickly covered them

For several seconds, nobody moved.The entire chamber had gone completely dark.Sofia could hear Ethan breathing beside her.She could hear her mother’s frightened breathing too.But beneath all of it, there was another sound.A heartbeat.Slow.Steady.Not hers.Sofia looked down at her chest.The faint light beneath her skin had disappeared.“Who are you?” she whispered.The ninth voice answered immediately.“You.”Sofia’s eyes widened.“No.”“Yes.”“I already have eight voices.”“Those are memories.”“Then what are you?”There was a pause.“I am what remained.”Sofia felt a chill move through her.“What remained of what?”The voice didn’t answer.Instead, something moved in the darkness.Ethan grabbed Sofia’s arm.“Sofia, stay close.”“I am.”“Where’s your mother?”“I don’t know.”A woman’s voice suddenly came from across the chamber.“Sofia.”Her mother.“Mom?”“Don’t move.”Sofia stopped.“Why?”“Because I can see something behind you.”Sofia’s heart began racing.Ethan whispered

Sofia stared at Ethan’s wrist.The blackness had spread across his skin in seconds, crawling from his fingers toward his elbow like ink moving beneath the surface.“Ethan.”He looked down.“I know.”“No.”Sofia grabbed his arm.“We’re getting this off.”She rubbed his skin desperately.Nothing happened.The black mark didn’t move.Instead, it pulsed.Once.Twice.Then Ethan suddenly gasped.Sofia caught him before he fell.“Ethan!”His knees hit the floor.He pressed one hand against his chest.“I can hear it.”“What?”“The voice.”Sofia knelt beside him.“What is it saying?”Ethan looked at her.His eyes were terrified.“It says I’m not supposed to be here.”Sofia frowned.“What does that mean?”“I don’t know.”Then his expression changed.He looked past Sofia.At the woman.The woman stood silently in the room beyond the sealed door.Sofia turned.“You know her.”Ethan didn’t answer.“Ethan?”His breathing became uneven.“I’ve seen her before.”Sofia’s stomach dropped.“When?”“I do

For several seconds, Sofia could not tell if she was falling or dreaming.There was no wind.No sound.No feeling of gravity pulling at her body.There was only darkness.Then Ethan’s hand found hers.“Sofia!”She grabbed him immediately.Their fingers locked together, and the strange connection between them pulsed beneath their skin. The black mark on Ethan’s wrist glowed faintly, while the scar on Sofia’s chest burned in response.“I’ve got you,” Ethan said.“You better.”Despite everything happening around them, he almost smiled.Then they hit the ground.Sofia gasped as pain shot through her shoulder.Ethan landed beside her with a groan, rolling onto his back.For a moment, neither of them moved.Then Sofia opened her eyes.And forgot how to breathe.The city stretched endlessly before them.It wasn’t abandoned.It wasn’t destroyed.It was alive.Towering buildings rose from the darkness, their surfaces covered in silver lines that glowed like veins. Bridges connected enormous st

Sofia stared at the woman on the rooftop.Her mother.At least, that was what everyone kept calling her.For the first time, Sofia wasn’t sure she believed it.The woman stood perfectly still, watching the chaos below.She looked exactly the way Sofia remembered her.The same dark hair.The same eyes.The same expression that always made Sofia feel like there was something being hidden from her.But there was something different now.She looked older.Not by years.By centuries.“Sofia,” Ethan whispered.She turned toward him.His eyes were still black.The veins around his neck had darkened, and the strange mark on his wrist was spreading again.“Ethan?”He didn’t answer.She grabbed his face between her hands.“Look at me.”His eyes slowly focused.For a moment, they were normal.“Sofia…”“I’m here.”He swallowed.“Don’t let her touch you.”“Who?”“Your mother.”Sofia glanced back toward the rooftop.Her mother was gone.The next second, a voice came from behind them.“You always we