I felt it before I saw it.

The shift in the air. The sudden silence in the corridors. The uneasy glance of the guards.

Something was wrong.

Luca was out handling a shipment at the docks, but I knew—I knew—something was coming for me.

I was in the library when he walked in.

The man I thought was dead.

“Hello, princess.”

My heart stopped.

My brother.

My real brother.

“Elio,” I breathed.

He looked exactly the same—rugged, hardened by the streets, eyes sharp with the cruelty of survival.

“How?” I whispered.

“I never died. Luca just made sure you thought I did.”

My legs nearly gave out. I clutched the...