LILITH
Lilith tried to sit up.
The body resisted.
He stopped and waited.
The dizziness passed after several seconds.
He looked at his hands.
They were smaller than his own.
His fingers were thinner.
His skin was younger.
"Status."
His voice was different.
Younger.
Quieter.
"Oh, good. You're already giving orders."
Lilith looked toward the ceiling.
"Gemini."
"What?"
"Status."
"I heard you the first time."
"Then answer."
"Bossy."
"Gemini."
"Fine."
A pause.
"You're in the body of Nathan Voss. Seventeen years old."
Lilith looked around the room.
"Family."
"Noble family. Wealthy. Old money. Very respectable."
A beat.
"Very irritating, from what I've seen so far."
Lilith ignored that.
"Your new identity is officially an Alpha."
Lilith waited.
Gemini continued.
"There's a catch."
"What?"
"Nathan has an Omega-coded appearance."
Lilith frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"People will assume you're an Omega based on how you look and behave unless you tell them otherwise."
A pause.
"And this society cares a lot about designations."
"Understood."
"Good."
Lilith pushed the blanket aside.
"Physical condition."
"Bad."
"Specific."
"Custom neural inhibitor. Tasteless. Administered through morning tea for approximately twenty-two days."
"Antidote?"
"The components are available in the kitchen downstairs."
"How long do I have?"
"Forty minutes before the household starts waking up."
Lilith looked toward the door.
"Why?"
"Because the person who poisoned you is your twin brother."
Lilith went still.
"Ethan."
"Yep."
A pause.
"Early riser, too."
Lilith stared at the ceiling.
"Of course he is."
"I know."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Lilith waited.
Gemini sighed.
"I just think it's rude."
Lilith ignored him.
"Your preliminary file is already complete."
"You've only been here for a few minutes."
"I've been working since the transfer started."
"You're becoming more annoying."
"I've always been annoying."
"You've gotten worse."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
Lilith pushed himself out of bed.
His legs almost gave out.
He caught the edge of the mattress.
"Thirty-eight minutes."
"I heard you."
"I know."
"Then stop reminding me."
"No."
Lilith looked around the bedroom.
The room was comfortable and expensive without being excessive.
There were books on a shelf.
A desk stood near the window.
A notebook was placed neatly on top.
Beside it was a smooth grey stone.
There was also a photograph.
Lilith picked it up.
It showed Nathan as a child.
Eight or nine years old.
He was standing alone in a garden.
There was no family in the photograph.
No parents.
No Ethan.
Just Nathan.
Lilith studied it.
Then he noticed something.
The photograph had been placed facing away from the room.
He turned it slightly.
Gemini was quiet for a second.
Then—
"You moved it."
Lilith looked at the photograph.
"It was facing the wall."
"I saw."
"And now it isn't."
"I saw that too."
Lilith placed the photograph down.
"Then there's no problem."
"You're dying in someone else's body, you've got forty minutes to make an antidote, and you're rearranging photographs."
"I noticed it."
"That's exactly what I'm talking about."
Lilith gave him no response.
His eyes moved to the desk.
There was a letter.
It had been folded carefully.
The paper showed signs of having been opened more than once.
"Don't."
Lilith picked it up.
"Boss."
He unfolded it.
Gemini went silent.
Lilith read quickly.
Eleven seconds.
When he finished, he didn't move.
He read it again.
This time, he took longer.
The letter explained Nathan's situation.
The poison.
The fear.
The suspicion that Ethan was responsible.
Nathan had known he was dying.
He had known that nobody in the family would help him.
And he had one request.
Someone had to finish what he could not.
Lilith folded the letter.
"Thirty-four minutes."
Gemini's voice was quieter now.
"The kitchen."
"Ground floor. East wing."
"Mira?"
"Kitchen staff. Beta. She's worked here for eleven years."
"Does she know?"
"She knows Nathan was sick."
A pause.
"She doesn't know about the poison."
Lilith put the letter back on the desk.
He placed it exactly where he had found it.
Then he looked at the photograph.
"How was Nathan treated?"
Gemini didn't answer immediately.
"Poorly."
Lilith said nothing.
For once, Gemini didn't add anything.
He didn't need to.
"You need the antidote," he said eventually.
"I know."
"Then move."
Lilith picked up the notebook.
He opened it.
The first page was blank.
He ran his fingers over the paper.
Then he closed it.
"We'll come back to this."
"Thirty-three minutes."
Lilith walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
He looked back at the room.
The photograph was now facing the room.
The letter was back on the desk.
The notebook was in his hand.
He left.