Giuseppa bolted upright and exclaimed as she brushed her curls back from her heated face, “Speaking of Kellan—what’d you do to him? He looked like he could commit murder or something.”

“Why do you think it was me?”

“It usually is. He doesn’t get that pissed with me.” She shuddered. “And hell no. I am not going running for you. That’s your sick obsession that I don’t understand. It’s not like we have to work for these bodies.”

My heart froze. Everything froze. I froze.

I hated hearing those words.

“I’m sorry. I forgot that you hate talking about how we’re different. Whatever. I’m out.” Giuseppa stood up and strode to the door. Just as she reached it, she swiftly turned, her blonde curls swung so that a strand hung just off her lips, and she rested her hands on her slim hips. Her black bikini showed off her perfect body…the body that she claimed we didn’t have to work for.

I lifted deadened eyes to her face. I knew what was coming.

“You need to deal with it, Shay. We’re different. Our entire family is different. We’re not human. We don’t have to play by their rules. I think it’s seriously weird that Kellan indulges you by going on these ‘runs.’ I don’t get it. I don’t get why he indulges you at all. You’re so…out of all of us, you are the most powerful and the weirdest one. You never even use—”

“That’s enough.” Kellan materialized from behind Giuseppa. He wrapped an arm around her mid-section and lifted her into the hallway. I could hear her rant, “Stop, Kellan. Stop—”

“Gus, stop. Hush.” I closed my eyes, but I still knew what was going on just outside my door. Kellan had placed his hand over Giuseppa’s mouth. He was making soothing sounds, but none of it worked. It enraged more than sedated her.

“No!” She ripped his hand away. “I’m freaking tired of it. Where was she today? That’s right, you don’t know. None of us know where she goes. You should know, you’re more powerful than the rest of us except for Shay, who doesn’t even use her powers. But no…”

There was silence. I felt my heart skip another beat. And then I heard a more muted Giuseppa, like she’d lost her fight. “I think I’m drunk. I think I’ll go to bed.”

“That’s a good girl.” I heard Vespar murmur from down the hallway.

Kellan stood in my doorway and watched until another door clicked shut.

I didn’t say a thing. I didn’t need to. We both knew Gus would be sleeping it off in Vespar’s room the rest of the night. If I weren’t related to them, I’d assume they were incestuous. They had a weird best friend/sibling relationship. Vespar was often the only one who could quiet Gus.

“I think he uses his mind tricks on her,” Kellan offered his two cents. He flashed a sardonic smile and sauntered inside to sit where Gus had recently been lying. I hadn’t moved.

I finished pulling out my homework.

“She’s right, you know.”

“Can we not?” I groaned, but I knew what was coming.

“We’re not human, Shay. Stop pretending we are.”

“Kellan, don’t…” I said.

“I’m not saying that we have to have a conversation about it. I’m just saying, you gotta own up to who you are someday. And that day’s coming soon, Shay.”

“Kellan, stop.” I reared back. I was ready for a fight. Suddenly, I wanted that fight. I could feel the energy in my body. It tingled right down to my fingertips. I wondered what I’d see if I looked at my hands, if I’d actually see the power there.

Kellan fell silent. He was the one to rear back this time. He stood to his fullest height, his eyes thoughtful, and then he sniffed the air. An evil smile lit his face, his golden features, and his shoulders straightened. He was ready for a fight, one that he lived for.

A part of me died inside because that fight was with me.

“Are you ready?” He moved forward, just an inch. “I can feel it in the air. I can feel you, Shay. You’re everywhere. Everyone in the house knows it. You’re enraged. They can feel it, and they cower.”

I narrowed my eyes and slammed the door shut behind him.

Kellan didn’t even jump. I felt his adrenaline kick up another notch.

“This is what you want? This is what you live for? You want to fight me?” I whispered.

“No, Shay. I don’t want to fight you. I want to make you alive. I want to see what you can do.”

“Why? Why is it you?” It was always Kellan, since I was a little kid. It was never Vespar. Never my sister. Not even my mother or our father. It didn’t feel right. When we grew up, it was only Kellan.”

“What do you mean, Shay? Who takes care of you? Who makes sure you eat? Who makes sure you get a ride home from school? Is that what you mean? Why is it always me who pushes you? That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m pushing you. Let go. Feel your powers. Show me what you can do.”

“Show me what you can do.”

Those words weren’t right. They didn’t sound right. I shook my head, and the fight left me. I didn’t understand it, but something rebelled against Kellan. It was like he wanted me to do something and I couldn’t, not on command.

They were correct, though. I knew we weren’t human. It was why I knew I could’ve easily removed Matt Rettley’s hands from holding me against the locker, why I could’ve stopped him. It was why I had felt Kellan’s approach before I saw him. It was why… It was possibly why I painted masterpieces. But it didn’t matter, not in that moment, because in that moment I was a student.