Chapter 1 HORRIBLE FEELING

ALLIE

“Holy shit!”

The words leave my mouth as I gawk at the magnificent building in front of me. I'm pretty sure that if I weren't dressed normally, well, apart from the oversized hoodie that looks like I was thrown into it, passersby would probably think I was crazy.

Am I really at the right address?

I try to process it in my head as I swallow hard, even though Welcome to Blackthorne College is boldly staring back at me from the banner hanging over the gate, it still feels impossible to believe because this sky-scraping building doesn't look like a college.

It looks like an empire. An expensive, intimidating empire that probably costs more money than I've seen in my entire life.

My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag. Ellie spent two years begging me to visit this place. Funny. It took her disappearing for me to finally come.

My heart squeezes as the thought sits heavily in my chest.

One phone call. That was all it took. One phone call from a girl named Cassidy telling me my twin sister had been missing for two days.

Three days.

And somehow Blackthorne still wasn't blasting her face across every news station in the country. That alone told me something was terribly wrong.

Which was exactly why I was here. To find out what the hell happened to Ellie Harper.

I quickly dig a hand into my sweatpants pocket and pull out my phone. I don't mind the broken screen. I scroll through my contacts for Cassidy's number, ignoring the dying lines blinking across half the display. As long as I know where everything is, I'm good.

“Gotcha.”

I find her number and hit the dial button, but she doesn't pick up, instead, I hear someone shout from behind me.

“El! Right here!”

My head snaps toward the gate. Not because that's my name.

Because the voice is familiar.

Standing a few meters away is Cassidy, my twin sister's roommate and apparently the only girl who knows I'm not actually Ellie. She's grinning so wide that I already know I won't survive the hug she's charging toward me with.

And I'm right. “You're here!”

Whoop! She sweeps me into her arms and squeezes me tight.

After nearly a minute of suffocation, she finally lets me go and plants a kiss on my cheek.

Right then, I know Cassidy is exactly the kind of girl who's going to frustrate my life before I solve my twin sister's disappearance.

“Thanks, Cassidy,” I manage once she's finally standing in front of me.

She grins. “No problem.” She grabs my travel bag from my hand. “Come on before we miss check-in.”

I don't even get the chance to ask what that means before she starts explaining. “Here at Blackthorne, every student has to check in before moving into the dorms. Weird, right?”

She glances at me and frowns. “Are you even listening to me?”

I force a smile, but all I'm thinking about is getting inside and figuring out where to start. If Ellie hadn't mentioned Cassidy so many times in her letters, she'd probably be the last person I'd trust right now.

And while I'm not exactly the best judge of character, I don't want to think badly of her yet.

We reach the gate where we're stopped to show our IDs. I hand mine over.

“Ellie Harper?” the guard asks.

A sting immediately burns behind my eyes as I nod. Ellie and I look a hundred percent identical, and not in my wildest dreams did I ever think there'd come a day when I'd pretend to be her. Or live as her.

Blackthorne had always been her dream. I never really understood the appeal, but Grandma and I supported her anyway. And now what? One damn call later, I'm left wondering what the hell happened to my sister.

The craziest part is that nobody in the entire school seems to even notice. What the hell was she? A ghost that never existed?

Nobody is talking about it. Nobody is even searching for her. It's almost like she vanished and everyone just... moved on. That's why I can't even back down now. No matter how much it hurts.

We finally reach the check-in counter where a middle-aged woman is sitting. Cassidy immediately steps forward. “Hey, Linda. My room mate and I want to check in.”

Linda studies us, and for a terrifying second, her gaze lingers on me a little too long.

Fuck.

She can't know. Not this soon.

“New look, Ellie,” she finally comments, looking me over.

I have absolutely no idea what to say about that, so I don't, I just keep quiet. Thankfully, Cassidy stays quiet too. Linda doesn't seem interested in pressing the matter. Instead, she takes our bags and starts searching through them.

“She wants to make sure you're not carrying a weapon,” Cassidy whispers in my right ear and my eyes instantly snap to hers.

She bursts out laughing. “Relax, girl. Just kidding.”

Once Linda is done, she returns our bags and hands us our room key. That should have been the end of it. Except someone deliberately bumps into me before I can grab it.

“Oh God,” I mutter.

I look up to find a tall, skinny girl wearing enough makeup to repaint an entire room.

“Are you serious right now, Mira?” Cassidy snaps.

I don't say anything. I simply pick up the key and look at her.

“Well, look who's back,” Mira purrs. “It's been, what? Two weeks? I thought you'd finally realize this place isn't for you and do the smart thing by going back home.” She snorts.

“Let's go, Ellie,” Cassidy says.

I pull my arm free from her grasp and face the bitch head-on.

One side of me says to ignore her. The other reminds me I'd traveled for hours, barely slept, and was currently pretending to be my missing sister. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood.

“Good thing I decided to come back, Mira,” I say with a smirk.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I'd have missed the drama of watching you come running the second you heard I was back. Kind of like a dog that missed its owner.”

The horror that flashes across her face is worth every second. I'm definitely sure Mira's probably one of the many bullies that might be bullying my sister so I've registered her on my list now.

Beside me, Cassidy leans forward, “You need to get a grip, Allie,” Her breath tingles my ear, “If you're gonna do this, you need to avoid Mira in any way.”

I swallow hard but Mira's eyes don't leave mine. I turn and walk away, deciding not to let my anger get the best of me. I leave Mira standing there, too stunned to respond. For about three seconds. Then I hear her stomping after me.

“We're not done talking, Ellie Harper! Get back here!”

I ignore her. At least... until I feel a sharp tug on my hair.

“Oh my God!” Cassidy yelps.

I don't panic. I quickly twist sharply and manage to pull myself free. I know what I'm about to do could get me suspended on the very first day of my mission. But right now, this Mira, I needed to teach her a lesson. I take a slow breath and meet Mira's furious stare.

“Where on earth do you think you're going?” she snaps.

My fist clenches at my side. And just like that, my hand swings.

But before it can connect… Someone steps between us to stop us but not fast enough.

Smack! My palm collides with a face. Definitely not Mira's. Because Mira wasn't over six feet tall, didn't have broad shoulders and definitely didn't have a pair of silver-gray eyes piercing straight through me.

The entire hall seems to fall silent. For one strange second, gold flashes beneath those eyes.

Not reflected. Not imagined. It actually flashed.

The jolt that shoots through me almost feels like I slammed my hand into stone.

Nobody says a word. Not even Cassidy or Mira. They're all staring like I'd thrown a punch at the United States president.

And suddenly, I get the horrible feeling that I've just made a very, very big mistake.

What the hell was that?