Page 116 of Molt

“You come back because it needs you.”

His mouth opens.

I understand before he does. “You’re not the survivor.” Tears fill my eyes. “You’re the seed.”

August looks like I’ve stabbed him.

And I wish I could take it back. But the truth has already entered the room. He isn’t being punished for loving Lenora. He is being kept alive because his body is necessary to recreate her.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Love doesn’t trigger a curse. Love activates a biological machine. And every woman caught between them becomes raw material.

My body gives another violent shudder.

August catches me.

I feel something moving beneath my face.

My jaw. Changing.

“August.”

He looks at me. Horror floods his expression. “What?” His hand rises and stops before touching me. “Your face.”

I turn to the mirror.

My stomach drops.

My jaw is his. One eye is his. The bridge of my nose is changing.

But beneath that...someone else is appearing. A woman I have never seen. Dark hair. Brown eyes. A chipped canine.

1897. The original Lenora.

“No.”

Her face flickers through mine.

Sarah.

August.

Lenora.

Three people fighting for the same body.

I press both hands against the mirror. “Which one am I?”

August appears behind me. His reflection is fading while mine is becoming crowded.

“Sarah.”

“How do you know?”