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"What did you do to me?" I cried

"You were Masked A sion the word What had they done, removed Lila’s face and put it on mine? "I don’t even look like me anymore"

Celia turned the ca si Masked is rare and supposed to be done with the entire family’s per to keep calm "It’s more than a few alterations Typically we use it for a body double, but in your case,over hter’s life, no matter how innocent Daxton pretends to be"

The pair of the over Lila’s life? "You mean I’m--you expect s attached," said Daxton "You can fight it and suffer the consequences, or you can accept it and all of the perks that co one of us It is, of course, your choice, but I’ve honestly no idea what in your past life is worth holding on to You’d be a fool to refuse us"

A dead fool at that I was nothing but collateral da ; Benjy was the one thing inon to

Daxton smoothed the front of his unwrinkled shirt

"It won’t be so bad," he added, his voice a mockery of comfort "You’ll be waited on hand and foot, and you’ll never want for anything again in your life You, irl in the country You’ll be one of us, and what more could you ask for?"

I closed my eyes as my mind raced If I refused, I was dead But if I said yes--then what? I would be Lila Hart

For the rest of my life, I would have someone else’s face, answer to someone else’s name, live someone else’s life

But at least I would be alive I breathed in slowly, forcing myself not to panic I was still ht like me They couldn’t take that away no ht have looked like Lila Hart, but I was still Kitty Doe

Then why did it feel like Kitty Doe was lying alongside Tabs in a ditch somewhere?

"Besides," added Daxton, "it won’t last forever"

I opened my eyes, the only part of me that was still me "What d’you mean, it won’t last forever?"

"It would be silly of us to expect you to give up your whole life, noouldn’t it?"

That was exactly what they wanted ive you your old face, but if you pretend to be Lila for as long as we need you to be, we can give you a new one," he said "Do e ask, and you can even keep your VII once it’s over"

I glanced at Celia for reassurance, and she refused to look atI would be Lila for the rest ofit lasted I could call hiht I was and play along Only one option races

"And you won’t kill me?" I said

"Do ant, and there will be no need for anyone to die," he said "I promise"

It was the voice he used when he promised a better life for IIs and IIIs When he promised new opportunities and chances for those ere stuck serving and cleaning up after the rich and powerful It was the same voice he used every time he swore that if orked hard and did our best, ould get the rank--the life we deserved

Even if I did this, they would kill me eventually, but I would have a few ure out how to escape I couldn’t change what they’d done to e to find a way out of it And a way back to Benjy

"Are you--are you all right with this?" I said to Celia

"Seems I have about as much choice as you do," she said frostily "But if you’re asking if I will help, yes

Enough people have died for my dear brother’s ambitions No need to add to the body count"

Daxton set his hand over the place where his heart would have been if he’d had one "I’m wounded, Celia, truly If you have a proble her instructions"

"Of course you are," said Celia She set the camera down on ht she was going to touch my face-- Lila’s face--but her hand stopped short, and she pulled away "Once the medication has run its course, I will help you learn all you need to know Knoxthat at Daxton "And your son, if you haven’t told hi Greyson," said Daxton shortly "And neither will you"

"Of course not," said Celia "Wouldn’t want hi you killed his cousin so soon after the deaths of his mother and brother, would we?"

A wave of dizziness hit hteen-year-old son, along with every othertheir faces on television and hearing their voices on the news, and noouldn’t just be inally Jameson, Greyson’s older brother, had been set to inherit the country But now, once Daxton died, Greyson’s name would replace his father’s as the only one on the ballot every four years I didn’t knohy Daxton didn’t want to tell him about me, and I didn’t care, but I couldn’t remember a Knox in the news articles Benjy read to

"Who’s Knox?"

"Lennox Creed," said Celia "He prefers Knox"

The beeping next to my bed accelerated Lennox Creed was famous not for his father, as one of the Ministers of the Union, but for his antics inside the exclusive nightclubs and parties that no V could ever drea into, let alone a III

And he was Lila’s fiancé

"Do I still have to--"

"Yes," said Daxton, cutting , from here on out, you’re Lila until I tell you otherwise Hold up your end of the bargain, and I’ll hold up mine Sound fair?"

When the end resulted in my death no matter what I said--no, it didn’t "Doesn’t see Celia’s words When Daxton continued to watch me expectantly, I sed

"Sounds fair"

Celia sniffed and stared down her nose at ht Is the tattoo there?"

"The VII?" I said "It’s there"

"Not that one," she said, and she faced Daxton I closed nored them as they discussed every tiny detail of Lila’s body, and their voices faded into the background

A VII for life, but it wouldn’t last long One less sanitation worker wasn’t anything for the Harts to cry about, and when they didn’t need me anymore, that would be the end of it The only chance I had at survival was to make sure they needed me until I was ready to make a break for it