His grin sharpens. “You saying you didn’t enjoy it?”
“I’m saying,” I reply sweetly, “that pretending to be your twin to mess with a very pissed off woman is a bold strategy.”
Koa clears his throat.
Kai winces. Just a fraction. “You were fine.”
“I was not,” I say. “But you are very lucky I find this more amusing than offensive.”
“Do you?” he asks.
I look at him properly now. The swagger. The restless energy. The way his attention flicks between me and Koa like he’s measuring something invisible.
“I do,” I decide. “Mostly because I figured it out.”
His brows shoot up. “You did?”
“Oh yes,” I say. “Eventually. I never met anybody that can swing so fluidly between two completely different personalities.”
Koa watches me closely, something intent in his gaze.
“That must’ve been awkward,” Kai says lightly.
“For you?” I tilt my head. “Not nearly enough.”
I take another bite, then pause, frowning.
“Hmm,” I murmur.
Both of them tense.
“What?” Kai asks.
I inhale slowly. Then again. The air feels…different now. Or maybe I am. The scents in the room separate where before they’d blurred – layering instead of blending.
“That’s strange,” I say.
Koa’s eyes darken. “What is?”
“You smell the same,” I tell them honestly. “But not.”
Silence drops like a held breath.
I continue, words slow, thoughtful. “Same base. Same…thread. But one of you is steadier. Like standing barefoot on solid ground. The other is brighter. Restless. Like static.”
Their gazes snap to each other.
I almost laugh. “I didn’t notice before,” I add. “Everything was too loud. Too much.”
Kai recovers first. “You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?” I ask, amused. “Because your reaction suggests otherwise, and I’d place money on knowing which scent is yours.”
Koa doesn’t deny it. But he doesn’t try to explain either.
I lean back against the pillows, suddenly aware of the shift. Of how the air feels charged now, like I’ve stepped into the centre of something without meaning to.
“Should I be worried,” I ask lightly, “or is this one of those things you were hoping I wouldn’t clock?”