Chapter 1

One of us had to go.

That's what Mom said when she called us into the living room. My sister Ruby and I. Two daughters.

One slot left in the trust fund payout—but only if someone completed the Smokejumper Tour. Two years. Dangerous as hell. The lawyers had tied Dad's estate up tight.

"We'll draw straws," Mom said, her voice flat. She'd been flat since Dad died.

Ruby reached for the straws.

I didn't let her touch them.

"I'll go."

Mom's head snapped up. Ruby froze, her hand hovering in midair.

"You'll what?"

"I'll do the Tour. Ruby can marry Pierce and fulfill the contract." My voice didn't shake. I'd practiced this in my head a thousand times since I woke up in my twenty-three-year-old body again.

Since I remembered dying.

Mom stared at me. "You and Pierce have been inseparable since high school. You love him."

"I'm going."

I didn't tell her that in my last life, I'd drawn the lucky straw. That I'd married Pierce Hawthorne in a white dress while Ruby packed her bags.

That Ruby lasted six months at the remote fire station before Chief Miller's son—Lenny, the unstable one—cornered her in the supply shed.

That she killed herself three days later.

That Pierce blamed me when he found her suicide note.

That he dragged me to her grave and made me pay for her death in ways I still felt in my bones.

The door slammed open.

Pierce.

He stormed in like a wildfire and locked eyes on Ruby. He pulled her into his arms. "Thank God. I thought I was too late."

His voice cracked. His eyes were red-rimmed.

He turned to Mom, still holding Ruby.

"Mrs. Brennan, I love Ruby. I want to marry her. I know you wanted me to marry Clara, but I don't love her. I never did."

He dropped to one knee in front of my mother.

"Please. Let me marry Ruby."

I stood there. Numb.

He'd come back too. He remembered dying—no, he remembered killing me. And he'd chosen her again.

"Pierce—"

"Save it, Clara." He stood, and the look he gave me was pure venom. "I'd rather die than marry you."

That look. I knew that look. I'd seen it before when he held me down and let Lenny—

I shook my head. Cleared the memory.

Mom coughed softly. "Clara already volunteered for the Tour. You're free to marry Ruby."

Pierce blinked. Then his face split into a grin, and he kissed Ruby's forehead.

"God. Finally."

He didn't look at me again. He grabbed Ruby's hand and pulled her toward the door, already talking about wedding dates and venues.

Just before he left, his eyes flicked to mine.

"Stay away from us." they said.