I'd jokingly asked Julian to come in and meet my dad when he dropped me off at home, and he politely and firmly declined. While I had  been kidding, I wouldn't have minded if he'd agreed.

Because when I step through the front door of our house, my dad is standing in the living room in front of the fireplace, his face made of stone, arms crossed tightly over his broad chest.

"Hi Daddy," I mumble, setting my bag down by the stairs and tiptoeing into the same space as my furious father.

"Camryn, have a seat," he says, gesturing toward the couch.

I do as he asks, and he sits in the chair across from me with his elbows on his knees, his intent glare focused on me.

"Dad, look, I'm—"

He holds up a hand. "I'm going to talk first, young lady. I don't know what is going on with you lately, but it's time you let me in. In the past couple weeks, you've cheated on a chemistry test, cracked your windshield after making a poor driving decision, and now you're skipping school. This is out of character for you, Camryn, and while I am angry, I'm also concerned." He leans forward in his seat and continues, "I need you to tell me what is going on. Is this about Mom? Do you need to go see your counselor?"

I take a deep breath and exhale, the air rattling my lips. "No, it's not about Mom. Not this time. But you're right, there is something going on." What are you doing, Camryn? I think to myself, but I get up out of my seat, ignoring the little voice inside my head telling me to shut the hell up. It's the only way. "I need to show you something. Can I go get it?"

He nods once, and I rush upstairs before I lose my nerve. Julian and I had already agreed that talking to my dad was necessary, and there's no better time than now. He's already angry, and he's going to be even more angry when he figures out that I went to the Crescent and snooped in his office. But it's the only way I'm going to get answers.

I pull the photograph of Aurora and Luna out of my desk drawer, my eyes roaming over the aged image. I'd show him this picture, and that's it. No talk of the powers; I can't tell him about that when I don't even understand it myself.

With the picture in hand, I step back into the living room, clutching it to my chest. I turn the photo around to show him, but I find the fear that had been lurking beneath the surface tumbling out of my mouth.

"Dad, I am your biological child, right?"

His eyes widen, and he springs from his chair, putting his hands on my shoulders and guiding me to sit on the couch next to him. "Of course you are, ladybug. Why would you ask me such a thing?"

Tears pool in my eyes, and I shake my head. "I don't know." My brain had gone places I never wanted to visit again when trying to come up with an explanation for all of this.

His eyebrows furrow as he looks down and notices the photo in my hand for the first time. "What is that?"

I gulp and turn the photo over, placing it in his hands. "I was hoping you could tell me."

When my dad's eyes land on the photo, I see the moment he registers what he's looking at. "Oh my God," he murmurs, his face paling as he runs his free hand through his dark hair.

"I know...I'm sorry. I went to the Crescent against your wishes and found—"

"This is one reason I didn't want you poking around there, Cam," he says, his gaze glued to the photo. "But even I didn't realize..."

"Realize what? Dad, can you please explain to me what the hell this is? Who are these women? And why do I look just like them?"

He looks up, and his blue eyes are cloudy. "I can only answer part of that question, ladybug." He's not angry anymore, and I almost wish he were because now, he looks scared.

"Well, tell me what you can because this is all I can think about and I'm climbing the walls."

"Aurora is your great-great-grandmother. I guess that would make her twin your great-great-great aunt," he explains, glancing up at me. "I've never seen their photo before now. I had no idea how much you look like them...you're nearly identical."

I am stunned, and the bewilderment is so clear on his face that I am certain he is telling the truth. I don't know what I expected the explanation to be, but part of me is so relieved it's a simple one, no matter how uncanny.

"I never heard Mom talk about her family. I never even knew Blackwood was a family name."

He sits back on the couch and sighs, crossing one leg over the other. "Your mom didn't like to talk about her family history; we never spoke about anyone past her mother, except that her Grandma Pearl was...well,  is a little off."

"Is?"

"Your great-grandma lives here in Eureka Springs in the nursing home over on Dorado. She has dementia, and she thinks she's in her twenties again. She used to tell these weird stories." He shivers and I feel goosebumps erupt on my own arms. "Your mom feared her."

"Why?" 

"I'm telling you; the stories she told were freaky. Something about the sun and the moon...your mom never would share all the details with me, so I'm afraid I can't give you much more than that," he says and then looks at me as though a light bulb flickered in his brain. "Why did you ask me if you were my biological child?"

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell him everything—the powers, the assumption I have a doppelgänger, the missing clothes—but I don't. Instead, I tell a diluted version of the truth. "I just let my imagination run away from me, that's all. I got freaked out by the photo and just..." I raise my hands and pop my fingers to pantomime my mind exploding.

He nods and hands the photo back to me. "If you really want to know about this, I think you're entitled to. Your mom's gone, but you should be able to fill in the blanks of your history, even when she was too frightened to face it." He says it not with bitterness or malice, but genuine sadness and regret.

I sit up straight. "What can I do?"

"Go visit Great-Grandma Pearl...but I can't go with you, ladybug. I guess I'm not ready to face it either."

I nod. "That's okay, Dad. I know who I'll take with me."