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My dad choked back tears while my mom let out a sob. I’d only ever seen my mother cry three times in my life. All of them were over me: high school graduation, when I had to get emergency surgery for a broken bone, and when I told her how scared I was that I’d lose her after the accident. I wiped at my cheeks. My ears were ringing, as if someone had let loose a flash-bang in the tiny living room. Could be my skyrocketing blood pressure.

I had to sit. I sank down into the leather cushions, shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. I couldn’t imagine anything else taking me by surprise tonight, but it turned out I was incredibly wrong. My entire world had already been flipped like a pancake, and now it was being tossed out the window, sticking to a speeding car as it careened wildly down the highway.

I looked at my parents—because I refused to see them as anything other. They’d made mistakes, multiple, and keeping such a massive secret from me might have been one of the biggest ones yet. But my father also didn’t sugarcoat it when he said they took me in without hesitation. I never once felt like I didn’t belong here, with them, under this roof. That was a testament to just how serious they took on their new charge, how much love they showered me with. Even when I was being a snotty and overly confrontational angsty teen or when I was a shouting and crying and shitting baby.

“Please, Robby, tu eres mi corazón. And we didn’t know she had another—oh Lord.” My mom put both her hands on her chest. I could see this night was breaking her just as it was trying so desperately to break me. I didn’t want to let that happen. I got up and moved closer to her, where I could sit between both my parents. I looked ahead at the scratched-up entertainment center, the decades-old television sitting on the top, playing a tennis match on mute. Damien stood leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets. He gave us the space we needed, his eyes darting toward the door and windows every minute or so.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad at either of you. I’m not. I’m grateful. You could have said no—I could have landed in the foster system. You guys are both my parents. Nothing will ever change that.”

My mom looked at me with those big hazel eyes of hers shining with tears, and she pulled me into the tightest hug I’d ever had. My dad joined in, kissing the top of my head.

“How did you find this all out?” my dad asked when the hug was over. My mom still had an arm across my shoulder, fingers digging in as if she were scared I’d fly away at any moment.

“That’s honestly a long story, and it’s not over yet. But I think I need to sleep first. My brain is fried.”

Mom’s fingers gripped tighter. “You said you had a twin, Robby… Does that really mean…”

I could only nod. The news settled into the room like a poisonous mist. My mom choked back tears as my dad went stone-cold. He looked like one of the gargoyles guarding Damien’s castle, not even twitching.

“His name was Chris. The vampires got him,” I explained. Part of me clicked into autopilot. As badly as I wanted to shut off and let sleep take me, I knew my parents deserved some kind of explanation. “The dragon fall that’s happening, it started with his death. Apparently, we were both born on an extremely rare celestial event, and it, well, yeah…” I looked to Damien as if he would throw me some kind of life raft. I needed to be pulled back onto shore because I didn’t think I could keep treading water.

“Oh, Robby, my little boy.” My mom pulled me into another hug. We stayed like that for a while, all of us absorbing the news. It was a lot to take in. So much heartache that there wasn’t enough space to hold it all. I’d never experienced something like this. It was paralyzing. I stayed with my head on her shoulder for what felt like hours. Her hair was dry now, but it still smelled just like her shampoo. There was something else in the air, though. Something stark and smokey. Like something was—

“Shit! My pancakes!” Dad jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen just as the fire alarm started to go off.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. We got up and started waving away the smoke with a few throw pillows, Damien helping by opening a window. My dad came back into the living room with the pan, showing off an incredibly crispy pile of pancakes.