“I [dad] spent hours on the phone. Do you know with whom?' 'One of those psychic hotlines?' Dad gritted his teeth. 'If only...”

“Dad was standing in front of the big windows when I got to the library, his hands clasped behind his back in the classic "I am so disappointed in my offspring" pose."Dad? Um,Lara said you wanted to see me."He turned around, his mouth a hard line. "Yes.Did you have a nice time with Daisy and Nick last night?"I fought the urge to reach into my pocket and touch the coin. "Not particularly."He didn't say anything, so we just stared at each other until I started feeling fidgety. "Look, if you're going to punish me, I'd really rather just get it over with."Dad kept staring. "Would you like to know how I spent my evening? Well, not evening, really, so much as very early morning hours."Inwardly, I groaned. Mrs. Casnoff sometimes pulled this maneuver: she'd say she wasn't mad, and then proceeded to list all the ways my screwup had inconvenience her. Maybe they taught it at those fancy schools nonreject Prodigium got to go to. "Sure.""I spent those hours on the phone. Do you know with whom?""One of those psychic hotlines?"Dad gritted his teeth. "If only. No, I was busy assuring no less than thiry influential witches, warlocks, shifters, and faeries that surely, my daughter-the future head of the Council, I should add-had not injured over a dozen innocent Prodigum while attempting to escape a nightclub during a raid by L'Occhio di Dio.""I didn't hurt them!" I exclaimed. Then I remembered just how hard they had hit the wall, and winced. "Well, not on purpose," I amended.”

“I expected Dad to do his usual brisk thing and say something like, "Excellent. I will anxiously await your pronouncement on this significant matter." Instead, he just looked relieved and said, "Good."Thinking we were done, I moved toward the door, but Dad stepped in front of it. "We're not quite finised yet."I blinked at him, surprised. "I could try to break some more mirrors if you really want me to, Dad, but I'm kind of wiped out. Between last night and today, there's been an awful lot of magin flyin' around for me,and-"He shook his head. "No,not that. We have one more matter to discuss."I didn't need my new psychic senses to tell me something bad was coming. "What?"Dad took a deep breath and folded his arms. "I want you to tell me about Archer Cross.”

“Dad rubbed his forehead. "No Sophie, its alright. That's what I hoped you would do." "You hoped I'd commit mirrorcide?”

“Dad was at his desk when I opened the door, doing what all British people do when they're freaked out: drinking tea.”

“I'm sorry!" I blurted out. "I told you, I suck at this. It's like any time I try to do a spell, it goes all big and scary and explodey,and-"Dad rubbed his forehead. "No,Sophie, it's all right. That's what I'd hoped you would do.""You hoped I'd commit mirrorcide?"He laughed, but it sounded a little breathless. "No,I'd hoped to see just how powerful you really are." His eyes were bright, and there was something that might have been pride in them. "You exceeded my expectations.""Well,yay," I said. "So glad my skill at blowing crap up impresses you, Dad.""Your sarcasm is-""I know,I know, 'an unattractive quality in a young lady.'"But Dad grinned and suddenly looked much younger and less like a guy who ironed his ties. "Actually, I was going to say it's something you must've gotten from me. Grace always hated sarcastic comments.""Oh,I know," I replied without thinking. "I spent most of the seventh grade grounded because of it."He snorted. "She once put me out by the side of the road in Scotland because I made a completely harmless joke about her map-reaking skills.""Really?""Mm-hmm.Had to walk nearly five bloody kilometers before she stopped to let me back in.""Dude.Mom is hard-core."For a moment we smiled at each other. Then Dad cleared his throat and looked away. "Anyway,your powers are definitely impressive, but what you lack is control.""Yeah, I kind of picked up on that.”

“...And of course, your dad was always talking about you, so between him and Jenna, I feel like I already know you.”Man, first Cal, then Lara and the other Council members, now Vix. Did Dad have a blog about me or something? “My Daughter Sophie and Why You Should All Follow Her and/or Marry Her.”