“We're going to open this bookcase and remove the grimoire."Now I wasn't surprised so much as shocked. "No way," I shot back. "This thing is enchanted to hell and back-maybe literally."Dad closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like he was having to physically restrain himself from yelling.”

“I have to go," I said, resting my head against Archer's chest. It occurred to me that my cheek was probably right over his tattoo. Without thinking, I lifted my face and tugged at the neckline of his T-shirt. This time, the stark black-and-gold mark wasn't hidden. No need for that spell anymore, I guess. Still, I covered it with my palm. Archer's hands clutched reflexively on my waist. Our eyes met. "It doesn't burn this time," I whispered.His breathing was ragged. "Beg to differ, Mercer."Magic was rushing through me, and when Archer covered my hand with his own, there was a little blue spark. Slowly, he moved my hand off his chest, then gripped both my shoulders. I thought he was going to kiss me again-and with the way we were feeling, there was a chance we might set the whole mill on fire-but instead, he gingerly pushed me away. "Okay," he said, closing his eyes. "If you don't go now, we're...You should go now."Once we were several feet apart, he lust-fog cleared a little. "We still have no idea what we're going to go."Archer opened his eyes and took a couple of steps backward. "Right now, you're going to go back to Thorne and check in with your dad. I'm going to go back to my people and do the same. Then tomorrow night, we'll meet here. You'll stand over there"-he pointed at a corner-"and I'll stand over there"-the complete opposite corner-"and there will be no physical contact until we've figured something out. Deal?"I smiled,even as I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from grabbing him again. "Deal.Midnight?""Perfect.So." That grin again. "See ya, Mercer."Happiness flooded through me as warm and bright as sunlight. "See ya, Cross.”

“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.”

“I was literally seeing stars, and every ragged breath I took felt like I was trying to breathe through broken glass.On the upside, my crush on Archer was totally gone. Over. Once a boy has slammed his kneecap into your rib cage, I think any romantic feeling should naturally go the way of the ghost.”

“I closed my eyes and took more of those deep breaths Dad was so fond of, thinking that it was no wonder Prodigium were always getting their asses handed to them by humans. I mean, every time I had to do an intense spell, there was all this focusing, and relaxing, and picturing, and breathing...It wasn't exactly the most effective battle strategy against something like The Eye.I should've known better than to think about The Eye,though. As soon as the name popped into my head, my control shattered.And so did the terra-cotta pot.Black soil rained down on my feet, and the purple flower drooped even further. I could have sworn it actually bobbed accusingly at me. "Ugh," I groaned, as Cal quickly scooped the jagged pot out of my hands. "Sorry,but I warned you I was destructo-girl.”

“He gently pried my hand off his arm. "I have to," he said softly. He went to turn away, and then stopped, like maybe he was reconsidering. But instead of agreeing to come back to the Itineris with me, he reached out, cupped my face, and brought his lips to mine.I was so shocked that I literally froze in place, one hand hovering in the air next to Cal's shoulder. The kiss was brief--just a little too long to be considered chaste--but when he pulled away, all I could do was stare at him, my mouth slightly agape. He ran his thumb over my lower lip, sending a tiny flurry of sparks through me. "Goodbye, Sophie.”

“Sophie, I have to tell your mother about what happened."I suppressed a groan. I'd known this was coming, but I was hoping we could put it off until after Dad got back. I had a lot going on, and the last thing I wanted was a worried mom on top of all of that."Dad,she's just going to freak. And probably come here and get me, and then you guys will start yelling at each other, and I'll have to act out by wearing lots of eyeliner and doing drugs. Do you really want to deal with that?”