“You mean I’m the first guy your parents have rescued from an enchanted island via use of a magic mirror? I feel special.”

“You know, this isn’t how I imagined meeting Sophie’s first real boyfriend.” “Mom.” Archer gave me a little squeeze. “You mean I’m the first guy your parents have rescued from an enchanted island via use of a magic mirror? I feel so special.” ~ Grace, Sophie, Archer”

“It’ll make you feel better.” "By making me dead?” I asked. “I mean, I’m sure that would make my headache go away, but that’s a heck of a side effect.”

“I'm sure your wondering why I've brought you here."I moved to the center of the room, my strappy sandals clacking on the marble floor. "I'm assuming this is where the punishment part comes in," I said. "So do I need to clean all these mirrors, or do I have to,like, stare at myself until I feel shamed or something?"Surprisingly, Dad gave a tiny smile. "No,nothing quite that abstract. I want you to break one of the mirrors.""Excuse me?"Dad leaned back against the now-drapeless window and folded his arms over his chest. "Break a mirror, Sophie.""What what, my head? Because I'm pretty sure that'd be corporal punishment, and Mom would not be cool with that.""With your powers."Ugh.I took in the dozens of mirros and muttered, "I think I'd rather use my head.”

“I'd never been able to actually feel my blood pressure rising before, but it certainly was now. It felt kind of the way magic used to feel, only with more homicidal rage thrown in.”

“Whatever. I can't even imagine having a fiance.""You probably have one, you know."I stared at him. "Excuse me?""Your dad is a really important guy. I'm sure he made a match for you when you were thirteen."I didn't even want to get into that. The thought that there was some warlock out there who was planning on making me his missus one day was too much to handle. What if he was here at Hecate? What if I knew the guy? Oh God, what if it was that kid with bad breath who sat right behind me in Magical Evolution?I made a mental note to ask my mom about all of this as soon as I decided to speak to her again.”

“Archer?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Hey, you might be able to take away my magical powers, but the power of sarcasm was still at my disposal. “Is your last name Newport or Vanderbilt? Maybe followed by some numbers? Ooh!” I said, widening my eyes, “or maybe even Esquire!”I’d hoped to hurt his feelings or, at the very least, make him angry, but he just kept smiling at me. “Actually, it’s Archer Cross, and I’m the first one. Now what about you?” He squinted. “Let’s see . . . brown hair, freckles, whole girl-next-door vibe going on . . . Allie? Lacie? Definitely something cutesy ending in ie.”You know those times when your mouth moves but no sound actually comes out? Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened. And then, of course, my mom took that opportunity to end her conversation with Justin’s parents and call out, “Sophie! Wait up.”“I knew it.” Archer laughed. “See you, Sophie,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house.”