“You okay?" Archer asked as he opened the door."Yeah," I said, but I was freaked out. "It's just...Can I ask you something really weird?""Those are my favorite kinds of questions.”

“What the heck is that?" I asked, pointing to a dark stain in the nearest corner."Okay, number one question you *don't* want to hear in a creepy cellar," Archer said ...”

“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.”

“Are we all going to high-five now?' Jenna asked after a pause.'No, but I can make up some kind of secret handshake if you want,' Archer said, and for a second, they smiled at each other.”

“I was supposed to watch you, yeah. They thought it was weird that Atherton would send his own kid to Hecate, so we wanted to keep an eye on you. No pun intended.” (Archer)”

“Jenna and Archer shared a look. “-Why would we need to ‘stay in touch’?” Jenna asked. “-Well, because…Look, I can’t ask you guys to stay at Hex Hall for a whole other year. Jenna, you have Vix, and Archer, you have…Actually, what DO you have?” “-You,” he said firmly. “And a whole bunch of holy knights who want to kill me.”

“Names are just words. I know that. But learning that the last name I’d used all my life was fake…“So what should I call myself, then?” I asked. “Sophie Atherton? Sophie Brannick?” Both sounded weird and made me feel like I was wearing clothes that didn’t fit.Mom smiled and brushed my hair away from my face. “You can call yourself whatever you want.”“Okay. Sophie Awesome Sparkle-Princess it is.”