Hidden

its broken chain.

It was Lifesaver-shaped again, and looked totally harmless. I knew better, so when he handed it to me I handled it gingerly, like the unexploded bomb it was, and I was stuffing it into my jeans’ pocket when Stark stopped me.

“No, don’t put it away. Lift it. Point it at Aurox. Say the spell again.”

“Huh?” Suddenly I didn’t sound so grown and together and brilliant.

“Me?” Everyone turned to stare at Aurox. Well, the kid looked like crap. His clothes were all ripped up and his face and hands were bruised and bloody. “Why me?”

“Because when you gored Neferet I caught your reflection in that magick mirror. Everyone needs to see what I saw,” Stark said. “Do the spell thing again, Zoey.”

“I don’t even know if it’ll work again. It’s that old magick stuff. It’s weird and totally unpredictable,” I said.

“Recite the spell, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya,” Grandma said.

“I don’t have—”

Stark handed me the crumpled purple paper. “Yes, you do.”

“Well, okay then.” I lifted the Seer Stone, and pointed it at Aurox. Even before I started reciting from the paper I could feel the heat radiating off of it.

“Ancient mirror

Magick mirror

Shades of gray

Hidden

Forbidden

Within, away

Part the mist

Magick kissed

Call the fey

Reveal the past

The spell is cast

I save the day!”

My voice wasn’t as powerful as it had been the first time, but the words were strong and clear, and at the end of the spell the Seer Stone changed again, expanding to a reflective circle pointing right at Aurox.

“Holy shit. It’s true,” Aphrodite said. “That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some weirdness.”

Grandma limped to Aurox. She touched his cheek. He was staring at the mirror with tears in his eyes. He looked from it to her.

“I knew I was right to believe in you, tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na,” Grandma told him. “Thank you for saving me, child.” When she leaned forward he bent and she gave him a soft, mom kiss on the cheek.

“You need to look in the mirror, Z,” Stark said.

“No I don’t.” I felt weirdly numb. “I know what Heath looks like.”

Aurox was staring in the mirror again. “So, that is Heath?”

“Yeah,” Stark said with a sigh. “That’s Heath. Which means somehow you’re a friend of mine.”

Aurox was still looking at his reflection when his expression changed. He smiled and said, “Good to see you again.”

Something about his voice made me shiver.

Then Aurox looked from the mirror into my eyes. “And you?” he asked me. “What was Heath to you?”

Lots of answers flitted through my mind: he was my problem—my pain in the butt—my lover— my Consort—my rock—my forever boyfriend.

“Heath was my humanity” was what came out of my mouth. “And now it looks like he’s become your humanity.”

I dropped the mirror. Before it could shatter there was a little popping noise and it was a Seer Stone again. This time I did shove it into my pocket.

Grandma came to me and I put my arm back around her waist. Stark took my hand, lifted it, and kissed my palm.

“Don’t worry,” he said softly. “No matter what else, we have love. Always love.”

The End

For now …

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling P. C. CAST is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author, as well as an experienced speaker and teacher. Her novels have been awarded YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and have received the prestigious Oklahoma Book Award, as well as the PRISM, Daphne du Maurier, Bookseller’s Best, HOLT Medallion, Beacon, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and Affaire de Coeur Awards. She lives in Oklahoma with lots of dogs, cats, horses, and a burro. KRISTIN CAST is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who teams up with her mother to write the House of Night series. She has stories in several anthologies, as well as editorial credits. Currently, Kristin is working on her first stand-alone novel, a dark, mysterious fairy tale.

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