"Did he know?" Brenon asked.

I shook my head. "Terra did. He was pissed to find out she was hiding it. That's what they were fighting about. He helped me get away."

"Well, at least we know you can't break the curse." His smile faded.

"Is that what you want? The others seem to want to stay cursed. Do you?" I leaned over, resting my elbows on my knees. My heartbeat picked up. If he wanted to break the curse, it would have to be with a different girl. Even if I wanted to volunteer, I couldn't.

"Eventually," he said. "But we can't afford to do it while Terra's so strong. We don't know if we'd get all of our magic back, or if we'd have to strengthen it again. If we can't fight her off, she could steal all of our magic and use that to open the gates. It's too risky."

"So we need to find a way to defeat Terra. How?"

"That's always been the question. Evangeline and I had a theory that a strong enough Sayge could help bring her down. Since you were from the same family line that cast the original curse, we hoped there was a way to leverage that." He winced, then looked away from me.

"What if we get help?" I asked.

Brenon looked back up at me, eyebrows raised.

"I spent a day with the Sayges. My aunt seems to be someone of importance for them. And they hate you," I said.

"The Sayges have hated us since the days of the curse. Why would they help us?"

"Because once Terra is gone, I'll help you open the gate. Then the Circus can go home, and the Sayges won't have any Fae left here to hate." A twinge of sadness rang through me at my words. I hated the idea of having to say goodbye to Brenon. But I knew he must want to go home. And it seemed like the only way we might be able to get the help we needed to defeat Terra.

"You'd do that for us?" Brenon reached a hand out and rested it on my knee.

A chill ran up my spine, and I wondered if I'd ever get used to the feel of his touch. "Of course I would. Just because your friends tried to kill me doesn't mean I wouldn't help them."

"You have no idea how much this will mean to everyone." He stood and offered his hand to me.

Afraid of having another full-body reaction to his touch, I ignored it and stood up without his aid. Even if I was re-evaluating my feelings for Brenon, there was no reason to get attached if he was just going to be leaving my life forever. This needed to feel less personal. Less about Brenon and my feelings for him. "You know this helps me, too. With Terra gone and the Circus gone, I get to go back to normal."

He lowered his hand and nodded. "You're right. We should get started right away. I wouldn't want you to have to stay here longer than necessary."

Brenon walked to the door and left the room, not pausing to wait for me this time. A pang of guilt tugged my heart down to the pit of my stomach. Despite everything, I didn't like seeing Brenon this way, but it was for the best. Neither of us should be getting attached. If I'd learned anything about relationships, it was that they made you do things you might not do in ordinary circumstances. I didn't need him clouding my judgment as we prepared to battle a powerful Fae Queen.

I ran my hands through my hair and tried to make myself believe that I had no more feelings for the cursed Fae Ringmaster. Squaring my shoulders, I walked toward the door. The sooner we could get them back where they belonged, the better.

Gia, Miles, Goldie, and Evangeline were sitting on a faded couch in the back of the car we had arrived in. They rose when we entered the room.

"So?" Evangeline said. "What was such a big deal that it had to be said privately? I couldn't get anything out of Gia."

I looked over at Gia and smiled at her. It was nice to feel like I had somebody in my corner.

"The only thing you need to know is that Ara thinks she can convince the Sayges to help us defeat Terra. Then, there's a possibility that we could open the gates and return home."

The room fell silent. Even Evangeline didn't have a comment.

Gia walked over to me. "Ara, are you sure you'd want to do that for them? You don't know what it might cost you. The magic it would take to open the gates..."

"So we were right?" Evangeline looked at Brenon. "A member of the Sayge bloodline could open the gates?"

"Something like that." Brenon moved closer to me, and his hand brushed against mine. I looked up at him. He was keeping my secret, just like he said he would. I nodded to him.

"So why not just grab a human girl, open the gates and go back home to break the curse? Surely, we'd regain our magic faster in Faerie. If Terra follows, we could deal with her there," Evangeline said.

I shuddered at the thought of them dragging a random human girl to be used as a sacrifice in such a way. Didn't Brenon say something about love? Was it really as simple as sex? The two weren't interchangeable.

"It's not that simple," Brenon said. "Besides, it's too much of a risk to have the gates open while Terra is still around. It leaves all of us vulnerable, especially Ara."

Evangeline marched up to Brenon. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? I thought you wanted to go home. To break the curse. You said you weren't going to let this girl get in the way."

"Enough," Brenon yelled. "This isn't up for negotiation. We will not open that gate until Terra is gone."

"Boss, you know I have your back," Miles said. "But I'm with Evangeline on this one. There's no way we can beat Terra without our magic. If you want to wait on the gate, that's fine, but maybe it's time to end this curse. Can't you just have a lie in with Goldie? It might work, she was human before the curse."

Goldie held her hands up in front of her. "Hold up, there, Miles. I'm not getting in the middle of all this. Plus, I'm not human anymore. You know that."

Miles shrugged. "Still might work. I mean, worth a shot, right?"

"There will be no curse breaking until Terra is gone. If we don't time this right, if she was able to take our magic, all of this is for nothing. We've waited this long to break it. We have to do it the right way, and Ara has offered the first chance at a solution. We might not have magic, but the Sayges do. And if they help us, maybe we have a shot."

"What makes you think they'd help us?" Evangeline had both of her hands on her hips. She didn't seem to think any of this was a good idea. "I mean, they kicked Gia out simply for staying with us for a few years. Why would they help us when they won't even help their own kind?"

"Because they want Ara," Gia said. "She's Kay's niece. They'll want her on their side. If Ara asks them to help, I think she can convince them."

All eyes turned to me. I knew my Aunt Kay had some power within the Sayge community, but I didn't realize it was enough to silence the room and end an argument.

"Kay is your aunt?" Brenon asked.

I nodded.

He smiled. "You might be able to convince them to help."

"This whole time, Kay's from the same line? Why hasn't Terra gone after her?" Evangeline asked.

"She did," Brenon said. "Remember Mina?"

My insides clenched at the mention of my birth mother's name. There was clearly more to the story than I knew and I intended to get all of it from Aunt Kay when I was done running for my life.

"The rest of the Circus isn't going to like this," Miles said.

"You make them like it. It's our shot at going home. And the only way that's going to happen is if Terra is gone. We aren't risking her entering Faerie with the extra magic she's stolen over the years. That's all there is to it."

Brenon walked to the door and opened it. "It's late, the Circus is waking up. None of you will speak of this until we get back from talking with the Sayges."

"You got it, boss," Miles said.

Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest. "You haven't left the Circus for years. Where am I supposed to say you went?"

"Tell them I went to apologize to a friend." He glanced at me, then looked back at Evangeline. "Now out, I'll come find you when we return."

Goldie grabbed hold of me for another hug. "I want details when you get back, okay?"

I hugged her back. "Okay."

She followed Evangeline and Miles out of the room, leaving me with Brenon and Gia.

"Well," Gia said. "Guess we have some Sayges to visit."