The house was quiet when I woke in the pink room at Aunt Kay's. I took a deep breath and stretched before sitting up. Joe snored softly in the bed next to me. I considered waking him, then thought better of it. He'd been through a lot by going on this trip with me.

Still wearing the clothes I'd been in for the last few days, I wondered if I should risk asking my aunt if she had anything I could wear. I worried I'd end up dressed in a floral pattern like her furniture.

When I looked out into the hallway, I didn't see anyone. I didn't smell coffee or breakfast. Was I the first one up?

On tiptoes, I made my way to the room we'd been in last night looking at the old books. They were still sitting out on the table. Sunlight poured through the sheer curtains on the window, filling the room with a warm golden light.

Settling into the chair, I started flipping through the books again. Was it possible to open the gates after we took down Terra? My hand paused in the act of turning a page. Today was the day we were going to meet the other Sayges to plan our attack on Terra. Shouldn't the others be up? When would the elders be here?

The floorboards behind me creaked, letting me know I wasn't the only one awake. I spun around in my chair to face the door. Brenon was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, a soft smile on his lips.

"How long have you been standing there?"

He dropped his arms and walked over to the table, sitting in the chair next to mine. "Just a few minutes. You looked so focused, I didn't want to disturb you."

My internal temperature felt like it was rising just from his presence next to me. It might not be a good idea to be alone with him. This close to him. I caught myself staring at the scars that crisscrossed his face. Were those part of the curse or was he injured before that happened? Had he felt the pain they caused? I bit down on my lip and looked away. It was bad manners to stare, but even more, it was dangerous to let myself start to feel so drawn to him.

"It's okay if you want to look," he said. "I know I'm hideous. Especially out of the makeup and in the light of day."

"No," I said. "That's not what I was thinking at all."

He leaned in closer to me. "What were you thinking?"

Heat rose to my chest and my cheeks at the intensity of his stare. I'd tried to ignore those electric green eyes, but they sent my heart into a fit of flutters. My mouth felt dry as I tried to form words. "I wondered how you got the scars. And if they hurt."

His index finger traced zig-zags over my hand, and a thrill shot through me at his touch. "No, I didn't exactly feel physical pain. They came with the curse. Punishment for my vanity."

Goosebumps rose on my arm as his fingers moved up to my elbow. "I'm glad it didn't hurt."

His hand was on the back of my neck now. It felt warm and soft against my burning skin. He smiled, but his eyes remained serious as if studying me."Why are you helping me? After everything you've been through?"

His words sent reality crashing down on me. Aunt Kay's house, finding the spell, defeating Terra. "You know why."

I turned away from him, moving my neck away from his hand. He pulled away and sat back against the chair.

"Aside from wanting to save my own life, I do care what happens to you and the rest of the Circus. Nobody deserves to live the way you all do. Exiled from your home, without access to your magic."

"So you do care about me?" he asked.

Before I could say anything, a knock sounded on the open door. I looked over to see Joe standing there, bleary-eyed. "Morning. Did I miss something?"

"Just digging through the books again. Didn't want to wake you." I stood, then despite my efforts to ignore him, glanced at Brenon.

He winked at me, and I looked back at Joe. "Think you can show me where the coffee supplies are?"

"You got it." Joe turned and left the room. I followed him, this time, avoiding turning back to see Brenon before I left.

* * *

"Maybe she didn't leave any record of how to open the gates," Maggie said as she shoved a pop tart in her mouth.

"It has to be there. I'm sure we can find something," I said.

"You looked for hours last night," she said. "What if it's not there?"

"There has to at least be a clue, and we'll find it," Gia said.

The group around the kitchen table grew silent, and eyes darted to the entrance. I turned in my chair and saw Brenon in the arched entryway. Aunt Kay had called to everyone in the house when breakfast was ready, but only the Sayges and Joe had joined us. Brenon had remained upstairs. Possibly in the same room where I had left him this morning. That was nearly an hour ago.

"Hungry?" I asked.

"They don't have to eat," Adam said. "It's not necessary for survival. The whole no heartbeat thing."

I shot Adam a glare, then turned back to Brenon. "There's still coffee."

He held up a hand. "No, thanks. I'm not here for coffee. I'm here because I think I found the spell."

Maggie began coughing, having startled herself with too much pop tart in her mouth. Adam smacked her on the back.

Aunt Kay stood. "Show me."

The two of them left the room, and I glanced over at Gia. She raised her eyebrows, then lifted her chin toward the ceiling. I nodded. The two of us practically ran up the stairs to the small bedroom to see what Brenon had found.

Aunt Kay was leaning over one of the old books, squinting through her reading glasses. Brenon stood next to her, hands clasped in front of him, patiently waiting for her verdict. Every time I looked over at him, his gaze was fixed on the book. He didn't even look my way once. My stomach sunk in an unwelcome sense of disappointment. I shouldn't care if he was looking at me, but I did.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Aunt Kay rose and moved her glasses to the top of her head. She looked at me. "It'll work. And I think you can do this without harming yourself."

I let out a long breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and cautiously walked to the book. "Can I see?"

She moved aside, and I looked down at the open page. There was a drawing of what looked like a giant net that divided the page in two. On one side of the net was a scene with evergreen trees and a crescent moon. On the other was a small house with fields that resembled wheat or some other tall grass, not unlike the fields that surrounded this house. In beautiful lettering were the words When two become one, the curse is undone.

A shiver ran down my spine. Wasn't that what we already knew? That had to be referring to sex. I squinted at the page and noticed that at the very bottom, there was more writing. This was a single row of text that started on the bottom of the page and wound it's way up along the edge, then continued along the top. I had to turn the book upside down to see the text as it wrapped around.

Leaning in closer, I tried to read the added text. The letters were so small that even with normal vision, it was almost impossible to decipher. "Is that even written in English?"

"It's Fae." Brenon reached for the book. "May I?"

I pushed it over to him and watched as he read the words.

"A child of sun and moon, with pure intentions, may open the gates. At the moment of last dusk, with magic in her heart, the child can call upon the old gods and the new and offer peace between the realms through a sacrifice."

My whole body tensed as the words rang through my mind. "Sacrifice?"

"Um, Ara's a vegetarian, she won't even eat meat, let alone kill a goat or something," Joe said from the doorway.

"It's not that kind of sacrifice," Aunt Kay said. "Generally, it's a blood sacrifice, but that just means a prick of your finger as you say the words. It sounds more dramatic that way."

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Kay," Gia said. "No offense, Brenon, but you might want to go the other route and find yourself a girl. I mean, it won't harm Ara, but when you do a spell that involves blood magic, there's a steeper price."

"Price?" I asked.

"All magic comes with a price," Gia said. "And blood magic usually costs the spell weaver more."

I clenched my fists and tried not to show how much my insides were trembling. "It's worth it, Gia. If we don't get the Elders to agree to have the Sayges help the Circus, we won't be able to finish off Terra. If Terra sticks around, I'm dead. Whatever the price is, it's got to be better than death."