dinner sent to my room. When I heard the knock at the door, my heart leapt, but the door opened on its own. There was no one there. I picked up the silver tray in the hallway. When I stepped back. The door slammed shut again, and I heard the lock engage. Steak dinner. All the trimmings. And a small, white, folded card written in an elegant but old-fashioned cursive hand.
I brought the tray in and set it on the table in front of the couch. The ink on the card shimmered. Fae magic, perhaps. And yet, there was something familiar about it.
I brought it to my nose, closed my eyes, and inhaled. No. Not fae. This was earthbound.
I opened it. It read, “look outside your window.”
I dropped the card and went to the window. My heart stopped. She was standing in the courtyard wearing a tattered white dress. Her bare, skinny legs poked out. Her arms and face were covered in grime. But there was no mistake. It was Rose Kilgore.
I struggled with the lock on the balcony slider. I could have blasted it open with a simple spell, but I had no idea who might be watching. I tapped on the glass.
Rose looked up. She had an odd expression. A half smile. She looked happy. No, not happy. But vacant, carefree.
“Dammit,” I shouted. The slider wouldn’t budge. I needed to get to her.
I pulled for all I was worth and finally the lock disengaged. I pushed the slider open. It was too high to jump. And if I did, I had no good way to get back inside.
“Rose!” I whispered. She put a finger to her lips, silencing me. Her lilting laugh froze my blood. She wasn’t...right.
“Rose!”
She turned, her dark hair swirling behind her. It floated, not on the wind, but as if she were submerged in water.
She wasn’t real. This was an echo. A ghost.
“Rose!”
She turned again. Smiling, she cocked her head. “There’s only one way in,” she said. “If you’re strong enough to close the door.”
Then, she faded into nothingness.
“What?”
Panic curled around my heart. I turned away from the balcony. The small, white card was gone. I’d left it right next to the food tray. I searched under the couch and all over the floor. When I turned again, the food tray had vanished. All of it... gone…vanished into thin air. Just like Rose.
I went to the door. I tried to open it again, but it was locked from the outside.
“What the?”
I stepped away. The knob turned. The door slowly opened and Jameson Cruz stood there, smiling.
“You?”
“You’re late,” he said. “I came to make sure everything was all right. You were due on the floor two hours ago.”
I rubbed my eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I’d just checked the clock, and it was six p.m. I didn’t go on until eight. J.C. was saying it was ten p.m. now?
Everything Archer warned me about came flooding back. Fae magic was powerful stuff. They could shift time. Make you see things that weren’t there. Was this J.C.? Or was it the fae that had come from the Ring?
“Where’s Archer?” I asked. “He escorts me to the floor when it’s time for me to go on.”
“Archer has more important things to do for me this evening.”
“Then Topher,” I said.
“Tonight, you’re entertaining a private audience. It’s time.”
My pulse raced. Archer had said nothing about this. The promise I’d made him thundered in my head. I swore I wouldn’t leave the room or open the door to anyone but him.
“You have nothing to be nervous about,” J.C. said. “You’ve been preparing for this since the second you got to the Taurus, haven’t you? It’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Come on. You wanted answers. You wanted to see what we’re about. You wanted to be tapped in. Well, tonight you’re going to get everything you wished for and more, little pet. You’ve impressed me. What’s more, you’ve made me richer. I want you to share in that. I’m offering you the big prize, Phaedra. The dream everyone has. I’m offering you your own shot. A permanent conduit to the Source. You can have it all. Wind. Earth. Water. Even fire. You’ve proven you can handle it.”
He made me sick. As if the Source was someone like J.C.’s to give. But he was right about one thing. The more he trusted me, the better my shot to destroy him.
“What do I have to do?”