Then my fingers brushed over a small decorative mirror that had been my grandmother’s. It wasn’t very big, but its frame was shaped like a sun-with sharp, pointed metal rays. Not only that, they were silver rays. Grabbing it from the wall, I held it in my left hand, not my dominant hand, but the hand I wore my amethyst ring on. The amethyst could cut through magic and glamour and also focus my own intentions. It wasn’t as good as a wand, but it had to do. Concentrating on the stone, I let my will pour into it. The stone amplified my energy and then sent it into the silver frame. In as fluid a motion as I could manage in my confined state, I swung the mirror back, driving it into any flesh I could find.

The Gray Man screamed, and I smelled something burning. He released me, and I turned around, not wasting any time, though I uneasily realized I’d dumped more energy into that silver than I should have been capable of. The mirror had stuck in his side and was smoking. It wouldn’t kill him, but having it lodged in there was pretty serious. He reached out toward it with hesitant fingers, knowing he had to touch it to pull it out. I sprinted to my bedroom.

He was only seconds behind me, but it was all I needed to arm myself in my bedroom. He came running in after me, but this time I was on the offensive. I used the silver athame to draw the death symbol on his chest, eliciting a tortured scream from him. Iron was the bane of gentry, but for whatever other reasons, silver hurt anything else Otherworldly. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t question it either. Especially when it had just proven so handy.

Hurt or no, he pushed me backward. I landed on my bed, head hitting with a crack against the wall. It slowed me, but I had already started connecting beyond this world. I reached out, touched the world of death, and sent that connection through the wand. It leapt out at the Gray Man, sucking him in. He fought it, thrashing as though physical action might fight the pull. It couldn’t. A moment later, he vanished.

Almost immediately, the spell of despair in my house disappeared. It was like emerging from underwater. I could breathe again. I let my body slump and relax. I wanted to lean my head against the wall but knew that wouldn’t feel too good after the hard blow I’d just sustained.

A loud sound cracked out from the front of my house, like the door being kicked open. I jerked up, adrenaline going a second round as I heard footsteps pounding down the hall. I was reaching for the gun when a familiar voice yelled, “Eugenie?”

Relaxing-only slightly-I watched as Kiyo burst into my room.

“You’re late,” I told him, trying to act like my robe wasn’t lying out on the hallway floor.

He glanced around, and I couldn’t help a small breath of pleasure. Every ounce of him was charged and ready, that muscled body in a fighter’s stance. His dark eyes held a hard, savage expression as he assessed for threats. He was magnificent. He looked as though he could have single-handedly torn apart an army then and there. I wrapped my arms around myself, from neither coldness nor modesty.

“I was walking up your driveway and felt something…something dark.” His body relaxed, the animal fierceness in his eyes replaced by that smoky sensuality as he seemed to notice for the first time that I was naked.

“A Gray Man. He had to go keep an appointment with Persephone.”

Kiyo’s lips twitched into a smile. “Were you in the shower?”

“Sauna. I impaled him with a mirror.”

“Nice.”

We stared at each other, a thick tension building up in the air between us.

“Well,” I said finally. “Thanks for checking in. You can leave now.”

“Eugenie-”

My confusion and lust took their rightful backseat to my indignation. “I have nothing to say to you. I don’t want to say anything to you. Get out.”

“Not until I’ve explained everything.”

“Like what? How you wanted to get me pregnant, just like everyone else?”

He blinked, clearly surprised. “I-what? No. Of course not. For Christ’s sake, I used a condom.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there.” I could hear the irrational sulkiness in my voice. “Why else would you have done it, then?”

His eyes traveled from my face down my entire body, and then back to my face. “Why do you think?”

I swallowed, attempting to ignore the warmth left from where his gaze had touched me. “Okay. I get the mechanics of it. But you can’t sit there and tell me you being in that bar was a coincidence.”

“No. It wasn’t,” he said simply.

I waited for more. “That’s it?”

He sighed and leaned against the wall. “I was asked by a friend to find you and mark you so we could keep track of you. I didn’t know why; I had no idea who you were at the time.”

“What? Someone told you to sleep with me?”

“Er, no. That was my own, um, improvisation. I could have marked you other ways.” He smiled meaningfully. “But you were too charming and pretty.”

“Hey! Don’t use that fox sex magic on me. It’s already caused enough trouble. Who told you to do that? To mark me?”

The flirtatious smile disappeared. Silence.

“Look, you’re supposed to be the big honesty advocate. If you aren’t going to play that way anymore, then I’m going to kick your ass out of here.”

A glint of amusement flickered in his eyes. “I think I’d like that.” He paused. Finally: “No one you know. Her name is Maiwenn.”

“The Willow Queen.” I took satisfaction in seeing his surprise. “I know more about the gentry than you think.”

“Apparently. When she found out who you were, she wanted to watch you and find out where you stood on your fath-on the Storm King prophecy.”

I met his questioning look with incredulity. “Are you seriously asking me? You think I want to see gentry take over the world?”

“No, not really. But Maiwenn wanted to be sure on your position. She opposed Storm King before and has no desire to see an invasion. She’d rather put resources into the Otherworld, into staying there and making that home.”

“Smart lady,” I said bitterly. “I wish they’d all stay there.”

“Don’t knock the Otherworld. It has its appeal.”

“Yeah? So, what, you consider yourself one of them?”

“I consider myself part of both worlds. It’s who I am. It’s who you are too.”

“No. I’m not part of that world.” I stared past him without really seeing, suddenly feeling tired. “Sometimes I don’t even feel a part of this world.”

He crossed the distance between us and sat down on the bed. Those dark eyes brimmed with concern. “Don’t say that.”

I looked away so he wouldn’t see my eyes getting wet. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Everything…everything’s changed. I can’t turn around without someone trying to rape me. I can’t trust the people I love.” I turned back to him. “I can’t trust you.”

His hand reached out and touched my cheek. “Yes, you can. Eugenie, I didn’t sleep with you to get you pregnant. I didn’t even sleep with you just because you’re hot-though that was a definite perk. I liked you. I still like you. I want us to have something.”

He’d moved his hand down my neck, to my shoulder, and then to my upper arm. His fingers lazily traced the outline of Hecate’s snake. Goosebumps rose on my flesh.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t want to get pregnant.”

“Contraceptive technology is a wonderful thing.”

“I can’t be involved with you.”

“Why not?”

The words hurt coming out. “Because…because of what you are…”

The hand dropped. “I’m the same-”

“I know, I know. The same as me. Kiyo, you’ve got to understand… I’ve got a lot to deal with right now. I just…well, I just can’t. Not yet. Maybe…” I looked at him, at the kind and intelligent face, at the smoldering body so close to mine. “Maybe some day, we can…”