After that, I didn’t hear much more of what Lara said. I know she mentioned something about a meeting and being late, and then suddenly she was gone, leaving me and Cal alone.

Cal turned his attention back to his plate, so I crossed the room to the buffet. There were dozens of silver trays steaming with eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and a whole bunch of other foods I wasn’t sure I could name. My heart was jumping around nervously, but I tried not to let it show as I filled my plate.

Then it occurred to me that I had no idea where to sit. The table could easily fit over a hundred people, so I didn’t want to sit right next to him, obviously. But it would also look weird if I picked one of the seats far down the table. I finally just sat across from him, and for a while, Cal and I sat in silence, munching on our respective breakfasts. The sound of our forks scraping across the plates echoed in the cavernous room.

Cal shifted in his chair, and I thought he was about to leave without saying anything. Then, quietly, he said, “I didn’t stay just for you.”

I kept my eyes down. “Right. Of course you didn’t. Duh.”

His foot nudged mine under the table, and I finally looked up at him. He was leaning forward, his face intense. “I mean it. I like Graymalkin. I like being close to the ocean and working outside. Working for the Council would’ve meant…” He sighed, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. “Offices and planes. And wearing a tie. It wasn’t for me.”

“Cal, it’s fine,” I insisted, even as my cheeks burned. “I didn’t actually think you were hanging out at Hex Hall because of your burning love for me. But that’s what I’m telling all the girls back at school,” I said, stabbing a forkful of eggs. “I’m thinking ‘heartbreaker’ might be a nice addition to my ‘avenging witch’ reputation.”

He looked like he was going to say something else, so I hurried on, even though it meant talking around a mouthful of food. “So, what do you think of Thorne Abbey?”

Cal blinked at the subject change, but then said, “This place freaks me out.”

“Me too,” I said. “Which is weird, seeing as how Hex Hall is technically a million times creepier.”

Cal shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s home.”

“For you, maybe. Have you really never left since you were thirteen?”

“Never. Not even to go to the mainland.”

I shook my head and broke off a piece of my toast, slathering it with orange marmalade. “That’s insane. Why?”

He put down his fork, his eyes on a spot somewhere over my shoulder. “I don’t know. As soon as I set foot on that island, I never wanted to leave it. Like I said, it’s home. Haven’t you ever felt that way about a place?”

I thought about all the houses Mom and I had lived in over the years. Some of them had been nice, but none of them had ever felt permanent. I’d always known better than to get too attached to a place. All the word “home” conjured up for me was Mom and the vague impression of suitcases. “No. One of the benefits of being a nomad. You never feel homesick.”

Cal studied me in that quiet, intense way of his before saying, “How did it go with your dad last night?”

I sighed. “Not great. Apparently I should be way more psyched about being a demon. And of course he’s dead set against my going through the Removal.”

“Huh,” was his only reply, but Cal could put a world of meaning behind one syllable.

“Let me guess. You’re joining the legions of people who think it’s a bad idea for me to go through the Removal.”

To my surprise, I saw that angry look cross Cal’s face again. “You say it like everyone is against the idea just to be jerks. But Mrs. Casnoff, your parents, me…can you blame any of us for not wanting you to die?”

Something shifted in the air, and suddenly I felt like I was on very shaky ground. “Can you blame me for not wanting to be a demon? Alice killed people, Cal. So did her daughter, Lucy. She killed her own husband.”

He didn’t react to that, so I added—with way too much venom even for me—“Bet you didn’t know that when you agreed to be ‘betrothed’ to me, huh? Husband-eviscerating apparently runs in my family.”

Still no reaction, and I felt shame curl in my belly. “Of course, you also didn’t know you were getting a demon bride,” I added in a softer tone. Very few people knew what my dad really was. I’d always assumed Cal had found out the same night I did.

That’s why I was really surprised when he raised his head and said, “I knew.”

“What?”

“I knew what you were then, Sophie. Your dad told me before the betrothal. And he told me about your grandmother, and what happened to your grandfather.”

I shook my head. “Then, why?”

Cal took his time before answering. “For one thing, I like your dad. He’s done good things for Prodigium. And it—” He broke off with a long exhale. “It felt like some kind of honor, you know? Being asked to be the head of the Council’s son-in-law. Plus, your dad, he, uh, told me a lot about you.”

My voice was barely above a whisper. “What did he say?”

“That you were smart, and strong. Funny. That you had trouble using your powers, but you were always trying to use them to help people.” He shrugged. “I thought we’d be a good match.”

The vast dining room suddenly felt very small, like it consisted only of this table and me and Cal. “Look, Sophie,” he started to say.

But before he could finish, Jenna walked in. “I am so glad I still get to eat human food, because that bacon smells insane …” she said, and then froze. “Oh!” she exclaimed, her earlier bounciness draining out of her. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt…whatever. I c-can…leave?” She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. “And then come back, uh, later?”

But the moment was broken. Cal sat back, and I pushed my hair behind my ears. “No, it’s fine,” I said quickly, concentrating harder on my eggs than I had on my SAT. “We seem to be the only people up yet.”

“Everyone’s awake. They’re just quiet,” a voice said from the doorway.

I looked up and tried very hard not to choke on my food. It was the demon girl. Her black bob was messy and she was still wearing pajamas—cute ones, too, made of dark blue silk and covered in little silver moons and stars. She was watching me with an expression I couldn’t read.

She moved into the room with an easy grace, but her shoulders were up, and she kept her head tilted so that her profile was hidden by her hair. She took a piece of toast and an orange before coming to sit next to me. Her power set my teeth on edge, but I made myself smile.

“Hi. I’m Sophie.”

She plucked at the orange’s peel. “Yes, I know,” she said, her accent every bit as crisp as Dad’s. “And you’re Cal, and you’re Jenna. I’m Daisy.”

They murmured hello, then Jenna shot me a look and mouthed, “Daisy?” I knew what she meant. With her jet-black hair and translucent skin, this girl looked a lot more like a Lilith or a Lenore than a Daisy.

We all sat in silence while Kristopher, Roderick, and Elizabeth came in. I was kind of surprised to see the other three Council members. I figured they’d already be at work, like Lara.

Once everyone was seated, Kristopher looked down the table. “I’m glad to see you and Daisy getting to know one another, Sophia.” His bright blue eyes practically gleamed. Like Lara, he seemed way too enthusiastic for so early in the morning.

“Yeah, maybe later we can all sing a demon version of ‘Kumbaya,’” I said. As far as jokes went, it wasn’t exactly stellar, but the three Council members laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

“Daisy, didn’t we tell you Sophie had a wonderful sense of humor?” Roderick, the tall faerie said, his wings fluttering.

But before she could reply, the demon guy walked into the dining room. Jenna was right: he did look a little like Archer. He wasn’t quite as handsome, and when he glanced my way, I saw that his eyes were blue instead of brown, but there was definitely a resemblance.

“Good morning, Nick,” Kristopher said, patting his mouth with a napkin. “I trust your new room was to your liking?”

Nick headed over to the buffet, flashing a wink at Daisy, whose lips curved in response. “Very much so, Kris. Thanks for that,” he said before helping himself to breakfast. Unlike Daisy, he was American. He sat down on Daisy’s other side and leaned across her to say to me, “Got tired of the view in my old room. I mean, how many times can you look at a pond, right? Kris here was nice enough to hook me up with digs overlooking one of the gardens.” He grinned as he broke open a muffin. “Guess it’ll do for now.”

Kristopher smiled again, but it was strained. “We strive to keep our guests happy,” he said.

“What about you, Daisy?” Elizabeth, the grandmotherly werewolf asked, reaching out to pat Daisy’s hand. “Are your rooms still all right, dear?”

“They’re fine, thank you,” she said softly, and I could’ve sworn Elizabeth sighed with relief.

“So, Sophie,” Nick said. “I’m guessing you’ve worked out that Daisy and I are your siblings in demonhood?”

“Right,” I said, straining for nonchalant. I cleared my throat and asked, “So were you guys born demons, like me, or made?”

Elizabeth answered for them, her voice warm and sympathetic. “They don’t remember, poor things. When we found the two of them, they were both in mental institutions. They didn’t even have names.”

“Yes, and we’re ever so thankful for the rescue, Liz,” Nick said, slurring his words slightly. I looked closer at him. His eyes were kind of red, but not in the demon way; in the drunk way. Holy crap, who started drinking first thing in the morning? And why?

“So,” Nick said to me, “how do you like Thorne?”

“Love it,” I replied, but I sounded unconvincing, even to myself.

“Well, it’s gotta be better than that dump you guys call a school,” Nick said with a snort.

Cal’s expression turned positively stormy at that, so I rushed in to say, “Hecate’s not that bad. It just has, uh, character.”

“Didn’t L’Occhio di Dio raid Hecate last year?” Daisy asked, reaching across me for the marmalade. That’s when I noticed the jagged, purplish scar running along her inner arm. It looked a lot like the scar on my hand. I remembered what Dad had said about both Daisy and Nick nearly being murdered, and tried not to stare.

“No, it wasn’t a raid. There was a warlock there. Archer Cross.” It was the first time I’d said his name out loud in a long time. “He was working for The Eye. But he didn’t hurt anyone.”

Everyone fell silent, and I really hoped that that was the end of this particular conversation. Then Nick said, “I heard he tried to cut your heart out in a cellar.”

If everyone hadn’t been hanging on my every word, they certainly were now. “That’s not true,” I said evenly. I could feel Cal’s gaze on me, but I kept my eyes on Nick. “We fought, but he never pulled a knife on me.”

“You fought?” Roderick asked. “With your hands?”

“Um, yeah,” I replied, confused. “I think I might have kicked him somewhere in there, too, but—”

“What Roderick means is why didn’t you use your powers?” Kristopher said, folding his arms on the table. “You are a demon. You could have vaporized him if you’d wanted to.”

My mouth went very dry and I stammered a little as I said, “I-I wouldn’t have any idea how to do something like that.”

“Well, if you ever learn, I don’t think I want to be your roommate anymore,” Jenna chimed in. But if she’d thought joking was going to change the subject, she was wrong.

Nick leaned forward, his eyes practically burning. “Or maybe the rumor is true. Maybe you didn’t kill him because you’re in love with him.”