I asked Soren to give me the night alone. The disappointment that flashed in his eyes was crushing, and I almost changed my mind. But I needed to use the little time I had left to find answers since I knew the tome could never leave the Reynard. I had about one-third of the book left to read and only days left to do it.

I poured myself a glass of white wine, settled in the armchair next to the wood stove, and started to read.

I have tried for many years to find a way to get into the Kobold realm, see what lies on the other side of the portal my ancestors opened, but to no avail. That didn't stop me from figuring out a way to combat the curse. Not reverse it entirely—there's no way to do that, and I don't think there's any way I can truly help both boys, but I have found a spell that I think will give at least one of them a chance to go home. Wanda told me I was crazy for trying—and when Wanda Willow calls you crazy, you know you may have gone too far. But I have to help them, and I really think it worked.

That being said, the boys are still stuck here...for now. What I did was I add a stipulation to the curse, a caveat that says that one brother can go back home.

Just one.

Wanda always talks about order and balance in magic. A give and take.

The debt for Robert and Gregory has been paid for generations now, and I believe magic has granted the twins this small reprieve. Unfortunately, it comes at a new cost.

All Archer and Soren need is one Fox descendant to fall in love with one of them. Then one brother can go back, and the other will remain here as payment for the wrongs the Kobold did to our family. Both were wrong, but decades upon decades have passed, and both brothers have paid for too long for a never-ending feud that wasn't their fault.

I cast the spell tonight, and everything seemed to line up perfectly. But we won't know for sure until the next descendant inherits the Reynard. Which means I will never know, unless I see it from Beyond.

I am confident in my decision to bypass Raven and pass the Reynard down to Gemma. Even though she's still a child, I can't think of a better person to take over after I'm gone, and what's better...I know her mind and heart will be open enough to at least entertain the notion of falling in love with one of my boys, thus freeing him from his prison.

I swallowed and closed the book, letting it slide from my hands into my lap.

It all came down to me.

All the unending questions that Soren and Archer refused to answer. The tidbits that kept me up at night, they all snap into place.

Archer telling Soren that it didn't matter how he felt about me, as long as I fell in love with him. He wanted to use me to free himself from the Reynard and leave Soren behind.

God, he's an even bigger dickhead than I thought.

Another thought flew through my mind. If I could've freed Soren instead, why would he tell me not to fall in love with hi—oh, fuck.

If I fell in love with Soren, he'd be free...and he would go back to his realm. And leave me here, heartbroken. He couldn't bear to hurt me, not like he felt he'd hurt Hazel.

I had been the key. I could've broken the spell, but now it would be up to Raven.

The thought of my frigid cousin having feelings for anyone beyond herself or committing to anything besides work was laughable.

It would never happen.

Would it?

But if anyone could melt her...it would be Soren. He could charm her with his smile or play a song on the piano that set her imagination wild. Soren could see the good in her and bring it to the surface. Then she would be wrapped in his arms, sharing a bed with him. Feeling his skin pressed against hers.

All the things that had made me—

My heart squeezed as if in a vise grip, all the feelings I have for Soren rising to the surface. I realized right then that what I felt for him was far, far more than lust. Not love. Not yet.

But I was afraid it would only be a matter of time. And then what would happen?

The thought of Soren making Raven feel those things made me feel physically ill, but there was one thing I had to admit: Soren felt something for me too. And I didn't think he'd cast me aside for my cousin.

All of this confused me even more, but a warm feeling in my belly replaced the gnawing in the pit of my stomach.

I set the tome on the ground next to the chair and stood, stretching my arms high above my head. When I worked every kink out, I pulled on a sweater and headed out into the hallway. I was hoping to perhaps run into Soren so I could tell him what I learned. What I didn't expect was to find Archer leaning against the wall in the hallway.

His plum gaze was deadly and the expression on his face unreadable. "Gemma," he said in what could be mistaken as a growl.

I crossed my arms over my abdomen and pulled my sweater closed. "Archer. I don't really understand why you are snarling at me, considering I'm the one you quite literally fucked over."

"Don't be so sure about that," he said, staring at the framed landscape across from him.

"What do you mean? In what world am I in the wrong?"

Archer pushed away from the wall and stood before me. "I didn't take you as the kind of girl to try and put a wedge between brothers. How quickly you moved on from me to Soren."

I bristled and a scoff escaped my lips. "Well, to be fair, I didn't take you for the kind to use me for my body and try to trick me into feeling a certain way about you for your own personal gain. And I didn't take getting involved with Soren lightly, trust me."

"He's desperate and lonely since Hazel died. Otherwise, I would think he'd reconsider your offer of my sloppy seconds."

"You're disgusting. And I didn't offer anything, Archer. It was a decision we came to together like two mature adults. In case you have never done that before, it usually involves mutual trust and affection."

He snorted and shook his head as he turned away from me. "That's a mouthful coming from a girl who fucked up so badly, she has to give up her hotel, and can't commit to a shampoo let alone a relationship."

Fury boiled inside me. So what if I never finished a bottle of shampoo and there was a collection of them in my bathroom? It didn't mean that I was incapable of something deeper. And as far as the hotel went, I couldn't deny that I'd failed.

I stepped toward him and grabbed his arm, turning him to face me. "You don't know what you're talking about, but to tell the truth, it doesn't matter what you think. You burned your last bridge with me, Archer Hyde. You'll never get what you wanted from me, and I hope you rot here for the rest of your miserable life."

And he likely would, for a while at least. My cousin might be many things, but pliable wasn't one of them. She wouldn't fall for Archer's tricks like I had.

He tilted his head and his eyes narrowed. Pulling his arm from my grip, he said, "That will never happen; I'll make sure of it."

"You are a bigger idiot than me."

He tsked and said, "Shouldn't you be thanking me? Isn't it every girl's dream to get with two hot brothers at once? Soren and I have adapted to the times in every other way; perhaps he would like to share before you have to go."

My palm made contact with his cheek before I realized what I was doing, the sound echoing through the empty hallway. "Fuck you, Archer."

His deep purple eyes flashed with something I couldn't place before his normal cocky demeanor set in again. He kicked up an eyebrow and hissed, "It's good to see that your mother has rubbed off on you. The apple doesn't fall far and all that shit. Have a good night, Miss Fox."

I thought he would escape through the passage I still hadn't had the guts to explore further, but he disappeared into the usual cloud of smoke.

My stomach churned, his final words ringing in my ears. I know he did it on purpose, comparing me to the person I least wanted to be like. Yet the remark still hurt more than I wanted to admit.

I opened the door to my suite and slammed it closed, deciding to go to bed and start over tomorrow.