24

Inhaling shakily, I gazed at my reflection in the full-length, trifold mirrors in my bedroom closet.

The pledging ceremony, to which Devlin would be my escort, was less than an hour away, to be held at the Shadows, on the outskirts

of town.

When I'd shared Juniper's letter with Mr.Balfour this morning, I'd never seen him happier, gushing with delight, asking if

he might make a copy of it to share with the Kovan. In her own hand! he'd exclaimed.

I wasn't a fool. Clearly, there was a slow but steady burn of opposition among the witching families in Divinity, and Juniper's

letter was precisely what he'd needed to extinguish those flames.

We'll hold the pledging ceremony tonight , he'd said, beaming.

I thought it was better to wait and train me first.

He'd met my gaze in silence. In a short time, I'd become adept at reading the man.

It was because there was resistance, not because I needed training , I said dryly.

This is exactly what we needed. No one will protest now. Juniper's word is adamantine, beyond impugning. Not an ounce of reticence

will remain once the Kovan sees her letter. Now, go get the papers and sign them. You've still not legally accepted the legacy.

I'd completely forgotten about that.

For the second time in two days, my hands had trembled with deep emotion, as I'd proudly signed the documents in all the necessary

places: Zodeckymira Grey-Cameron.

"I'm Zo Cameron," I murmured to my reflection in the mirror. "About to pledge my life to the care and keeping of our clan."

Completing the pledging wouldn't solve everything—far from it. I had countless questions that needed answers. Who'd killed

my mother and tried to kill me? What had Mom and I spent our whole lives running from? Who was my father, and what had happened

to him? But with Juniper's letter, the questions that had been deeply gnawing away inside me, making me doubt myself, making

me afraid of who and what I was, and undermining my confidence had been put to rest.

Juniper was right. The attempts on my life would continue. The early years of my reign wouldn't be easy, but I didn't think

hers had been, either. She'd said "none dared try" in the latter half of her life, but that in younger days, she'd faced the

same threats—uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

My formal training would begin tomorrow, according to Mr.Balfour (James, he'd asked me to call him this morning, though he

refused to address me as less than Ms.Cameron, stressing its importance with the Kovan) with the repair of the kitchen.

I felt as if I'd lived a year in the past week, five years in the three and a half weeks since Mom's death. I felt somehow

so much... older, in a good way, and I hoped wiser.

How swiftly my life had changed!

I'd gone from pauper to queen; from unnoticed to the focus of everyone's gazes; from hunted, I vowed, to hunter (for with

the resources of Juniper's legacy I would track down my enemies and quell them, and I would discover those responsible for my mother's death); from a woman incapable of feeling deeply and afraid to allow herself to feel anything, to a woman who was sort of, kind of, maybe... falling in... well, "falling for" Devlin was as much as I would allow on the matter; and finally, from a woman unawakened and hobbled by lies, vision dimmed by blinders, to a fully empowered witch.

"My God," I whispered. If Mom could see me now! I had position and power, home and clan, security, stability, all the things

I knew she'd wanted for me. I could and would further my education, in the early hours or late evening, once my other duties

were complete. Life wouldn't be easy, it never was, but it was certainly a far cry better than the life she and I had known.

I would continue to explore and ferret out the secrets of the manor, uncover the identities of my mysterious grimoire narrators,

try, with Devlin, to solve the riddle of the regal stag and his lady who mysteriously met each dawn in the Midnight Garden.

I would come to know this town and its inhabitants intimately, divine what Althea Bean feared and why, who the shadowy coven

was that sought to drive me away, which families in the Kovan could be trusted and which needed to be kept at a distance.

I would learn all I could about the power in my blood, using it to prove myself a worthy successor to my great-grandaunt,

Juniper Cameron.

And I would also, I thought, a smile curving my lips, fill this manor with life.

"Quickly," I assured my reflection. I no longer suffered qualms about bringing children into my world, although I'd have to

be careful, taking wise, protective measures for them until I became formidable enough that none dared challenge me.

Lack of a husband didn't bother me.

At least not now. Perhaps that would change in time. So much about my life had.

Perhaps, I mused thoughtfully, it was time to stop using condoms and let what may be, be. Fact was, I'd not have minded a child from any of the men I'd taken to my bed over the years. I'd always chosen well.

Smoothing my hands over my long chestnut hair, I assessed myself a final time. Wear a suit, formal, powerful, and light , Mr.Balfour had said. The cream Chanel would be perfect.

I'd done as he bade and barely recognized the amber-eyed woman looking back at me, dressed in a gorgeous ivory suit, wearing

a diamond necklace and earrings to match. No one would ever look down their noses at this woman and her dented, battered car,

make fun of her frugal nature or Walmart clothes.

From beyond the closet where I stood assessing myself, through the open balcony doors, I heard Devlin call my name.

Blood racing with nervous excitement, I quit the bedroom, hurried down the stairs, and did what I'd wanted to do since the

moment I met Devlin Blackstone.

Invited him in.

One hundred and sixty-nine witches formed the Kovan.

There were double that number outside the Shadows, security for the pledging of the Cameron heir.

Mr.Balfour was taking no chances.

The air hummed with power, crackled with energy, sizzled with magic, and I caught my breath as I slid from the Mercedes and

took Devlin's hand.

Part of me wanted to go still, close my eyes, open my senses, and bask in the enormity of power surrounding me, as Este had

said (and that thought made me sad; never would I have believed an event of such significance would take place in my life

without my best friend at my side).

Another part felt the weight of eyes on me, gazes assessing, measuring, and knew that, despite all measures taken to safeguard heirs, a rotten apple or two often made it into the barrel. I moved swiftly to the door, with Devlin's arm about my shoulders, flanked by an impenetrable wall of bodyguards on either side the entire way.

"Anyone who seeks to harm you will have to get through me, too, lass," he said close to my ear. "Never going to happen."

I shivered at the tone. I'd felt the same from Jesse: Devlin's was power and menace, held softly. I had an ancient, warm vampire-witch

at my side who could shapeshift into who knew what, and it conferred a deep sense of security. I wondered if that was why

Juniper allowed him to live beneath the garage behind the manor. With her power, she'd not needed bodyguards but could certainly

rest easier at night, knowing such a powerful ally was on the grounds. Balfour at her side during the day, Devlin outside

at night. I, too, would enjoy the comforts of both.

The first floor was empty but for Lennox and James, who hurried to greet me.

"Stunning!" Lennox exclaimed, smiling. "You look divine in that suit, as I knew you would."

After exchanging pleasantries (with only me, not Devlin; Mr.Balfour and I were going to have a talk about that), James tugged

me aside, brushing an imaginary speck off the lapel of my suit, eyes alight with pride.

"Are you ready?" he said quietly.

"I am." I'd never been more ready for anything in my life.

"The ceremony itself is simple. There is a standing stone, brought with the Camerons from Scotland, that has been raised from beneath the stage tonight. I will proclaim you the new Cameron heir to the Kovan and cut your palm, which you will then press to the stone. Upon completing your vows, the torch in the candelabra above the stage will light. I doubt you noticed the night you danced with us, but that is the only candelabra in which the torch wasn't glowing. It is the Cameron torch and it was extinguished the moment Juniper died. The ceremony takes mere minutes. Ms. Cameron, do you understand that you are binding yourself to protect the clan Cameron, the Kovan, and all the inhabitants of Divinity, for life?"

I felt a sudden chill at my nape. The moment seemed so... so... momentous and weighty that it felt nearly... ominous.

You still don't have any proof. All you have is someone's word , Este had said.

All you have is someone's word, all you have is someone's word , echoed over and over in my mind.

What if she was right to be worried about me?

Was it possible I was being lied to about, well, everything ?

All is choice , everyone, including books, kept saying to me. Even Devlin.

Was choice still binding if you chose something you didn't know you were choosing? I mean, full disclosure had to be part

of free will and choice in a karmic sense, didn't it?

What if, at this precise moment, everyone was lying to me but the woman who'd lied to me all my life?

That was my conundrum.

I studied Mr.Balfour intently and realized part of the reason I felt apprehensive was because I was sensing, with my normal,

nonwitch senses, that he was apprehensive. "What's worrying you?"

"This is the first and, I pray, only pledging ceremony I will ever oversee," Mr.Balfour replied. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime

event, and it is solely my responsibility. If something goes wrong, I will be the one held culpable."

"How could something go wrong?"

"I have no idea," he said heavily, "and far too rich an imagination. I will not breathe easy until the torch is lit."

Nor will I , I thought glumly.

What was my fear?

Well... what if the Camerons were truly a house of dark witches? And I, dumb, gullible, easily-lied-to Zo, had missed countless red flags, failing to figure it out before pledging

away my very soul?

Then why, I countered to myself, would the coven in my lucid-seeming trance of a dream have petitioned some terrifying being

to drown my light in blessed black ?

Well, gee , I thought caustically, maybe because they need me to turn dark in order to lead their dark Kovan. Get with the program here, Zo.

"I fear your imagination is equally rich," Mr.Balfour said dryly. "It's all over your face. What did your friend Este tell

you about us, the Cameron line?"

"Only good things," I admitted.

"We can postpone this until you feel more certain," he said gently.

Still, again, I got the sense of... things... he feared. About tonight. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"There are many things I haven't told you. Yet. There hasn't been time. But rest assured, I would never permit harm of any

kind to come to you, Ms.Cameron. I assure you that all I have done, I've done to keep you safe. To protect you. To see you

take your rightful place as the leader of one of the lightest, truest, most honorable Kovans in the world."

His words were resonant with a knell my bones recognized as truth.

If I could be lied to so easily, well—how could I live if that were true? At some point, I would have to take a leap of faith. Trust myself, my heart, my instincts. Or spend the rest my life afraid to believe anything or anyone again, all because my mother and best friend had lied to me for so long, they'd made me afraid to trust myself and my ability to judge character and situations.

I did trust my instincts.

I wouldn't allow Mom and Este and their fears to take that from me. I was feeling nerves, nothing more, and who wouldn't in

my position? Squaring my shoulders, I said with firm conviction, "I'm ready to do it. Let's go."

Beaming, Mr.Balfour offered me his arm and escorted me up the stairs.