He lifted our joined hands and kissed the back of mine. “You are my salvation.”

Happiness tingled from my head to my toes, and I realized that on the walk over here, no one had stared at me in hatred. No one had turned away in fear or unease. No one had mentioned my magic at all. They’d been far too concerned with who I was with, what I looked like, or my position by Kieran’s side. It calmed me in a way nothing else could’ve. My life wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t change a single thing.

I had my miracle.

I patted his hand, then pushed him away. I also had shopping to do.

Epilogue

Magnum steepled his fingers as he watched the images flash across the TV. The likeness was astonishing. She looked almost exactly like her mother. Beautiful. Gorgeous, even. But there were a couple of differences.

The magic, for one. Patrice had been a mutt, but her power had sprung from Zeus. This woman wielded the magic of Hades.

“The first Soul Stealer the world has seen since…”

The words of the Magical World Wide News faded away to the back of Magnum’s thoughts.

So. After hiding for her first quarter century, the Spirit Walker had decided to declare herself in magical society. With an upstart Demigod’s son, no less, who’d somehow inherited Poseidon’s magic without a properly forked family tree. Amazing. Surprising, even.

Fated?

Magnum touched his fingers to his lips, sifting back through his memories. Back through time.

Maybe.

The other Demigods of Hades would be eager to shepherd her under their umbrellas. They’d be frothing at the mouth to snap a chain around her neck. This girl was mostly untrained. She was malleable. Powerful to no end. She’d be an unstoppable addition to their inner circle.

But there was one problem: she wore the mark of Poseidon, and the upstart mark holder had been good enough to fool Valens for nearly a year before tearing him down.

Magnum laughed softly and shook his head. He never would’ve thought that possible. Some rulers, maybe. But not Valens.

Valens had seemed unstoppable.

It just went to show—your brood is your blind spot. Valens had learned that lesson too late.

Miss Price was already under an umbrella. A powerful one. And if Magnum read the situation correctly, the mark-holding upstart was about to be crowned the king of an extremely influential city, with the blessing of Sydney, a growing up-and-comer on the magical scene. Together they held enough cards to be left alone. For a time, anyway.

Magnum studied the girl’s face. He studied the eyes.

His eyes.

There was no question—he’d need to pay her a visit. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.