Lucius stands at the end of the table. All eyes turn to him as he scans us. This time his eyes shift over me without stopping. “My troupes,” he says, “as the keepers of magic, we have an obligation to feed it, protect it, and most important, use it against those who would abuse it. It is time to replenish our ranks once again.” He holds up a closed fist and lets a single, gleaming red cuff drop from his pinched fingers. “Samuel was murdered, and now we must find someone to take his place and continue the fight.”

One immortality spell. I search out Willow and find her looking at me too. She looks radiant, with pastel pink flowers woven into a crown on her head to contrast her bright pink gown. Two would have been nice. I shift my gaze to Roman, but for once, I don’t catch him looking at me. He’s staring down at Willow, his lips pulled into a tight frown, eyes worried. He looks like she just got a death sentence.

I’m still watching Roman when Lucius says, “But first, let’s see what you’ve brought me.”

The table splits down the middle, and the floor rumbles and shakes as we all move backward, leaving a gaping black hole in the center of the room. Narrow golden pillars carved with elaborate designs that look like they belong in front of a temple rise from the dark.

I have to fight to keep my cool. It’s one thing to realize people can move objects with their minds; it’s another to see whole rooms split open.

“Take your places,” Lucius says. “We begin now.”

People rise from their seats and crawl across the table to jump onto the pedestals. Ethan leaps up a few chairs down from me and launches himself onto the pedestal like he’s a gymnast sticking a landing.

“Time to show us what you’ve got.” Xander stands and holds out his hand, waiting.

Now or never. I take his hand and crawl up onto the table, suddenly glad I’m in pants and not an elaborate gown. I step forward and stare down into the gap in the table from where the pillars have risen, expecting the same black tile floor as everywhere else in the room, but the blackness beneath me is endless and thick as smoke. The bottoms of the golden pillars aren’t even visible. The anticipation in my blood fizzles out as I glance to the tiny spot I’m supposed to land on.

But the muscles in my legs are already tense and ready. I make the jump as easily as Ethan, then keep my chin up so I can’t look down.

“Afraid already?” Ethan asks.

“Only fools don’t have any fear.”

“That sounds like a line you stayed up all night thinking of.”