My heart sank miserably, and I shook my head. “We have more important things to worry about. Besides,” I added, loathing the note of bitterness in my voice. “It won’t work. Not this time.”

“I don’t see why not. He fell in love with you before.” She dropped her hand. “And I would argue it’s the most important thing.”

“He didn’t know I was a witch then. He thought I was his wife.”

“Nuance. Your souls are bound. Magic can’t change that.”

“You can’t really believe in soul mates?”

“I believe in you.” At my incredulous look, she shrugged again, watching the flames crackle. “And perhaps I’m willing to make an exception when it comes to the two of you. I’ve been here this whole time, you know,” she added. “I watched Reid take his forefather’s life to save yours. I watched him throw his entire belief system out the window and learn magic for your sake—and wear leather pants in a traveling troupe. I watched you sacrifice pieces of yourself to protect him. He fought an entire pack of werewolves to return the favor, and you fought tooth and nail in these waters to return to him. You’ve befriended a god, swum with mermaids, and now you can even transform into a three-form shape at will. You can probably do a whole slew of other fun new things too.” Her brows lifted with her shoulders. “I’m certainly not betting against you—unless you’re too afraid to try?”

Nicholina’s hateful voice filled my mind. But you should feel lucky you tricked him, oh yes, because if you hadn’t tricked him—such a tricky little mouse—he never would’ve loved you. If he had known what you are, he never would’ve held you beneath the stars.

Goddamn it.

Beau, who’d been listening in silence, watched me too closely to be comfortable. He arched a brow. “I don’t know, Coco. I don’t think she can do it.”

I glared mutinously at the fire. “Don’t start with me, Beau.”

“Why not?” His dark eyes searched my face and missed nothing. “You just said as much yourself. It won’t work. He’ll never love you again. I’m merely concurring with the sentiment.”

“I’m not doing this.”

“Yes, you’ve made that perfectly clear. Better not to try at all than to fail, right?” He shrugged dispassionately. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“Beau!” Célie’s eyes widened in protest. Perhaps she was too naive to see Beau’s manipulation, or—more likely—perhaps she insisted on being the voice of optimism despite it. “How can you say such wicked things? Of course Reid will love her. The bond they share is true. You saw their kiss—it woke him up despite the magic!”