She gave a nervous little chuckle, and Saylor laughed, too. “Mine is the same. But that color . . . here, let me get a closer look.”

And then she touched Mom’s hand. The scent of roses wafted over me as Saylor held on to Mom and looked deep into her eyes. “You are going to stay home tonight, Hillary. You and Tom both. You don’t feel well, and you can’t bring yourself to ruin Harper’s special night. Tomorrow, you’ll wake up and you’ll be so sorry to have missed it, but you’ll know it was the right thing to do.”

Mom swayed on her feet a little, and I gripped her other arm. But after a moment, she gave a faint nod. “I don’t feel very well. I think I’ll stay home tonight.”

Saylor gave her hand a pat. “Good girl. Now go on and change into something more comfortable.”

Mom didn’t walk out of my room so much as float. “Thank you,” I said to Saylor, even though watching my mother leave made my heart twist painfully.

But Saylor was still staring out the door. “Harper, if Blythe’s spell goes badly tonight, it won’t matter that your parents aren’t actually at Magnolia House.”

“I know.” I looked around my bedroom, wondering if this was the last time I’d see my purple bedspread, or the silver and cherrywood jewelry box that had been my grandmother’s.

“Everyone in this town is in danger if—”

“I. Know,” I repeated. “And I know that my aunts will still be there, and my friends, and my boyfriend.”

Turning back to the mirror, I pinched my cheeks in a last-ditch effort not to look quite so much like death. Honestly, white really is a difficult color for anyone to wear. “But I had to do something.”

I thought Saylor would argue that, too, but she just sighed and sank down on the edge of my bed. “Don’t we all.”

“Have you been to Magnolia House yet?” I asked. “Any sign of . . . anything?”

She shook her head. “Everything is as it should be at the house, but Blythe is here.”

The words sent a shiver racing through me. “How do you know?”

“I felt my wards giving way this afternoon,” Saylor said, glancing up as she rummaged in her handbag. “I don’t know how she did it, but it has to be her.”

“What could she even be planning?” I asked, going to sit next to Saylor. “Is she just going to march into Magnolia House and start her mojo?”

Saylor shook her head. “I don’t know. She’ll need to be protected from you while she’s attempting the ritual, but she doesn’t have a Paladin on her side. And the ritual itself is surprisingly simple. It won’t take her long.”