“So where is everyone?” she asked, but even as she was speaking, two figures materialized out of the night. As they approached, Sophie could see it was Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, arm in arm, walking slowly toward the house. “We’ve got company,” she said softly.

Josh stepped outside and stood beside his sister on the wooden deck. “He looks older,” he said quietly. “Older than Perenelle for sure.”

“And she’s ten years older than him,” Sophie reminded her brother.

“So why isn’t she aging as fast?”

“Maybe she hasn’t used her aura as much as he has,” Sophie suggested.

Josh shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense-she must have used her powers on Alcatraz.”

Almost as if she felt his gaze, Perenelle raised her head to look at Josh, her eyes dark smudges against the pale oval of her face. She smiled, but it looked forced, artificial. “You’re awake,” she called to Sophie, and then turned to Josh. “And you must be hungry.”

“Famished,” he said lightly. “I don’t suppose you brought any food?”

“There’s food aplenty, but you cannot eat just yet,” Perenelle answered. She was close enough now that the wan light from the table lamp in the room behind the twins washed her face in a yellow glow, turning the whites of her eyes the color of lemons.

“Prometheus has agreed to train you in the Magic of Fire.”

Josh blinked in surprise. “I’m going to learn Fire magic now?”

“Right now.” Nicholas nodded. “It will nicely complement your Water magic.”

“Could we do it after dinner?” he asked, feeling his stomach grumble.

Nicholas looked at Josh closely. “It’s never a good idea to learn an Elemental Magic on a full stomach.”

“But Saint-Germain taught Sophie Fire magic after dinner,” Josh pointed out, almost petulantly. His sister might not need food, but he hadn’t eaten all day.

Perenelle’s smile vanished from her face, turning it hard. “You are not your sister; she is infinitely more powerful than you will ever be, Josh. She can do things that would be impossible for you.”

“And of course, you have your own skills,” Nicholas said to Josh hastily, glaring at his wife.

Josh looked at the couple, confused and surprised about what they’d just said. “I thought we were equal,” he said eventually.

Perenelle looked as if she was about to reply, but Josh saw Nicholas catch her hand, squeezing it and silencing her. “You are twins,” he said, “but you have never been equals-you each have your strengths and weaknesses. It is the combination of your strengths, one canceling out the other’s weakness, which makes you special.”

“The two that are one, the one that is all,” Perenelle finished.