Even though it wasn’t noon yet, Halcyon looked somewhat disappointed.

“You don’t think there’s an, uh, hereditary component to this, do you?” Halcyon asked.

“Of course,” Marina said. “That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

“I don’t mean the whole Aphrodite thing. I was talking about your mother.”

Marina blinked. “You think I’m crazy?”

“Honey, you know I love you and if you really believe this and want to go on some scavenger hunt for a magical ring, then you know I’m in with whatever. It’s not like I have lines in the sand about anything except underwire bras and getting married again. But you’ve got to realize how this sounds.”

“Alexios said getting people to believe him was always the hardest part.”

“His wardrobe isn’t helping matters.”

“He’s not wearing the purple jeans anymore. I told him he wouldn’t blend here.”

“So he’s dressed more appropriately, but he’s still pitching this outlandish tale.”

“Yes, but what about the money in my bank account? I am positive it wasn’t there before. It’s not like I’d forget about ten thousand dollars I had sitting around. And look at my hair and my skin. I didn’t even put on moisturizer last night and I haven’t had a dye bottle near my head in months. And I certainly didn’t spend my night putting in extensions.”

Halcyon stepped closer to Marina and scrutinized her face. Marina could tell her sister was confused. On the one hand, there was absolutely no way Marina could have gone through a procedure to get her skin to that state—if a procedure even existed that would accomplish it. And definitely no way she’d gotten it done and recovered overnight. But still, it was a lot to take in.

Unfortunately, Marina didn’t have a lot of time. She needed Halcyon on board quickly. Her sister would help her no matter what, but if Halcyon believed, then her focus would be greater. And once Halcyon was focused, she was like a dog with a bone. Marina needed some of that spirit right now.

“Does it work on other people?” Halcyon asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You said you touched your face and the next morning it was beautiful again. So if you touched my face, would the same thing happen?”

“I don’t know. Alexios didn’t say anything like that and surely he would have mentioned it.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know. Maybe the others before you were too egotistical to try to help someone else.”

“I suppose that’s possible. Do you want me to rub your face?”

“Why not?”

“Okay, but take off your makeup first.”

Halcyon headed to the bathroom for makeup wipes and came back looking several years older. Something Marina wasn’t about to mention. Apparently, they’d both inherited their father’s bags and dark circles. Marina had always thought his were due to being perpetually drunk, but she and Halcyon both had the same thing, no matter what they drank or how long they slept. Maybe there was more to this DNA stuff than people knew.