Page 16 of The Mirror and the Curse

Then Kai pushed his empty plate aside, drained his glass of water, and caught Eddi’s gaze. “Okay, time for the elephant.”

Eddi braced herself. “Do you want to talk first, or me?”

“Go ahead.”

The regret and kindness in his gaze stole her breath. Staring at the tabletop, she drew several calming breaths.

“We’ll be all right, Eddi,” he said quietly.

That did it. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she refused to shed another. “Okay, first off, when Kammy spoke to me and Beatrice after her wedding, when she was in her mermaid form, Beatrice hardly felt a thing, but for me the magic was almost like a shockwave. Scared me to death—and afterward, when we entered the castle, we could see brownies everywhere. Sten was sitting at the front desk . . .” She shook her head. “And I realized he was a dwarf!”

Kai listened, his lips pressed into a straight line.

“The next day, we saw pixies. And hobgoblins. And Chuck and Tasha were dwarfs too. And then I went to the stables and saw your parents . . . By the time I saw you, I was a basket case. Later, when I got over the surprise, I wanted to know why you never told me . . . but by that time everything was weird between us. You avoided me, so I started avoiding you.” Her voice cracked, and she slammed her mouth shut.

After a pause, he nodded. “You want to know why I never told you when we were kids that I was a dwarf.”

It wasn’t a question, but she nodded.

He drew and exhaled a long breath. “The easy answer is that resort rules require us magic folk to hide our identity.” He shook his head. “But that’s not the whole reason. I can’t tell you how many times I almost told you, Eddi. I knew I should, but . . . I just couldn’t. I was afraid of losing our friendship.”

Kai’s words pierced Eddi’s soul like darts. “You thought I would stop being your friend because you’re a dwarf?”

He rubbed his forehead with both hands, but she saw his quick nod.

“Well, I’m still your friend. Except now I have even more questions. If you’re a dwarf, how come you’re taller than all the others? When I look at you right now, is this what you really look like? Even your parents are way shorter than you are.”

He opened his mouth to answer, but Eddi wasn’t finished. “Do you have a lot of magic? Like when you disappeared into your room . . .”

Kai spoke into her brief pause. “Geoff Bryant put the disguise on my door after two summer staffers . . . Well, there was a bit of trouble last year.”

Eddi could guess easily enough. Some girls probably tried to invade his space.

Kai continued, “You won’t be able to see through Geoff’s magic unless he wants you to.”

“Was that him with you in Vetricia? Did he transport White and me to the palace gardens?”

Kai nodded. “No one else knows we were there. We both wore glamours.” His mouth pulled slightly to one side. “You could see through mine, of course.”

“I never saw him at all. Am I ever going to get the full story of what went on that day? What is this mirror?”

Flinching, he laid a finger over his lips and shook his head, his expression dead serious. “The walls have ears. Honestly, Eddi, I don’t know much more than you do. Geoff plays his cards close to his chest.”

Eddi huffed. “Who put him in charge?”

“The Gamekeeper.”

Eddi blinked. “Really? I wasn’t . . . I mean, I thought he was just grandstanding or something. There really is a Gamekeeper?”

“There is, and Geoff and Rosa work directly for him, but that’s all I can tell you. Whatever mystery is going on, it’s serious, and it’s way above my pay grade. They’re the enchanters. Geoff is a no-kiddingsahir,and Rosa is a giftedcarovnawhose power is focused on plants. If you ever notice a plant following you around, don’t panic. It’s a bodyguard. No, I’m serious!”

He was. She could tell. “So, what are you?”

“Me? I just do what I’m told.”

“You’re the sidekick?”

He laughed. “Exactly. The comic relief.”

---