Midnight and Henry were both gone when Valerie came home. She quickly checked her mirror to see if Juniper was there, but she saw only her reflection. She remembered that she could leave him a message for the next time he checked it. Quickly she explained about Shade/Jack's return.

After leaving the message, Valerie was at loose ends. She wished she could knock on Cyrus's door for some advice or lighthearted distraction, but thinking about seeing him again made her stomach hurt. Instead, she decided to visit Kanti, bursting into the room without knocking like she always did. Kanti was singing in the shower. She had never heard Kanti so much as hum, and it made her smile, in spite of everything. At least there was one piece of happiness amidst all the pain.

Valerie heard a knock on the door and opened it without thinking that this was no longer her room, or her place to answer the door.

"Valerie, darling, wonderful to see you!" Pauline, Kanti's mother, was a vision in lavender. Valerie blinked, realizing that a strikingly handsome older man, who must be Kanti's father, was by her side. Behind them were three stunningly beautiful girls who were a few years older than Kanti.

"What are you doing here?" Kanti's voice sounded emotionless. She stood in her black bathrobe, her hair dripping.

"That's no way to greet your family, Kanti," her father said sternly. "A young lady is always a gracious hostess."

"Even in a hovel like this," the sister with auburn hair said with disdain.

"Thanks, Isabella. Missed you all so much," Kanti said sarcastically.

"Oooo I missed you, too!" another sister, this one with chestnut hair, said, oblivious to the tension. She gave Kanti a big hug.

Kanti gave an exasperated sigh but hugged her back. "Valerie, this is Amaryllis. And my other sister is Peach."

Peach waved shyly.

"I'm George," Kanti's father said, shaking her hand aggressively.

"Valerie's the friend I told you about. The powerful one," Pauline said with a significant look at her husband. Kanti's mother's power was to sense how much magic other Conjurors possessed, and she had been impressed when she first met Valerie in Elsinore.

"Indeed? Then it is a pleasure to meet you, young lady. I do hope you'll be a good influence on our Kanti here," George replied.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Valerie said.

"Again, what are you doing here?" Kanti asked, crossing her arms protectively in front of herself.

"We wanted to see where you've been hiding yourself, dear," Pauline said.

"Why now? You've never come before."

"You belong at home. We've come to bring you back," George said.

"That isn't happening," Kanti insisted.

"We shall SEE," Ani said, stepping from a shadowy part of the hallway. Valerie tried to slam the door against her, but she put her hand out. "WHAT could be the problem?"

"You tried to kill me!" Kanti said. She turned to her mother. "How could you let her near me?"

Pauline shifted uncomfortably. "Now, dear, she's your aunt. Of course she'd never hurt you."

"Your little friend Henry lied," Isabella said. "Duh."

Kanti's face darkened, and Pauline jumped in. "I'm sure he was mistaken. I'm sure he was trying to impress—er—protect you. Very noble, of course. But Ani assures me..."

"Get out," Kanti said, humming with magic. Valerie had never sensed so much power from her before.

"That's no tone to take with your parents," George said, but he took a step backward.

"NOW!" Kanti said, and Valerie watched in astonishment as the creepers that were part of the wallpaper in the hallway began to peel off, coming to life as real, winding vines. They wrapped themselves around the feet and wrists of her family.

"Enough! We'll leave for now and talk about this with you when you're more reasonable," George said. "We're staying at The Palace Hotel."

The vines continued to wind around her family's limbs. Kanti wasn't listening to her father's words. Her face was stormy. Amaryllis whimpered as a vine tightened around her wrist. "Ow! Kanti!"

Her sister's words snapped Kanti out of her trance, and the vines slackened. "Sorry," she said to her sister, absently rubbing Amaryllis's wrist.

"It's okay. Make it up to me by taking me to a fabulous party tonight!" she said, the incident already forgotten.

"Come," George said, leading the rest of his family away. He shot his youngest daughter a last, stunned glance before he turned the corner. Kanti slammed the door shut after them.

"They're your family, your blood. You can't avoid them forever," Valerie said.

"Don't defend them. I was an embarrassment to all of them until I was cursed with this beauty and magic."

"It's not a curse," Valerie replied. "It's who you truly are. All your years before were to teach you to value yourself for more than power and beauty. Now you have both. Think how much good you could do in the world."

Kanti's shoulders slumped. "You're right. I know I'm being a brat about this. But I can't forgive them yet for all those years when I might as well have been a piece of furniture for how much attention they gave me. It's time for them to get a little taste of how that feels."

"Having a family is a gift. Don't waste it," Valerie said, but then let the subject drop.

"I hate to say it, but I think Val's right," Henry said to Kanti that night while they had dinner in the Imaginary Friends' dorm cafeteria. They held hands under the table, eating with their free hands. It would be obnoxious if it wasn't so adorable. "You've got to forgive them some time."

"I say forget 'em," Cyrus said, dropping his tray at their table and sitting down. "Sometimes parents suck."

When Valerie met his eyes, Cyrus turned tomato-red. He stared down at his food and started shoveling it into his mouth.

"Sometimes everyone sucks," Henry said. "Doesn't mean they can't be redeemed. Your parents are trying."

Kanti sighed, a little dramatically. "Fine, I'll meet them. But you're going with me," she said to Henry in a tone of voice that sounded like a queen issuing a command.

Henry didn't seem to mind. "Of course. And we should bring Val, too, since they already like her."

"Good idea. Maybe the fact that she's your sister will carry some weight in terms of them accepting that we're together. What about you, Cy? We could use some comic relief."

"Well too bad. This clown isn't performing today," Cyrus said darkly.

"Wow, your death stare has gotten much better," Kanti teased, but Cyrus didn't crack his usual grin.

"I'm busy. I'll meet your horrible family some other time, okay?"

"Sheesh, fine," Kanti said. She turned to Valerie and mouthed "what's with him?" Valerie turned her gaze back to her plate.

"Is there something I should know?" Kanti asked loudly. Henry squirmed in his chair. "Henry?"

Valerie could swear a little buzz of magic emanated from Kanti, but she didn't think her friend knew she was using it.

"Cyrus and Valerie kissed when they were under Dasan's magic," Henry blurted out.

Valerie wanted to sink through the floor.

"You've been holding out on me," Kanti said accusingly to Valerie. Valerie couldn't meet her gaze. "Hey, you guys are really upset about this."

"You think?" Cyrus said, and stalked away.

Valerie followed him. She caught up with him in the hall outside of his room.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He turned and examined her face. "What for?"

"I hurt you."

"Yeah. Last night was one of the worst nights of your life. But it was one of the best of mine. Do you know how much that sucks?"

She stepped closer. "That wasn't even close to one of the worst nights of my life."

"So you're not sorry that it happened?" Cyrus asked hopefully. Valerie looked away. "See, that's what hurts. Not just last night. Every time you mention Thai, you're rejecting me over and over again. I thought when you came to the Globe, things would be different. But you never saw us as anything other than friends."

"Best friends."

He shook his head. "I want more than that."

"So is it all or nothing then?" Valerie asked, suddenly lightheaded at the thought of Cyrus fading to a nonexistent role in her life.

"I'm not saying that. I've been avoiding this for so long. Maybe Kanti's right, and it's good that it's all out in the open now. I need time to figure out how this can work."

"Are you going to leave me?" Valerie hated how small and pathetic her voice sounded. It was incredibly selfish to expect him to stay by her side when every time she was happy with Thai it would cause him misery.

"Never, don't think that," Cyrus said, taking a step closer to her. "Things can't be the same, but it doesn't mean I'm gonna stop loving you or stop wanting to be a part of your life."

She took a raggedy breath. "Thank you."

"Oh just come here," he said, and pulled herinto a hug. She felt so fragile, like a strong wind could blow her into amillion pieces. The only thing holding her together was the knowledge thatCyrus hadn't abandoned her yet, even all those years when he wasn't allowed tobe her imaginary friend. He had still watched over her. She had to trust thathe wouldn't leave her now.