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Kato looked me over, much like he did the first time we met. This time, at the end of his search, there was no look of disdain. Or confusion. He stood up and went to Hydra. “I want to be human. I don't care about the cost. She's worth it.”

Everything a girl's ever wanted to hear, and I had no idea what to do with it. What could I say to that? My feelings were stuck in the jumbled mess of my brain, playing peekaboo, trying to hide from me.

Pulling a sour face, Hydra threw her hands up in the air. “Bah! You is dumber than I thought. And I gots no use for romantic fools. Be gone, all of you. I done everything I can. There ain't no solving stupid.” She turned and walked away from us.

Rexi headed out the door, and Kato padded behind her.

My temper and hair crackled, and I wasn't about to let that wench get the last word. I stalked after Hydra and turned her around. “Hey. You don't know jack sprat. Kato could be puce with green stripes that clashed with everything I owned. He could turn into a mountain troll and eat nothing but goats. Wouldn't change a thing. And you're right; he might be stupid for wanting me, but for some reason he does—curse, shoe addiction, and all. So a little thing like being furry won't stop me from falling in love.” My face grew even hotter than my emerald flames. “Not that I am or…”

A slow smile spread over Hydra's face. “And that were exactly what I needed to hear.” She grabbed a new head off the shelf and pushed us out the door. “Out, out, unless you wanna git squished.” An excited shiver shook her body. “This is gonna be good.”

“Rule #92: Need to wake a sleeping cutie or transform a frog into prince charming? The best magical cure is always a kiss.”

—
Definitive
Fairy-Tale Survival Guide, Volume 1

Hydra yanked off her current head and tossed it to Rexi again.

“
Yech.
Throw one of these at me again, and I swear I'm gonna chuck it like a golden ball into the river,” she said, holding the head as far away from her as possible.

Kato shook his head. “Dot was right. You're too wussy to be an evil villain mastermind.”

Hydra ignored us all and positioned the new head. It was dark skinned with sharp bones piercing the bridge of her nose. Small opossum-ish creatures hung from holes in her earlobes. And her hair was shaped and colored like a lemon afro. Once the new head connected to Hydra's body, the parts store closed itself for business and folded up.

We all watched Hydra's multiple personality disorder in action. Kato looked elf-struck, since he had been passed out the last time. Even for those of us who had already seen the show, it was impressive.

The tinderbox reopened and became a grass hut with a conical stick roof lined with wendigo horns. This time, the outside was decorated with dragon hides and chupacabra skins. Hydra looked at the hut expectantly, like something was missing. She muttered and kicked the door. A small sign rolled down: The Witch Doctor Is In.

Apparently satisfied with the transformation, Hydra opened the door and invited us in. Curved shelving lined the walls from roof to dirt floor. Aside from the heads, the shelves were stuffed with jars of all sizes and contents. I read a few of the labels: lizard breath, spider's shoes, pickled pixie pops, rotten beetle juice.

In the center of the floor was a big black cauldron boiling over with purple mist. Hydra went to the counter, picked out a little recipe card, and traded it for the head in Rexi's hand. “You be makin' yaself useful now and be gatherin' ingredients.” Her voice was smooth and reminded me of caramel. It was different than it had been earlier. Come to think of it, the body shop voice was different than the blind hag too. I suppose it made sense in a “not really at all” kind of way.

Rexi held up the list and groaned when it folded down like a Jacob's ladder, tripling her work.

Kato sauntered over and tapped me on the back with his tail. He was grinning so wide you could see his back fangs. “So…love, huh?”

High up on the ladder, Rexi reached for the jar of newt nuts but couldn't resist getting in a jab. “She's been hit on the head multiple times and drugged. Her judgment is clearly impaired.”

I didn't have a mirror, so I couldn't tell if my flames were burning the tips of my ears or not, but it felt that way. My pronouncement had been made in the heat of the moment, and now I was in the awkward
after
moment. What had I just done? Thoughts zip-a-dee-do-da'ed through my mind. I very carefully replayed every word Kato said. Not one of them was
love
. Or even
like
. He said, “She's worth it.” Maybe he was thinking of my political value. Or the worth of my new powers. Maybe it had nothing to do with me as a person at all.

Instead of just asking him how he felt, I took the coward's way out. “What was that, Hydra? I'll be right over,” I said, cocking my ear to the imaginary call. I ran over to the small prep table where Hydra was making some calculations. Kato followed me but didn't say anything more; his smug, satisfied look spoke plenty.

Tugging on the tiger-print tablecloth she was writing on, I got her attention. “You spoke about costs earlier. I don't have anything on me right now other than the jewels in the dress. Will that be enough? Or do you need more?”

Her face smoothed and got very serious. “Costs not be in da terms of jewels nor gold. Cost be comin' from ya life.”

“Are you talking about a sacrifice? Because if so, I nominate Rexi,” Kato said, trying to take a peek at Hydra's notes.

Rexi made a rude gesture with the chicken's foot she was holding.

“I be needin' ya life magics. A nail from da boy, and some hair from da girl.” Hydra finished writing what she was working on and asked us to sign. It was completely illegible.

“What does it say?” I asked.

She held the document out in front of her. “It be sayin' I's not at fault if de spell don't be workin'. Dat ya dun broke da magic rules and dis is bein' da bestest I can do. An if he be dyin', ya's not be allowed to be comin' afta me.”

I turned to Kato, giving voice to the alarm bells ringing in my head. “Maybe you shouldn't. There's really nothing you need to be human for. Plus, we haven't had a very good track record with magic lately. Think Black Crow. Do you want to become a stuffed lion or something?”

Hydra put the paper on the counter and turned back around to counsel us, her face grave. “She be havin' a point. But ya should alsa know, if ya be growin' inta a full beastie, der be no changin' back for ya.”

Kato huffed, the air ruffling his auburn mane. “So try to be human and possibly blow up, or be stuck as a Chimera and lose my ice magic for all eternity. That about right?”

“Dat's abut da sum of it. I be lettin' ya decide.” Hydra went over and helped Rexi with the ingredients.

“Don't do this, Kato,” I pleaded. “I'll still help you figure out a way to keep Blanc imprisoned.”

“It's not about that.” His whiskers twitched, bristling with agitation.

I raised my hand to his face and stroked the fur on his cheek. “I meant what I said. I will still like you if you stay furry forever.”

Kato's muzzle quirked to one side. “Like me? A minute ago you said you loved me.”

My face heated. “Not exactly. Listen, about that—”

Kato stopped me. “No, you listen.” He moved his head close, resting his brow ridge on my forehead so I could see nothing but those ice-blue eyes. “At the tower, it was obvious that the wizard wanted you. And he was very handsome, so I was jealous.”

I tried to interject, but he kept right on going.

“And when they locked me up, I knew something was wrong. I had nothing to do with my time but worry about what he was doing to you. Had he put his hands on you? The thought made me want to rip that tower down brick by brick. I realized it wasn't just because I was concerned for your safety, but because
no
one
should be allowed to touch you but me.”

My hair was still more or less bound in the intricate style, but the few strands that were loose glowed and popped with the pounding of my heart.

“I need to be with you,” he continued, backing up a step. “I would rather blow up than live a lifetime without being able to kiss you. It may be unreasonable, but I won't settle for anything less than living happily ever after
in
love
with
you
.” He gently took the pen from my hand with his mouth and signed the paper. “Okay, Hydra, I'm ready,” he called and walked over to where she and Rexi were dicing the ingredients.

I stared down at the paper he had just scribbled on, and I knew I couldn't sign it, because if anything happened to him, no force in story would keep Hydra safe from me.

“Mix da ingredients togeda, child.” Rexi headed over to dump the handfuls in the cauldron. Hydra panicked and caught the ingredients before they hit the water. “Not der! Dat's da battub. Put dem in da Crock-Pot by Dotea.” Hydra shook her head and muttered something I couldn't make out.

“You spell in a Crock-Pot and bathe in a cauldron?” Rexi asked in disbelief.

“Would be pretty hard to be doin' da reberse now wouldn' it?” She turned her attention to Kato and I. “Okay, yas two lovebuds. Come on ober here so I be collectin' da life magics.”

She took a snippet of my hair. The emerald tip popped and hissed in protest at being cut away. Even more than that, I felt its loss, like I was weaker somehow. Next, she took a hammer and chisel to Kato's paw and chipped off one of his nails. He only had six left. It made me ill that he had used three out of his lifetime quota of ten since meeting me. At this rate, he'd use them all and be dead in a month.

Hydra stirred the potion and frowned over it. “Sumthin' be not quite right.” She looked around and tapped her finger thoughtfully. Her gaze stopped on me. “Could dat be a lotus rose in ya hair?”

I felt in back. Sure enough, it was still there. Kind of surprising that it had survived everything. I pulled it out of the comb and held it out to Hydra. She looked it over and nodded her approval. The flower might have been missing one or two petals, but it was still largely intact. Instead of taking it, she pushed the flower down into my palm. The thorns under the petals pricked me, drawing blood—exactly as Hydra intended, no doubt. She plucked the flower from my hand and tossed it into the Crock-Pot.

Nothing happened.

Rexi peeked into the top. “Shouldn't you say a rhyme like,
Double
bubble
royals
are
trouble
?”

Leaning back against the counter, Hydra calmly folded her arms. “No, but yas betta be standin' back if yas wantta be keepin' yas eyebrows.”

Rexi jumped back right before green and purple flames burst upward from the Crock-Pot. “You might have said that before I stuck my head in there.”

Hydra shrugged and found a jar. Dumping out the little worm in the bottom, she went to the Crock-Pot and ladled out a scoopful. It did not look appetizing. Her sniff and resulting look of disgust verified my opinion. She ran over to the side counter, where the tea set was, and dropped in a sugar cube, then handed the jar to me. “Ya can help him drink it.” She grabbed Rexi and moved to the other side of the cauldron. “We's be ober here.”

Good to know she was confident in her work.

Putting a hand under Kato's mouth, I readied the potion jar. “Last chance to change your mind.”

His eyes burned into mine, his features set. “Nope. I know what I want.”

“Then open wide and start praying.” I dumped the contents down his throat. He stuck out his tongue and screwed up his face. Apparently the sugar didn't help the medicine go down. He started trembling. No, it was more like convulsions. His horns shrunk down to nubs. The process wasn't going to be easy, and Kato roared in pain.

Rexi grabbed my arm and dragged me behind the cauldron. Feathers popped off Kato's wings and started floating around the room. He roared again, standing on his hind legs, the top of his head bumping the ceiling. Then he collapsed on the floor, the cauldron blocking him from my view.

I started to run to him, but Hydra pulled me back. “How many times I be sayin',
wait
for
it
?”

The space of a few heartbeats might have taken centuries for what it felt like. Then came an explosion of smoke and fur. A few more beats later and a tanned hand gripped the rim of the cauldron. Then another hand grabbed the rim—a very pale hand.

Rexi scrunched her face. “What the spell?”

My thoughts exactly. I prayed even harder that the boy about to stand up looked mostly like the prince I first met in my palace—including the appropriate number of appendages.

With a groan, Kato pulled himself up to standing. His fur was gone, replaced by a head of auburn hair and tanned skin. All except for his left arm, which, starting at the shoulder, was stark pearl white.

Oh, and he was completely naked.

I closed my eyes and used my hand to cover Rexi's.

“What are you doing that for? The cauldron hides all the good parts anyway,” she complained.

“Well, they're not yours to see,” I snapped. Rexi snickered. Then I realized what I just said and what that implied.
Ah
Grimm, can the earth just swallow me up now?

I felt a hand brush against my arm. It wasn't a delicate hand like Rexi's. And it wasn't wrinkly like Hydra's. It felt rough and callused. And it gave me goose bumps.

“You can look now. I'm decent.”

I opened my eyes and found myself looking into Kato's very human face. “Hi,” I said dumbly.

“Hi, back.”

Rexi made gagging noises and pushed my hand away. “Nice skirt, Tarzan.” Kato had the tiger-print tablecloth wrapped around his waist.

He didn't snark back or give any indication that he'd even heard her. Instead, he took my face into his hands and kissed the top of my head.

I didn't know how it happened or how it even could happen, given how much we had hated each other at first sight, but all at once, I knew exactly what all those
talks
from Mom, Dad, and Bob had been about. I kept my eyes closed and waited for my very first real kiss.

His lips didn't feel like I thought they would. They were cold and a little leathery. The kiss wasn't very good, to be honest. I opened one eye to peek and saw that I was kissing the back of Hydra's hand. I backed away and rubbed my lips against my arm, trying to get the old lady taste out of my mouth.

Rexi fell to the floor laughing.

“I wouldna be doing dat if I's was ya.”

“And why is that?” Kato stopped clawing at his own mouth and noticed his hand issue. “And why is one arm a different color?”

“Jus be grateful it dinna stay a big white wing. An as fo da kissin'—da rules of fairy tale be broken man—”

Rexi sat up and waved her arms frantically. “Ooh, ooh, let me. The frog prince. If she kisses him, he'll probably turn back into a chimera.” She fell back over again, laughing.

The temperature in the room lowered about ten degrees. Kato had gotten back his command of ice.

Hydra swatted Kato. “Stop dat, horny boy.”

He colored and tried to stammer some sort of rebuttal. Hydra pointed to the top of his head. I went over and ruffled Kato's hair. Lo and behold, a pair of nubby horns.