Page 87 of Midnight Star

I gathered the electricity until it was buzzing below the surface of my skin and sent it flying out at the piece of paper in my hand.

In my mind, the paper burst into flames and turned to ashes.

In reality, nothing happened.

“You’re staring at that invitation like you expect it to spontaneously combust,” Torrence said.

“That’s what I justtriedto do,” I said. “I felt the magic. It wants to come out. It’s just… stuck.”

I shrugged, because this was nothing Torrence hadn’t heard before. I’d told everyone about how I could feel the magic inside, wanting to come out. But when the other witches asked me what my magic felt like, they told me it sounded nothing like what their magic felt like when they performed spells.

I didn’t think they believed me.

So I’d stopped talking about it. To everyone except Torrence, of course. Sometimes it felt like she was the only person in the world who still had faith in me.

“There’s no spell I’ve heard of that makes anything spontaneously combust,” she said simply. “But if you feel like your magic wants to do that, then hey, it’ll be cool to see what you’ll be able to do when your magic makes an appearance.”

I was grateful that Torrence held out hope that my magic might emerge someday. But I nodded in agreement, since I also knew there wasn’t a spell to make things spontaneously combust.

Then I threw the invitation into the fireplace.

Once satisfied that it was burned to a crisp, I leaned back into the mound of pillows behind me, still staring into the flames.

“So…” Torrence said, and I turned my attention back to her. Her green eyes glinted with the look that I knew only meant one thing. Trouble. “The collectors’ edition ofPride and PrejudiceI gave you wasn’t your real birthday present.”

“It was a great present,” I said, since it was. “But now you have me curious. What’s my ‘real’ present?”

Torrence smirked and lifted her hands, chanting a spell I knew well. A sound barrier spell. Her purple magic swirled out of her hands, shooting up to the ceiling and soaring down along the walls as the spell locked into place. The purple disappeared, and now anything we talked about while she maintained the spell wouldn’t be overheard.

Each room in the castle already had a sound barrier spell around it, but we liked to be careful. Just in case.

I leaned forward in anticipation. “So?” I asked. “What is it?”

She reached into the sleeve of her sweatshirt and pulled out a vial full of bright red potion.

My eyes widened at the sight of it. “Transformation potion?” I looked to her, to the potion, and back to her again. I didn’t need her to nod to confirm what I already knew was true. “What’s it for? And where did you get it?”

Transformation potion was one of the hardest potions to create. Only the most advanced witches could brew it. And once it was brewed, it expired after twenty-four hours. So it wasn’t something that was kept in storage.

“I made it, using my own blood,” she said. “So you can transform into me.”

Selena

“Why wouldI want to transform into you?” I asked, confused.

Nothing against my bestie. She was awesome. But as much as I admired and appreciated Torrence, I didn’t want tobeher. I was perfectly happy being myself.

Except for my missing magic. But that couldn’t be fixed with transformation potion. Transformation potion would make me look like Torrence on the outside, but I’d still be me on the inside. Missing magic and all.

“Other than your magic igniting, what’s the one thing you want most in the entire world?” Torrence asked.

“To be allowed off of Avalon.” I didn’t have to stop to think about my answer. “But my parents won’t allow it. You know the rules. They won’t let me?—”

I cut myself off, the pieces clicking together as I stared at the bright red potion in Torrence’s hand.

“They won’t letyouoff the island,” she completed my thought. “But I can come and go as I please. Like I do every weekend when I visit my mom in LA.”

“You really think it would work?” My eyes widened, my heart racing with excitement and anticipation. “That I could pretend to be you and leave the island? Just like that?”

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