Page 89 of Midnight Star

Anyone caught trying to get me off Avalon would be accused of treason. There were no set punishments for anything here—punishments were decided on an individual basis. But treason wouldn’t be taken lightly.

“Are you doubting that the potion will work?” She raised an eyebrow in question.

“No,” I said. “You’re one of the best witches on this island. I’m sure it’ll work.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“I’m just trying to think everything through,” I said. “So we don’t make any mistakes.”

“No one will notice that we’re not who we say we are,” she said. “I can be you. You can be me. No one knows that I know how to make transformation potion, so they won’t think this is even a possibility. Everyone on Avalon will be too focused on your parents’ anniversary celebration to be paying attention to me. My mom’s used to my mood swings, so she won’t notice anything different with you. And it’s only twenty-four hours. What could possibly happen in twenty-four hours that would get us caught?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my stomach doing somersaults at the realization that this was going to happen. I was going to see the world beyond Avalon. Sure, it would only be a sliver of the big world out there, but it was still more than I ever thought possible.

“We’d have to mess upbadlyto get caught,” she said. “And we’re not going to do that. You’re going to see LA, and you’re going to have a great time. No one will ever know you were gone.”

“I guess.” I did my best to squash down the worry in my stomach.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Was I really going to say no because I was scared?

Hell no, I wasn’t.

So I buried the worry so deep that all I could focus on was my excitement. “You definitely win the prize for best-present ever,” I said, nearly squealing with anticipation.

“Told you so.” She beamed. “Now, give me your hand so I can take your blood. Transformation potion isn’t the easiest thing to make, and I need to have the second vial ready by tomorrow.”

Selena

The next day,Torrence teleported back into my room right after lunch. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head, like she hadn’t slept all night. But she dropped her bag on the trunk at the end of the bed, reached in, and pulled out two vials of bright red potion. One was marked with a T, and the other was marked with an S.

“Two vials of transformation potion,” she said, handing me the one with the S on it. “As promised.”

Despite looking tired, she sounded as excited as ever. She pulled off her clothes, revealing her skintight, black academy uniform underneath. The academy uniforms were spelled with special magic that would mold with shapeshifting. I was already in mine.

I uncapped my vial and held it up for a toast.

Torrence did the same.

“To the best birthday present ever,” I said.

“To twenty-four hours of adventure.” Torrence smiled and clinked her vial with mine.

We brought the vials to our lips and drank them at the same time.

The transformation potion tasted sweet, like raspberry, and it fizzed on my tongue. The fizzing quickly expanded down into my throat, into my stomach, and out toward my fingers and toes.

Torrence blurred in front of me, the lines around her body becoming hazy. Her auburn hair turned blond, she became shorter, and her sharp green eyes turned violet.

She’d transformed into me.

“Whoa,” Torrence said, looking at me. “That’s sick.”

I moved to stand in front of my full-length mirror. Sure enough, it wasn’t myself staring back at me.

It was Torrence.

I reached up to touch my cheek, watching as Torrence’s reflection in the mirror mimicked my movement.

“It worked,” I said, surprised when the voice coming out of my mouth wasn’t my own. It was Torrence’s, although her voice sounded slightly different from inside her head. A bit lower pitched.

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