Devlin shoots my grandmother a look that’s unreadable, and the next thing I know, his eyes go black. I have an overwhelming urge to find out the time.
“What time is it?” I ask Devlin. He tells me and then I turn to Nana. “Do you have the time?”
“No, I don’t.”
The need to ask everyone in the ballroom for the time is overwhelming. I’m stalking toward the door when an arm snakes around my waist, tugging me back.
The desire instantly fades. I push Devlin away and point finger at him in accusation. “You’ve got my power.”
“And you’ve got mine,” he says darkly before turning to my grandmother. “Switch them back.”
“I don’t know what y’all are talking about. I had nothing to do with switching anything.” She’s speaking to us as if we’re children and she’s explaining why you shouldn’t put a fork in a light socket. “As I’ve explained, the two of y’all wished on a star.”
“Then why is there a twinkle in your eyes?” I accuse.
“Who, me? Like I said, I’m just a ghost.”
Just a ghost, my foot. “What did you do?”
She shakes her head. Literally two hours ago Nana was fierce and in charge. But right now she’s pretending to be a feeble old lady, unable to remember where she stored her false teeth.
I’m not buying it.
“Okay, Nana. I get it. This is the old switcharoo in order for me to learn some lesson. Lesson learned. I like my power. I want it back.”
“Do you?” she asks, eyebrow lifted. “Are you sure that you don’t want to see it gone? Think of all the baggage you won’t have anymore. Think how you’ll be free of it.”
Her words sink into my bones. If I’m free of my magic, that means I’m not a freak anymore. So when Storm Grayson falls in love with me, he won’t think that I used my power to make it happen.
Not being cocky, just acting confidently.
This is amazing! No one can question if I’m manipulating them into a relationship because Ican’t.
I can be free. For once I can be absolutely, completely free.
Nana clears her throat, and my gaze slides to her. Her eyes flick onto Devlin, and then my false high crashes to the ground like a burning rocket.
Devlin has my power.Devlin. The man who shows up to every single party with two women on his shoulder. When I had my power, I never abused it. I couldn’t. There’s no way that I would have used that gift to sway a person into doing something that would have harmed them—or me.
But Devlin?
“Switch us back,” I command Nana.
“I can’t, my dear.” Now her voice sounds sad, as if she’s seen the evil future that’s in store for our town as Devlin loves and leaves every single woman in Castleview, beginning his evil crusade to bed the women of earth.
“Nana, I know you’re behind this. Change. Us. Back.”
She shakes her head sadly. “Whatever power caused this to happen, I’m afraid it will simply have to play itself out. It will have to work its way out of you.”
“How long?” Devlin asks impatiently.
“I don’t know. A day? A week? A month?”
“A month? Devlin could give the whole world herpes by then.”
“I do not have herpes,” he grinds out. “I don’t have any STIs, thank you very much.” He shakes his head. “Rebecca, as good asit is to see you, and my own grandmother I’m sure would love to have a good long chat with you about the other side?—”
“I’d love to see Lilly.”
