Page 31 of Faerie Trials

Oh God. This was going so wrong on so many levels. Every time I’d convinced myself we could never be together, I’d actually been right. I should learn to trust my instincts more.

He could stay with Coral for all I cared. I had better places to be and apparently better people to be with.

13

Itried to remember that I’d done this to myself when I woke up the next morning wishing I were dead. Mike hadn’t been the cruel one. All me. All ridiculous.

The headache, the sour stomach, the terrible taste in my mouth, all because of me and the stupid decisions I’d made the night before.

Rolling over in bed, I dragged the covers up close to my chin and tried not to face the window and the bright streams of sunlight trying to melt my eyes out of my skull. Hungover from ambrosia. I was such a lightweight, I thought with a groan. What kind of fool lets herself over-imbibe a drink she isn’t used to?

The same kind of fool who then pitches a public hissy fit with the crown prince. Yeah. That was me.

God, I wasstupid. Absolutely one hundred percentstupid.

I also didn’t have a day to take off for a pity party and I should have been remembering my work instead of getting a hot head at Coral’s party.

I used the little pot I’d magicked from the kitchen to make myself the biggest cup of coffee I could manage, drinking it straight up and making a face, then went in the shower to let the hot water beat some of the stupid out of me. Surely it would take a lot more than these measures. The shower did nothing for my head, but at least I had a plan when it ended.

Still wrapped in a towel and with my hair dripping down my spine, I went to the desk to measure out some of the brain boost powder for the rest of the week. Then stopped. Paused and stared down at the bag, feeling like the bottom had just been knocked out of me.

What the…?

The bag weighed practically nothing in my hand.

I didn’t even have enough for the week, coming up half a teaspoon short. How was that possible? I mean, the bag had looked a little light last night, but to not even have enough for aweek? Had I accidentally been too rough with it or something and the bag ripped? I checked it over, found nothing. Somewhere along the line I must have spilled some of the powder, or maybe I didn’t close it completely and some had leaked out. Accidental. And moot at this point.

Icouldn’tdo without the brain boost. Not right now, when it really counted. Juno expected me to be able to get through these past Trials without fail and so far I’d been a huge disappointment to her. I knew the brain boost powder worked because it kept me focused. I needed it tokeepworking.

I didn’t really have a choice. If I wanted to make it through this semester, then I’d have to go down to the kitchen pantry to get more of the concoction. But if Raelynn caught me…

The wordmurdercame to mind.

She’d specifically told me to be careful with the brain boost powder and would have a hard time forgiving me if I wasted or misused it. She’d been so adamant in her warning, it was a wonder she hadn’t come up to my room to measure out my weekly doses herself.

I shivered. I couldn’t take the risk of her catching me going for more ingredients. I definitely didn’t need to hear another no-nonsense warning about side effects. Like I didn’t already know!

Despite feeling like a pile of garbage ready for incineration at the dump, I closed my eyes and let out a breath to call my magic, transfiguring into something small, something with two little handy paws for grabbing.

A mouse. They were pretty smart and easily overlooked. I’d seen a few roaming the halls of the castle.

I held the picture of the rodent in my mind, wanting to cry or puke when my body began to shift. Limbs shortening, hair bursting through every inch of skin. My consciousness shrank and my senses shifted. Pain, a quick zip of agony, and then it was done. Everything settled into place. My whiskers twitched.

It didn’t take me long to find my way down to the kitchen on the lowest floor of the castle. At least the mouse didn’t feel a lot of the hangover symptoms normal Tavi did. Maybe I should stay a mouse forever. I could live a life of foraging and no responsibility, right? As long as I stayed away from magic traps and cats, I might even be happy. Who knew!

But then I’d never get the chance to see Mike again. Or tell him how sorry I was for acting like an idiot.

So…no mouse. At least not permanently.

I scurried across the kitchen floor, keeping to the areas where I knew Raelynn and the girls wouldn’t see me. Wow, we really needed to clean more, no joke. It took little effort to wiggle under the door to the pantry. The ward fell hard on me even as a mouse, like trying to walk through a solid wall of cement. A hum of magic traveled through my tiny body as each nerve ending came alive. A sizzle of heat. The mouse didn’t have the right vocal cords to speak the words to get me through the ward.

A stronger push of magic had my ears popping and then—I was through to the other side.

Things looked alotbigger from this point of view.

A simple shift had me returning to normal form. I ignored the exhaustion and the pounding headache, staring at the shelf where Raelynn had gotten the Abrichxao powder. Time to get to work.

I scooped the fine white powder into an empty bag until it was filled. I needed enough to last me for a while, because after this I was ready to buckle down. To get serious, to study and to be ready for the Trials. All of it. Plus I didn’t want Raelynn to know I’d been irresponsible. She wasn’t too keen to forgive accidents.

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