Page 39 of Switching Graves

“So, Divina hasn’t said anything to you,” I surmise, my tone flat.

Poppy’s voice raises to a near-shriek in my ear. “Of course, she hasn’t. What the hell?”

“I need you to pretend for five minutes that you believe in all of this, because we have to discuss how drastically everything about our situation has changed.”

“How has it changed?”

I throw my phone onto the bed and begin to pace around it. “Because I’m not from the Valeria bloodline! I can’t read minds or manipulate feelings. What do you think is going to happen when I take these courses and can’t complete their evaluations? I can’t pretend to have those gifts.”

“Well, considering the fact that I also can’t pretend to have those gifts, I’d say you’re doing just as well as I would be,” Poppy’s voice fills the room through my speaker.

I still my feet. “Are you sure you’ve never experienced anything out of the ordinary?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Haveyou?”

“I mean . . . ”

“Sonny!” she yells, so loud, I wince when it bounces off my walls and reverberates into my ears.

“I didn’t know it was tied to actualmagic, but I’ve had some weird things happen to me that had no other explanation. I’m learning that now, they do.”

“This conversation is getting weirder and weirder,” she says in a sigh.

“One thing I can’t figure out is why Divina never mentioned anything to you about this. Especially after you agreed to come here.”

“Shedidsay I’d regret not letting her get involved. I’m sure she’s cackling in her witch’s den right now,” she bitterly jokes.

I puff out my cheeks in exasperation. I can’t believe Divina would feed Poppy to the wolves like this. “I’m serious. Most of these books say that gifts begin materializing with puberty. I can confirm that weird things began happening to me around that time, too. If your mom and dad always planned for you to come to Ravenshurst, why wouldn’t they ever pull you aside and explain the true nature?”

“They probably realized that I don’t have any gifts. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve failed them.”

“I’m certain you do. I’ll send you some of the things I’ve been reading. The Valeria bloodline is empathic, so the gifts would be more subtle than someone from, say the Primaris line, who can control nature. It would likely feel coincidental, like you know what someone is about to say before they say it, or you can read their expressions very well.”

“I have no idea what you just said.”

“Poppy,” I groan her name, falling into the bed beside my phone.

“Okay, okay. So, I can feel emotions better than most. That makes more sense. So, we’re not shooting magic out of wands and flying on broomsticks?”

“No, that’s what the dragons are for,” I deadpan, earning a howl from her end.

“All right, so this complicates things a little bit. We can get through it, though.” I hate the optimistic lift in her tone. She really believes we can still do this.

I’ve been spending the day mentally plotting where I’ll be buying a one-way plane ticket to disappear.

“It complicates things a-lot-a-bit. We can fake it formaybea semester, but they’re going to start realizing I’m not one of them sooner rather than later.”

“Let’s worry about that when we get there. For now, try to learn as much as you can about these people and their supposed gifts. See if you can find anything about yourself. We’ll take this one step at a time.”

“You make that sound so easy.”

“It’s not, but we thrive in difficult times. This is no different.”

I blow out a breath. “I’m going to get some rest. Love you.”

“’Til the world ends.”

“And even then. Night.”

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