Page 24 of Charmed

CHAPTER8

MAEVE

Maeve

“ [With the added Scene,should this Chapter be split up? It is the longest chapter in the book now, but I have had chapters over 5k in previous books, so it may be fine? I’m curious what you think.] Did it work?” Despite the question being the least pressing it was the first I could think of to ask. To my relief, words rather than the useless croak that had plagued me since my transformation emerged. I was surprised to note that the voice was completely unfamiliar—pitched in a low, masculine timbre, another piece of my identity that had been stripped away by my accidental curse.

Wizard Alden’s smile dispelled the discouragement that had clouded his expression for the past hours, causing my heart to beat more quickly than I was used to; I wondered idly if frogs’ hearts functioned differently than humans’. Not to mention my entire body was hot where I rested on his palm that gently enveloped me.

“It worked.” The tension in his shoulders eased, as if in relief.

Despite my own amazement at the success of his spell I was tempted to frown at the implication in his words, but it seemed that my new lips weren’t inclined to form in that way. My disgruntled speech would have to do.

“It seems rather irresponsible for you to cast a spell you lacked confidence in, especially on an unsuspecting creature who didn’t ask to be given the ability to speak. How do you know I wasn’t content with my limited communication?”

Nothing could be further from the truth, but just like the days spent as his apprentice, something about him made it impossible to resist riling him.

His eyebrows rose. “It seems the spell has given the frog an attitude in addition to words.”

“You take too much credit for your magic; your spell was one of communication, not the confidence for me to stand up for myself.”

Amusement twitched his lips. “Are all frogs this feisty?”

I tried to shrug…another gesture that had disappointing results with my new body. “I haven’t met my match.” I chose to remain silent about the fact that I hadn’t met any other frogs at all.

“Then perhaps I should hunt down a more compliant one; you seem like you could potentially give me all sorts of trouble, something I can’t afford given my current circumstances.”

“Yet trouble is far more interesting…something you well know, else you wouldn’t be entering such a grueling competition.”

The spellbook gave an annoyed rustle, and though I found a strange thrill in our word spar, I couldn’t ignore its reminder that I had far more pressing concerns—primarily returning to my human form so that I could go to Corbin.

Time to focus on the matter at hand. “Your skills in transposing language are quite impressive. Do your abilities also extend to human transformation?”

His brow furrowed. “Transforming anything into a human—whether something that was previously human or has never been—is some of the most advanced magic that is unfortunately well beyond my mastered skills.”

The hope that he would be able to reverse my curse had guided me until this point, keeping me from abject despair. Following my transformation, I’d turned the library upside down in search of a reversal spell as well as for any information about the magical competition so I could track down the prince’s whereabouts. I’d tried all manner of means—forming a tracking spell, creating a portal, using the enchanted parchment he’d left behind to write a message, and manipulating the magic circle—but my transformation seemed to have suppressed my magic, making it impossible to access my powers.

It’d been quite fortuitous that my master had saved me the effort of an arduous journey by summoning his spellbook when I’d been trying—and failing—to encourage it to lend its wealth of knowledge to my predicament, as if magic worked behind the scenes to come to my aid. Yet it’d done me little good when for hours he’d been too occupied with his challenge to even notice me. I’d never considered that even after finally getting his attention he wouldn’t be able to help me.

Even with his granting me the speech needed to make my request, I’d encountered another obstacle. “What if…it was to reverse a curse or a spell gone wrong? Would your limitations still apply?”

“No matter how the transformation was done, the principle is the same.” He tilted his head to study me with a thoughtful air. “Is becoming human your aspiration?”

“Of course, for I’m—” To my astonishment, aribbitswallowed the words. I blinked in confusion and tried again, but once more a frustrated croak overcame my voice.

Why couldn’t I tell him who I was? Panic set in, more acute when it seared through my small body. Wizard Alden was awaiting my response with admirable patience, considering he believed I was nothing more than a mere amphibian.

My green body curled in on itself. “I desire to become human.”

I managed those words without difficulty, which confirmed my fears that I was only prevented from speaking of the curse…which meant I wouldn’t be able to tell Wizard Alden I was his apprentice.

He considered my request. “There may be a way to help you achieve that wish…but it’ll be impossible unless I win this competition, which means I must find another spell to place upon you.”

While he rummaged through the books he’d brought for ideas on the other two enchantments this challenge required from him, I occupied my time frantically searching through the spellbook for the frog spell I’d accidentally performed so I could better understand its conditions and limitations. Scrawled at the bottom were the words:Classified as a Curse.

Part of my basic training had included a lesson on magical terminology.Curses, I’d learned, contained various distinctions…including the inability for the victim to share its details, thus increasing its power. It appeared that despite having cast the frog spell on myself by accident, I remained subject to these conditions.

I muttered a dark oath.Bother with such technicalities.

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