Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

COLLINS

I felt like a baby bird that’d been kicked from the nest to learn how to fly for the first time. It shouldn’t have been so hard to run on longer legs, yet I wobbled and stumbled every few feet. Peggy’s shop was at the front of their property, but the run to the guest house out back felt like it took an hour. Like running in a dream, no matter how hard I pumped my legs, I barely moved.

The red door was finally in sight. I threw my whole body into it, slamming the wood into the wall and shattering glass I hadn’t realized was there.

Mom, Philip, Vic, and Peggy all gasped and jumped. Their eyes all widened.

“ COLLINS? ” Mom shrieked.

Peggy paled. “OH NO. Freaky Friday.”

“What’s going?—”

“HE TOOK HER!” I screamed, silencing all of their questions. “BASTIEN TOOK TALLULAH!”

Silence.

Mom raced over to me and gripped my hand. “Collins, tell me what happened.”

“We were in the store, trying to just relax. She found this potion to switch bodies, so we took it. We were giggling. All of a sudden—” Bile rose up my throat. I slammed my mouth closed and shook my head. “Prince Bastien walked in . . . and then . . . and then everything went black. I heard her scream, but when my vision came back, she was gone.”

Vic dropped back down onto the couch. “He thought she was you.”

“You were right next to her.” Philip ran his hands through his hair. Gray feathers poked out of his arms like the stress was trying to force him to shift. “You were close enough that he sensed your presence but didn’t realize you weren’t in your body.”

“Yet.” Mom nodded. Her whole body was rigid. “It won’t take long for him to figure it out. We have to go. Now . We can’t wait until tomorrow. We can’t wait to train you anymore. Once Queen Tephine realizes she’s not you, she will kill her.”

I let out a strangled cry. I should have known better. I was the Stone Keeper. I knew they were after me, and yet I let my friend wear my face. I suddenly realized I still wore hers. “I look like her right now.”

Peggy snapped her fingers. “I can reverse that.” And then she sprinted out of the room.

“Collins.” When I turned to her, Mom squeezed my hands. “We’re gonna turn you back into you, that way they might see two of you and not outright kill her. But we have to move quick.”

“I should go with you?—”

“No. Philip, no.” She held her hand up to him. “If you go in there, it might draw the wrong attention from Tephine. Her best bet is for us to get to her unnoticed. Plus, we can’t both leave the boys yet. Help Vic get them settled and then we’ll talk.”

Philip growled and argued, but I stopped listening. My whole body trembled.

“HERE!” Peggy screamed as she flew back into the room and straight to me. She thrust an uncapped brown vial into my hand. “Drink. Fast. The reversal takes longer than the initial potion, but you should be back to you by the time you reach the train.”

I chugged the potion like I had an entire frat house chanting chug, chug, chug. It went down so fast I didn’t even have time to taste it. I didn’t care. I just had to get back to me so I could save my best friend.

“Sandra, wait. You didn’t go shopping yet?—”

“ We don’t have time for shopping! ” I screeched and tugged on my curly red hair.

Mom’s face paled. She cringed. “Collins . . . Third Realm is frozen. That’s how it’s dying. It is literally freezing over. Everything is covered in ice and snow.”

Vic looked green and about ready to vomit. “You aren’t dressed for that. Where’s the closest clothes store?—”

“Here.” Peggy pulled a wand out from the inside pocket of her coat. She licked her lips and looked me up and down. “Okay, I can’t make new clothes, but I can alter the ones you’re wearing. Philip and Victoria, strip down. Give them both everything you’ve got on so I can manipulate them to be properly clothed. Both of them.”

“Peggy—”

She gave me a warm smile that showed zero doubts. “Trust me, Collins. Just hold still.”