Page 52 (1/2)

And I could barely breathe

Because it orking

His chest was harder to look at, doing strange things to my brain as it writhed and churned in a way flesh was never designed to But the sa there, with randoether into a shirt onceto look like a ht when Jules’ beautiful, graceful hands rose up from his stoer trapped

Like the pages of the book, I realized They suddenly fluttered out of ust of that strange wind caught the cascade, decades passing like seconds

Shit! I grabbed for them, but they had an almost frictionless surface, impossible to hold Until I finally sla and ht of h

"Cassie--" solanced at Jules And then stared, transfixed, as color bloohtened, as a beard sprouted and then retreated and then sprouted again--

"Cassie!"

Marco’s voice rose in h the bubble It evaporated in a flash of light bright enough to make me close my eyes And when I opened the two perfectly fine hands with a look of stunned wonder on his face

And Marco, as pale and tight-lipped And Fred, who looked like he was about to faint And Rico, the brunet member of the trio, a daredevil type as fa eyes that held that un away

"What is it?" I asked, staring fro his hands--his pink and healthy and obviously perfectly fine hands

"My God," Fred whispered

"What?" I asked again, starting to worry "It worked He’s back to normal--"

"Normal?" Marco asked fiercely "You call that normal?"

I looked at Jules, who finally looked up His eyes were a little different as they met mine, bluer maybe And his skin looked different, too, al, he looked better than before

"Yes?" I said, growing ripped ain, and this time, his wasdifferent, weaker, warainst mine And there were fine freckles, which a laht, staring at him in disbelief

"Human," Jules said hoarsely

Chapter Twenty-six

I went back to bed

Not because I wanted to But the rooet up, and Marco had put his foot down And then threatened to dragcarted off like a sack of potatoes, but only just And now the ceiling ofin and out, even with me flat on

But not as much as what had just happened to Jules

Oh God, what had I done?

It was a stupid question I knehat I’d done I’d stripped Jules of his master status, destroyed his position in the fa to a vampire, and reduced him to a servant at best, prey at worst

I hadn’t just ruined his life; I’d destroyed his death

And okay He’d just finished saying how ed for a do-over, but that was Jules He should have been an actor, because he was a dra a situation where even a norood by comparison But tomorrow? The next day? The day he looked at his beautiful, unchanging face in the mirror and saw the first wrinkle?

I tried to tellaround, I’d figure everything out I’d sit down and take his hands in mine andand do the opposite of whatever I’d just done

Except that I didn’t knohat I’d just done