He was gone.
I blinked.
Had he left me in the middle of our assignment? It would be just like him, as he seemed to have a penchant for disappearing. What business did he have with a Paradox Fae, anyway?
I blew out a breath and shook my head.
Oh well. Now, where did my books go?
I took a step forward, only to be snapped backward by some invisible force. My brow furrowed. “What…?”
Then my feet began to walk, as if I were possessed by someone else.
“What’s happening?” I demanded. Only then did I realize my voice wasn’t resonating and my lips weren’t actually moving.
My body continued to operate on its own, my hand drawing out a wand—one I recognized, yet didn’t—and waved it over the gargoyle outside of the Death Blood Education Building.
“Nahni Haki Aldukhi,” a deep voice said.
Everything inside me froze at the sound because it came from my throat. But it wasn’t my voice at all. However, I recognized it. Sort of. From long ago, a song—
The doors opened with a flourish, distracting me from my thoughts as I stepped unwillingly into the building. I ducked immediately into the shadows, creeping along the walls and pausing with every shift of magic around me.
A glimpse of a mirror caught my eye, but my head refused to turn toward it.
Wait…
I caught a glimmer of a shoulder that was far too wide to be my own.
Then I heard the voice speaking again, this time in a low hum of musical energy I recognized. It reminded me of my mother’s ballad, only different. Darker. Deeper. Hypnotic. I swooned a little, the power warming my veins, the sound a reverberation against my throat.
It’s me.
I’m humming.
No.
Not me.
Him.
My eyebrows shot upward. I’m trapped in someone else’s body!
How? How did this happen? And what were we doing here?
Had I uttered the spell wrong? It’d been a rock, not a person, so why…?
Oh… Oh, Fae… No!
Fire ignited around me, my wand the source of the power. I paused to listen, then more of that ballad hummed from my lips as I whispered enchantments to urge the students to flee. There will be no casualties today. Just a warning. A message. To let the Council know it’s time.
I tried to shake my head to clear it, confused by the thoughts taking over my own. They were much deeper, masculine in nature, and not at all mine.
This isn’t me.
It will be, a deep voice replied, shocking the hell out of me.
Who are you?