C C Hunter Shadow Falls After Spellbinder

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.Even by the not-so-best.Screwups didn’t do so well in competitions.Another thing you’d have thought her mom would have learned.“You’re up against Tabitha Evans––the one you caught spying on you at Shadow Falls? You locked her in a cage?”Miranda’s mouth dropped open.“How did you know about that?” She hadn’t told her mom.If there was one thing Miranda prided herself on, it was that she wasn’t a tattler.“I know about a lot of things, young lady.Are you going to let that … redheaded twit show you up?”Twit? Her mom’s choice of word seemed harsh.Not for Miranda, she’d called Tabitha a twit and even worse.But for her mom, “twit” felt severe.Not that Miranda could deny it was going to sting being beaten by Tabitha, her archenemy, but … there wasn’t anything Miranda could do.The fact that she even had an archenemy blew her mind.She wasn’t archenemy material.She honestly tried to create positive energy, put good out into the world, and hope it came back.For that matter, Miranda didn’t even have a clue why Tabitha hated her.Or why her mom hated Tabitha so much.Or Tabitha’s mom.What was so dad-blasted important about cookies? Because if her memory served her right, that had been what the fallout had been about.Miranda and Tabitha had been buddies in kindergarten.Then their moms got into some huge argument about whose turn it was to bring cookies, and the next day, Tabitha, her mom, and her cookies hadn’t come to school.Gone.The girl had disappeared from her life.It wasn’t until three years ago when Miranda’s mom enrolled her in the competitions that their paths had crossed again.And the girl had been a bitch from the word go.“Are you going to let her beat you?” her mom snapped.Did Mom have to rub it in? “I said I was going to do my best.” Miranda paused.“You know what I don’t understand?”“No, let me tell you what I don’t understand.You turned five goons into kangaroos with a mind-to-pinky curse, but you can’t find it within yourself to complete a spell to transform a few apples into oranges.”The tightness in Miranda’s throat doubled.“Maybe I was able to do the kangaroo trick because my life, as well as Della’s and Kylie’s, was on the line.”“And this isn’t important?”“Oh, gosh.How could I forget?” Miranda put on her worst acting abilities.“Winning is everything, right? More important than my life and the life of my friends.”“I didn’t mean…” Her mom actually sounded remorseful.Wow, that might be a first.Okay, not really, but sometimes she drove Miranda loony.Wanting to change the subject, Miranda asked, “Did you see Kylie and Della out front?”“No, I haven’t been out front.” Her mom paused.“I didn’t mean…”“Forget it,” Miranda said, afraid this conversation would lead to her mom going into the same ol’ spiel.They came from royalty.Her father, who Miranda loved dearly when he found a few minutes to spend with her, was of English heritage and was a descendent of Merlin.Her mom, as well as her grandmother, had reigned as high priestess for several years.Miranda was expected to follow in their footsteps.So.Not.Happening.“It’s just … I thought … I thought you’d try harder with the prize being what it is.”Miranda might have, if she knew what the prize was.Then again … not really.All she wanted was to be left alone to kill more shape-shifters.Was that asking too much? She moved to the window and looked out.A storm brewed.The morning sky was almost black.Flashes of lightning spidered across the sky.A strange sensation of doom and gloom did a stroll down her backbone.Probably Tabitha sending her bad juju.The girl was a nut job.A serious nut job.“I mean, since that boy you’ve got a thing for is there, I just assumed you might want to go see him.Peter?”Miranda swung away from the storm and faced her mom.“I don’t have a thing for a guy named Peter, his name is Perry and … Wha—what—what do you mean ‘go see him’?”Her mom’s mouth thinned.“You didn’t read the brochure I sent, did you?”“What’s the prize?”“Why do I mail you stuff if—?”“Just tell me!” Realizing she came off rude, she added, “Please.”Chapter TwoMiranda’s mom huffed.“They pay your way to the next competition, which happens to be in Paris, France.”Air swelled in Miranda’s lungs.“Who gets their trip paid? First, second, and third, or just first? How many of the finalists get to go?”“There’re twenty girls competing.I think it’s the top five who get their way paid to Paris, but … you should aspire to win.Who wants to just place in the top five? You want to win.”Win? Miranda didn’t give a frog’s ass about winning.But going to Paris? Oh, yeah.She could hunt down her own blond, bright-eyed shape-shifter and … she wouldn’t kill him.Maybe she could make him see reason.Maybe he’d see her and realize he was still in love with her.Tears filled her eyes.She wanted that more than anything—wanted Perry to love her.Her mom stared.“I’ll tell you what, how about if I sweeten the deal? If you win first place, I’ll pay for that rude vampire and that other strange chameleon girl to go with you.”Miranda stood in shock.Thunder boomed in the distance.She pushed away the doom and gloom feeling again and stared at her mom in disbelief.The only thing better than going to see Perry, was going to see Perry with her two best friends, Kylie and Della, there for support.Miranda grabbed her mom by the arm and walked her to the door.“You should leave now [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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