Free Spellsinger (Avalon: Web of Magic #5) by Rachel Roberts

chance?”
    Tiffany swiveled her hips and shimmied into a dance step. “ Let me tell you, if I sing it true, get up and start the dance, ” she sang, imitating Johnny.
    Molly jumped to her friend’s side and sang the next verse. “ A rock-and-roll rap with some zap, come on now and take a chance. ”
    The three girls sang the third verse together . “No matter what you do it's your life, you're you. ”
    They circled Kara and pushed her between them. “ So come on and take a chance and dance! ”
    “ Dance, dance, dance! Take a chance and dance! ” They chanted, hopping and dancing around the room.
    “Cut it out!” Kara said, annoyed. She couldn’t help thinking of the way she and Lyra had played together in the same way just the other morning.
    “Oh, Johnny!” Molly, Tiffany, and Heather collapsed on the bed in a giggle fit, sending pizza remains flying everywhere.
    Only Kara wasn’t laughing.
    Watching them, Kara felt a sudden flash of jealousy. Heather had natural talent. She could really sing while Kara had to resort to magic. She had borrowed, no—let's get real— stolen the unicorn horn.
    It was wrong! Or was it…?
    She clutched Johnny’s pendant and felt it sparkle with her magic.
    I don’t care if Heather is better than me, Kara thought. She doesn’t want it as much as I do. She doesn’t deserve it like I do…
    “C’mon, Heather,” Molly squealed. “Sing ‘Supernatural High,’ B*Tween’s song.”
    Come on, Heather, Kara mimicked Molly in her mind.
    Heather started singing.
    I’m in my moon phase, my pink days
    When everything is okay
    I am beautiful, invincible
    Perfectly impossible
    Kara wished the girl would stop. That was her special song. The one she sang with Lyra!
    Tiff and Molly barely seemed to notice Kara’s distress.
    Kara cleared her throat. “ I’m going over to see Johnny rehearse tomorrow, and then we’re doing a radio interview, then Johnny and me, we’re gonna—”
    Kara had to stop talking as Heather nailed another perfect note.
    I can’t take anymore, Kara thought. Turning away, her hands over her ears, she shouted, “Heather, will you please stop that noise? It’s making me sick!”
    Heather stared at Kara in shock. Tiffany and Molly also fell silent.
    “Noise?” Heather asked, clearly upset.
    “Sick?” Tiffany said, springing to her feet and facing Kara. “I’ll tell you what’s sickening! Hearing you go on and on about how tight you are with Johnny!”
    “ Noise is all the hot air that’s been coming out of you ever since this whole concert thing started!” Molly added.
    “This concert thing,” Kara repeated, rolling her eyes. “It’s only to save Ravenswood! Geez. You're all involved in that.”
    “For you,” Molly said in a low, soft voice, shaking her head of short dark hair.
    “Yeah,” Tiffany said. “My dad says it’s no big deal if those animals get shipped off to a zoo or a professionally run preserve. It might even be better for them.”
    “And sometimes it can be a little scary, giving tours with that wolf and that big cat wandering around,” Heather noted.
    Kara stiffened. “Fine!” she yelled, scattering the entire pile of papers against the wall with a wide swing of her hand. She couldn’t bear to think about the way Lyra had attacked her today. She could still smell the sweet scent of the cat in her room—and she burst into tears.
    “Kara, are you all right?” Molly asked.
    Kara gave a sharp nod, quickly wiping her eyes. “If you three have better things to do, then don’t let me stop you.”
    Heather picked up the papers and gently handed them back to Kara. “Here. We’d better go.”
    Kara grabbed the papers and turned away. “Like I said, there’s the door. It’s not hard to figure out how it works.”
    Heather pinned Kara with her intense gaze. “Ever since you got involved with Ravenswood, you’ve changed, Kara! I wish we never heard of Ravenswood!”
    Kara felt like she was watching through someone