Page 61 of Magical Mayhem

But soon, too soon, I’d have to face them both.

And the shadows, growing showier by the minute, wouldn’t let me forget it.

Chapter Nineteen

Keegan’s fingers tightened around mine, not strong, but insistent enough that I looked back at him. His eyes were half-lidded, hazel, fever-dark, and sharper than I wanted them to be. The shadows hadn’t dulled him. If anything, they’d stripped away the armor he wore.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he rasped.

I flinched. “Excuse me?”

“Not tonight. It’s too close.He’stoo close.”

The words pierced clean through me.

Did he know?

My stomach dropped, and for a moment I couldn’t breathe.

“Who?” I whispered, though I already knew.

His gaze flickered, the barest hint of silver threading the stormy hazel. “Gideon.”

I went cold all over. My first instinct was denial, the kind that spilled easily and automatically. “That’s impossible. He’s—”

But the words stuck.

Impossible.

A lie.

That was the wrong word. Impossible was what I’d thought when I first saw Gideon slumped against moss in the Wilds, breath rattling in his chest. Impossible was what I told myself when Stella dangled Ember’s room key like it was just another trinket. Impossible had become disturbingly normal lately.

Keegan let his eyes fall shut again, but his jaw worked, tight and restless.

“He’s close,” he said again, softer this time, almost like he hated admitting it. “I can feel him. He’s like a shadow tethered between us, tugging on my ribs. I don’t know how. But I do.”

The heat in the room shifted.

My chest burned with a thousand questions I couldn’t let out. He shouldn’t be able to feel Gideon. That connection had always been mine alone, twisted through the Hedge, stitched into me like some dark embroidery I’d never asked for. Keegan had never been tied to him that way.

Not until now.

I squeezed his hand, though I didn’t trust my voice.

When he opened his eyes again, they were sharper still, suspicion cutting through the haze.

“Maeve,” he said, and my name sounded dangerous in his mouth. “Why does it feel like you already know?”

I pulled in a breath, steadying myself the way I would before stepping into a charm-frayed hall. It felt like one false move, and it would all collapse.

“Keegan—”

But I couldn’t finish. Because what could I say?Oh, yes, you’re right. Gideon is close. He’s so close, in fact, he’s tucked into your hotel like an unwanted guest at a bed-and-breakfast.That would go over beautifully. It would probably put the last nail in Keegan’s coffin.

Instead, I smoothed the blanket over his chest, pretending the motion was important.

“You’re tired,” I said softly. “You’re feeling the curse stronger tonight. It’s making you imagine things.”