Page 19 of Magical Mayhem (Stonewick Magical Midlife Witch Academy #7)

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’s too 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.”

The words felt wrong in my mouth, bitter as old vinegar. Lying to Keegan didn’t sit well, but I wasn’t ready to untangle the truth, not with his pulse already erratic under my fingers.

His eyes searched mine, and for a heartbeat, I thought he’d call me on it. But then the sharpness faded, washed out by exhaustion. He turned his face away, closing himself off.

The hurt of it lodged under my ribs.

Still, he spoke again, voice low but steady.

“It isn’t just the curse. I know the difference. Gideon’s not gone, Maeve. He’s never gone. He’s waiting, circling. And if he’s close enough for me to feel him… then you should be worried too.”

I swallowed hard, my throat aching.

If you only knew, I thought. But I couldn’t say it. Not yet.

Silence filled the room, punctuated only by the low crack of embers in the hearth.

I tried to focus on the small things, such as the curve of the quilt, the way Ardetia had shifted silently in her chair, watching but not intruding, and the soft, golden light that clung to the carved edges of the wolf-head bed frame.

Normal things.

Mundane things. Anything but the truth hanging unspoken in the air.

Keegan broke it first, his voice sharper than before. “Don’t let him in.”

My head snapped toward him. “What?”

He turned back to me, eyes fever-bright and burning with something that was half plea, half command.

“Whatever you do, Maeve. Don’t let Gideon back in. Not to the Academy. Not to Stonewick. Not to you.”

The words cracked something in me. He said them with such certainty, as though he already knew, already saw me at the threshold with Gideon’s shadow trailing behind me.

I wanted to shout that I hadn’t, that I wouldn’t, that I was smarter than that. But the words stuck in my throat, because the truth was messy. I had let him back in, in my way. Into my thoughts. Into the Wilds. Into the secret corners of the inn.

And even worse, I didn’t know why.

Was the circle a good enough reason?

My chest ached, a wild thrum of guilt and fear.

“Keegan,” I whispered, my voice trembling now. “Rest. Please. You need your strength.”

His grip tightened once more, fierce despite his weakness.

“Swear it, Maeve. Swear you’ll keep him out.”

I couldn’t. Not when every part of me already knew it wasn’t that simple.

But I bent closer, pressing my lips to his moist temple, feeling the heat of his skin and the curse burning beneath it.

“I swear I’ll keep us safe,” I said.

And hoped he would mistake that for enough.

His hand loosened, falling back to the blanket. His breath eased into sleep, though not peacefully. Shadows still clung to the corners of the room, like they’d been listening all along.

I sat there, staring at him, my own hands trembling.

He felt Gideon close. He knew it. And I had no idea why.

No, that wasn’t true. Deep down, I feared I did. The curse was tying them together. Binding Keegan to the very man he despised. And if that was true… then maybe keeping Gideon away wasn’t just impossible. Maybe it was dangerous.

I leaned back, fighting the urge to shake him awake, to demand how he could sense what had always been mine alone. But he needed rest. And I needed answers I didn’t have.

So I sat there in the firelight as the weight of two men pressed against my ribs, the pull of shadows thickening outside the inn, and the unshakable knowledge that whichever path I chose next, truth or lie, Keegan or Gideon, the ground beneath my feet was already cracking.

And I had no idea if I could hold the pieces together, but I had to try.

I slowly stood and walked past Ardetia, who gave a faint smile and nod as I moved to the doorway.

The Academy’s hallway smelled faintly of lemon oil and old books, polished wood gleaming under the lanterns.

I closed Keegan’s door softly behind me, leaning against it for a breath. The weight of what he’d said, Gideon is close, still thudded in my chest like a second heartbeat.

“Maeve.”

Nova’s voice drifted from the far end of the hall, low and even.

I turned, startled, to see her leaning lightly on her staff, green eyes steady, hair spilling raven-dark down her shoulders. She looked less like a seer who carried the weight of the world and more like… well, an aunt who’d been waiting with tea and a blanket, ready to listen.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said quickly.

“You didn’t,” she replied, coming closer. “The shadows don’t let me sleep easily. Besides…” Her gaze stayed on me. “I felt the shift. And I felt you.”

My throat tightened. “Nova, I—”

She raised a hand before I could tangle myself in excuses. “No lectures tonight. Just truth. Tell me, child.”

Child. She said it with such warmth that it undid me. Suddenly, all the composure I’d scraped together crumbled like sand. My shoulders shook as words spilled out before I could stop them.

“I found him,” I whispered. “In the Wilds. Gideon. He was half dead, shadows choking him. I couldn’t leave him there, Nova. I couldn’t. Stella, Bella, and even Twobble helped me bring him back. He’s hidden in the inn now.”

The confession hung between us, heavy and fragile. I braced myself for scolding, for sharpness.

But Nova only sighed, a long, thoughtful sound.

She laid her hand over mine, her palm warm, grounding. “Oh, Maeve.”

Her voice was soft, not condemning. It was like an aunt hearing you’ve done something reckless but brave, and knowing it came from love more than folly.

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and relentless. “Keegan felt him just now, Nova. He knew. He said Gideon was too close. And he begged me to swear I’d keep him out. How can I promise that when—” My voice cracked. “When he’s already here?”

Nova’s thumb brushed over my knuckles, steady and sure. “You carry too much alone, Hedge Witch. It was never meant to rest all on you.”

“But it does,” I said fiercely, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. “The Academy, the curse, the students, Keegan, Gideon, my parents…” I barked out a laugh that sounded half mad. “Even the mule feels like my responsibility somehow.”

Nova’s mouth curved faintly. “The mule will manage.” She shook her head. “But you, you are unraveling.”

Her words sliced through me. It wasn’t cruelly, but with truth. I had been unraveling, one quiet strand at a time.

Nova leaned on her staff, tilting her head in that thoughtful way of hers. “When the world tangles, what do we do, Maeve?”

“Cut the knots?” I guessed, trying for humor.

“Ah.” Her smile softened. “No. We listen to the threads. We follow them to untangle.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “You obviously didn’t grow up in my house.”

She smiled.

“So, how exactly do I do that?”

Her eyes gleamed, catching the light of the lantern. “We read the cards.”

I froze. The last time I’d done a proper reading, the Tower had turned up in the middle of my life like an unwanted guest, and nothing had been simple since.

“Nova…”

She squeezed my hand, firm but kind. “Nothing is as it seems right now. Not Keegan’s curse. Not Gideon’s presence. Not the shadows above us. The cards don’t solve, but they reveal. And what you need, Maeve, is clarity.”

I let out a shaky laugh. “What I need is a nap.”

“Clarity first,” she said with a small smile. “Then sleep.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting her steadiness seep into me. She didn’t judge, didn’t scold. She just held me there in the flickering light of the hall, like someone who had walked through worse storms and knew the only way out was to keep listening to the world around us.

“Alright,” I whispered. “A reading, but only if you promise to keep my secret.”

Nova chuckled softly, the sound as rare as it was precious. “Your secret is safe. Come, Hedge Witch. Let us see what the threads are trying to tell you.”