Page 12 of Magical Mirage (Stonewick Magical Midlife Witch Academy #6)

The stone corridors of the Academy seemed to soften as we walked, the ever-burning sconces along the walls flickering lower as if acknowledging Keegan’s state. The walls didn’t speak, not with words, but with the presence of old magic humming through the marble floors and carved arches.

We hadn’t gone far when the doorway near the central stairs opened, and Grandma Elira stepped out as if summoned by the air itself.

“Maeve,” she said, her voice taut with alarm, “I felt you coming.”

Then her gaze moved to Keegan. She didn’t gasp. Didn’t cry out. Just moved swiftly.

One hand reached toward his shoulder, gentle but firm. “Lean on me, Keegan. You’re too proud, but not today.”

He looked like he might argue, but the last of his strength had frayed. He nodded and leaned against her without protest.

I stayed back as she guided him through the corridor, past the familiar arches and into the wing where his rarely used bedroom had been prepared.

“I’ll settle him,” she said over her shoulder. “Stay with your father. He’ll need to know.”

And just like that, I turned and there he was.

Frank. My dad. No longer in his squat bulldog form, but standing in the corridor, barefoot and rumpled from rest, still wearing the soft wool sweater someone had surely knit for him, probably Luna.

His hair had grown longer than he used to keep it, peppered gray, a little wild.

He stared at me like I was a puzzle he’d half-solved and then misplaced. “Maeve?”

I crossed the space between us in three fast steps and wrapped my arms around him before I could think better of it. His arms folded around me after a beat, slower, warmer, his grip protective in that old, familiar way.

“You’re okay,” I whispered. “You’re okay, right?”

He squeezed tighter. “You’re the one who looks like she’s been through hell.”

I pulled back, blinking fast. “We both have.”

His gaze flicked toward the hall Elira had disappeared down. “Was that Keegan?”

“Yes,” I said. “We fought Malore.”

The words fell into the corridor like a dropped blade. Sharp and final.

Frank froze.

His father.

My dad’s brow furrowed deep, his mouth half open. “What?”

“Malore,” I repeated. “He came to the cottage last night. It wasn’t just the curse twisting things anymore. He was there. In the flesh. Still cursed. Still monstrous. But there.”

“I don’t…” He took a step back, shaking his head like he could undo it. “What does my father want from us? Did Gideon send him?”

“I don’t know. I have some ideas, but they could just be weak guesses at this point.”

He swallowed hard, voice cracking.

A silence stretched between us that was filled with old scars and the ache of truths that didn’t want to settle.

Finally, he looked at me with something close to dread in his eyes. “How did Keegan manage?”

“He’s hurt.” I hesitated. “But, he wasn’t the one who beat Malore. Not alone.”

Frank’s brows shot up. “Then who?”

“A wolf. Massive. Silver. It came from the trees and attacked Malore without hesitation. It didn’t speak. Didn’t wait for thanks. It just vanished.”

“Another shifter?”

I nodded. “Keegan knew something. But he wouldn’t say.”

Before he could answer, my grandma returned. Her silver hair was pinned back in soft coils today, though a few strands had come loose in her hurry.

“He’s resting well,” she said, smoothing her robes. “I called for Nova. She’s already on her way.”

“Will he recover?” my father asked.

“He’s strong,” she said. “But this wasn’t just a wound of flesh. This curse is growing teeth. And it’s feeding on bloodlines now.”

“He said it felt like his blood was eating itself.”

“Probably an accurate description.” My grandma pressed her lips into a thin line.

I stepped forward. “What do you know about the four?”

Her eyes met mine. “What do you mean?”

“I found the book back at the cottage with the note signed ‘E’. Was that not you?” I asked her.

My dad rubbed a palm along his jaw. “We need to start from the beginning.”

“My husband was once respected. Now he’s just feared.” She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh, and I glanced at my dad. After all, Malore disowned his own son for not stacking up in his eyes.

My dad made a noise like a scoff but didn’t argue.

My grandma continued, her voice now quiet, unsure. “I remember when he stood beside us in the founding days. He was wild, yes, and cruel in some ways, but he loved his family. His mate. His son. That devotion ran deep. It’s why I never understood…” She broke off, brow furrowing.

“What changed him?” I asked.

“I’ve asked myself that for decades.” Her gaze turned inward, as if searching through memory. “Something broke. Or was taken. Something I never saw coming.”

“Gideon?” I asked.

Her mouth thinned into a line. “Gideon wasn’t born yet when Malore began to drift. He was still only possibility then. A future no one could stop.”

“But they’re connected,” I said. “The book said as much. All four of us are. My dad, Keegan, Gideon, and I are all tied somehow.”

“Through Shadowick.” Elira looked at me, the sharp spark of her knowledge flickering behind her eyes. “Perhaps what began with Malore birthed something darker in Gideon.”

“Or Gideon is Malore’s undoing,” My dad muttered.

“Or mine,” I added, quieter than I meant to.

Elira touched my arm. “No. Maeve, whatever shadow tries to tangle your path, it cannot rewrite the magic you carry. You’re not the end of a bloodline.”

I met her gaze. “You think I’m the beginning?”

“Yes, of something new,” she said simply. “And beginnings are always terrifying.”

I let the weight of her words settle. Let them press into my heart like a stone, cold and necessary.

Because if Malore could fall that far, then even those we once trusted could turn. And if that was true, then I needed to be more than a Hedge witch with questions.

I needed to be ready to burn the root, but right now, I needed to see Keegan.

“We need answers, Grandma.” I shook my head. “No matter how hard they are to give.”

Her lips pressed together, and she nodded before turning and walking away.

I glanced at my dad, who looked extremely agitated. “I need to see Keegan.”

“Understood. We’ll get answers one way or another.” My dad said, his eyes filling with understanding.

I hugged him and wandered down the corridor to check on Keegan. To say my grandmother’s response was not only unsettling but infuriating was an understatement. She had to know more than she let on, but why all the secrecy if she truly wanted to save Stonewick?

I paused outside Keegan’s door, hand hovering above the iron handle etched with protective runes my grandma must have left, and closed my eyes for just a second.

Let him be better than when I last saw him, even just a little.

The hinges groaned softly as I pushed the door open.

Inside, the room was dim. The morning light filtered through heavy velvet drapes.

Keegan lay on the bed, propped slightly by pillows, his chest bare, bandages still wrapped around his shoulder and torso.

His skin was pale against the linen sheets, bruising dark and angry beneath the gauze.

But his breath was steady, the rise and fall of it calming in a way that felt too fragile to touch.

I moved quietly to the chair beside his bed and sat down, watching him for a long moment.

He looked younger in his sleep. Not less powerful, just less guarded. It was as if whatever weight he'd been shouldering had slipped, if only for the hours he lay sleeping. But even in rest, his brows knit faintly, the muscles of his jaw twitching as if preparing for a fight.

The door creaked behind me, and I turned just as Nova entered.

She was cloaked in her usual dark layers, raven hair pulled back in a braid that shimmered with a greenish hue whenever it caught the light. Behind her floated Ember, my favorite haunt, who quietly drifted through our halls.

“Nova,” I said, standing to greet her. “Thank you for taking care of him.”

She nodded once and looked at him. “He’s weakening with each day, and certainly, with each battle. I heard it was Malore?”

I nodded and kept my gaze on Keegan. “It came from nowhere. I was there alone at the cottage, the gargoyles helped, but Malore was unstoppable, and then Keegan came.”

“He won?”

“Another wolf came to help.”

Nova eyed me and cocked her head. “Who?”

“I don’t know yet.”

She glanced at Keegan, her face unreadable. But when she moved closer and placed a hand near his heart, just above the gauze, I saw her brow furrow.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

Nova didn’t answer right away. Her fingers hovered just above Keegan’s skin, glowing faintly. She drew in a slow breath.

“I’ve seen this before,” she murmured. “But never in someone so strong.”

I swallowed hard. “The curse?”

Nova nodded. “It’s not just growing. It’s… rooting. Deep into him, with the kind of magic that doesn’t just feed on strength. It erodes it, like rust. You won’t notice at first. And then, one day, everything collapses.”

I clenched my fists at my sides. “We’re not letting that happen.”

She finally looked at me, her green eyes sharp, but not unkind. “It’s already happening, Maeve.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Nova stepped closer, lowering her voice.

“He wouldn’t say anything. Of course, he wouldn’t.

But Ember’s been watching. She saw him lose balance during a simple shielding spell last week.

He dropped his staff while instructing one of the younger witches. He forgot to reset a charm…twice.”

I felt a cold rush roll through me. I hadn’t known. He hadn’t told me.

“He’s proud,” Nova said gently. “And he didn’t want you to worry more than you already were. But it’s not just the physical wounds now. The curse is weakening his core. The parts that can’t be healed with poultices and rest.”

I looked at Keegan, my chest tightening until I couldn’t take a full breath. “Then I need to break it. I need to unravel it. Whatever it takes.”

Nova touched my arm. “You’re close, Maeve. The land already listens to you. The Flame, Maple, Stone, and Butterfly Wards will follow if you call them. And the Hedge… well, it’s chosen you.”

“But what if I’m still not enough?”

She gave a faint smile. “Then you become more.”

There it was again, that terrifying idea that kept knocking at my door lately. That what I’d already become wasn’t the end. That I would have to become something greater, deeper, than a Hedge witch with clever spells and a stubborn streak.

Something the old curses would fear.

“I’ll find the threads,” I said, voice steadier now. “In the library. In Elira’s margins. In whatever secrets the Academy still hides. And then I’ll pull. ”

Nova stepped back, giving me space. “And we’ll hold the flame steady while you do.”

At that moment, Keegan stirred. He didn’t wake fully, just shifted, his hand brushing across the blanket, searching. Without thinking, I stepped forward and caught his fingers, lacing mine with his.

His touch was warm, but trembled faintly, the way flames flicker when they’re about to fade.

“I’m here,” I whispered. “And I’m not letting go.”

Ember lingered near the window, her translucent form flickering slightly in the window’s light. Her gaze wasn’t on me. It was on the horizon, just above the Wilds, where the sky met the hills in a pale blue hush.

“He’s been going outside in the evenings,” she said quietly. “Not for walks. Not to check the Wards. Just… standing there.”

I turned toward her. “How long?”

“Long enough,” she replied, brushing a wisp of hair from her face. “He never says why. But he looks up like he’s expecting something. As if the stars might send him an answer, or maybe take something back. It’s as if he hears a call.”

A chill moved through me.

“He thinks he’s running out of time,” Ember added, her voice nearly lost to the silence. “And I think he’s hoping the sky will tell him otherwise.”

I sat down slowly, absorbing her words. Keegan, alone beneath the stars, carrying all of this without asking for help. Waiting for permission to hope.

Ember looked at me then, her expression clear and sad. “He’s never been afraid of pain, Maeve. But he’s terrified of leaving something unfinished.”

And I knew, without a doubt, he meant me.

Nova watched in silence.

Then, after a moment, she murmured, “When you’re ready, come find me. I’ll be in the Maple Ward. I think… I think it’s waiting for you.”

With that, she turned and disappeared through the door, her footsteps already swallowed by the long stone hall.

I sat beside Keegan again, watching his sleeping face.

This wasn’t just about breaking a curse anymore.

This was about saving the heart of everything I’d found in Stonewick.

And I would not let him fade.

Not while I still had breath in my body. Not while the magic still answered to me.