Page 25 of Magical Mischief

I blinked a few times, trying to separate the dream’s haze from the reality of the sunlight warming the space around us.

“Yeah, fine,” I managed, my voice still shaky. “I…how long have you been here?”

Keegan cleared his throat.

“Long enough to see you scowling and muttering. I tried to wake you, but…” He shook his head, a flicker of guilt crossing his eyes. “You were flinching in your bed. It looked intense.”

The guilt of my whereabouts riddled me, and I pressed my lips together. “Thanks. I’m…a hot mess.”

He chuckled and shook his head, brushing damp hair from my cheek. “One person’s mess is another person’s dream.”

I chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that.” I pushed myself upright, feeling foolish and exposed.

“But seriously. Are you okay? Is there anything I can get for you?”

I debated what to say but was never particularly great at lying. So, I decided to stick with the truth.

“I was… in Shadowick.”

His gaze sharpened instantly.

“He invaded your mind again?” The anger in Keegan’s voice surprised me.

I swallowed and traced the sheet’s pattern with my finger before speaking again.

“Not this time. I think I… invited him.” The admission made my cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I forced myself to hold Keegan’s gaze. “I wanted to see if I could pry any new information from Gideon. Everything felt unfinished after that spell we tried earlier. I needed to confront him. I also needed to invite him here.”

Keegan shook his head slowly. A storm of emotions played across his features.

Worry, anger, a hint of exasperation, and something else danced across his face.

“We warned you about letting him in, Maeve.” He let out a long breath, raking a hand through his hair. “It’s not your fault.You haven’t grown up around magic. You can’t possibly know how dangerous it is.”

I knew he didn’t mean it as an insult, yet my heart twinged at the reminder.

“Still… it was my choice,” I said softly. “It’s on me. I knew there was unfinished business.”

Keegan didn’t argue. He merely sat there in stiff, thoughtful silence, but an unspoken tension filled the small loft between us.

I took a shaky breath as the reminder of Gideon’s words mocked me.

He wantedme.

All of me.

I had to frame that bit of information in a less harmful way.

The protective fury that would spark in his soul might derail our chance to save my dad, and I needed everyone’s help. Keegan had spent a lifetime watching over me. He didn’t need to see me screw up right at the end.

Still, a plan was taking shape in my head. And it was one I wasn’t sure Keegan would appreciate.

“I think I know how to lure Gideon here.”

Pacing the small loft, he slowed and looked at me. “And that is?”

“Me. He wants me. If we can leverage that, draw him out…”

“Absolutely not,” Keegan snapped.