Page 34 of Magical Mischief

“You found something,” she said, not quite a question.

“I think it’s exactly what we need,” I said. My voice stayed calm, but my pulse thudded in my ears. “But I need you all totrust me. I can’t share the spell’s details… not yet. Too much is at stake. Too many eyes and ears… seen and unseen.”

Keegan’s brow furrowed, but he nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on mine.

“We trust you, Maeve.”

Nova nodded. “Keegan said he didn’t have much detail about what you and Gideon spoke about, but remember this…” Her eyes steadied on mine. “No deal made in the darkness, in between realms is valid. It’s a breakable bond. Most don’t know that, but it’s true. Nothing will tether you to the deal you made.”

Those words grounded me more than she probably realized.

“Thank you. I didn’t know.”

“Few do.”

Stella returned with a tray of steaming tea for each of us, and set it down in the center like a sacrament.

“All right,” she said. “Let’s plot.”

The fire in the hearth crackled, and Bella leaned forward, her fox-sharp eyes gleaming. “We’ll need diversions. Decoys. Everyone is playing a role.”

Keegan pulled out a chair across from me. “And we’ll need to figure out how to get Gideon the message that Maeve’s offering herself as bait, onherterms, not his.”

The windows fogged gently from the warmth inside. The snow still fell beyond the glass. For a moment, the shop was a world within a world, cloaked in cinnamon steam and ancient magic. Plans began to take shape in the quiet hum of conversation with carefully constructed layers of trust, whispers, and courage.

I sipped my tea, letting the heat slide through me. The tea shop felt like the last peaceful breath before the plunge. And though the night outside would be full of shadows, in this small sanctuary, we had hope.

And we had each other.

Chapter Nine

Sunset had fallen like a velvet curtain over Stonewick. The evening sky was the kind of deep, inky night that clung to your skin and whispered in your ear if you stayed still long enough.

The air outside carried the spice of distant woodsmoke, pine, and a magic so thick it practically hummed beneath my boots as I walked the cobbled path layered with snow toward the center of town.

My fingers tingled.

Not from the cold, but from magic.

Pure, coiled anticipation.

It was less than an hour until Gideon’s arrival, and the spell I’d found in the book Bella had brought me burned in my memory and carved itself into my bones. I’d memorized every word, pause, and period.

I kept whispering parts of it under my breath, fingers twitching slightly, as though the magic was just waiting to be released.

Waiting for the right moment.

Forhim.

“Feeling twitchy?” Stella’s voice drifted from beside me.

She sipped something that smelled like elderberry and moonshine from a small silver flask and winked.

“Don’t worry, darling. He’ll be here, all dark and broody and reeking of shadow magic, and your lightness will make him cower.”

“I’m counting on it,” I muttered, tugging my coat tighter.

Stella had promised to keep a sharp eye out for any townsfolk—mels, mostly—who wandered too close.