Page 44 of Magical Mischief

Faster and bigger than I’d dared dream. My dad’s fur rippled under the shimmering aura. My father’s already-stoutform ballooned with limbs stretching like rising bread, towering above Gideon.

I heard a gasp from somewhere off to the side, Nova or maybe Stella, and saw the stunned look on Gideon’s face.

Dad was as tall as Keegan’s hotel now. His massive bulldog head looked like an enormous statue framed against the moonlit sky.

My heart thundered in my chest.

I did it.

I’d managed to cast the size-amplifying spell.

It was a risk, a last-ditch idea to break Gideon’s grip.

Gideon’s composure cracked for an instant.

“What—” he hissed.

His eyes flicked from me to the colossal bulldog overhead.

A sharp, humorless laugh escaped my lips.

“You said he was helpless. Care to test that theory?”

My father released a thunderous woof that rattled the lampposts and buildings as the glass rippled.

Gideon stepped back.

“Dad, run,” I shouted, echoing the sudden hush. “Go!”

Gideon's eyes snapped to mine as he grappled with his shock.

I took a tentative step forward, feigning surrender.

“Isn’t this what you wanted, Gideon?” I asked, letting my voice quiver. “Me?”

A flicker of malice lit his now silver eyes.

“Yes,” he breathed, extending his arm.

My stomach lurched, but I didn’t break character.

I let him entwine his fingers with mine, his grip as cold as midnight.

Behind him, Dad’s gigantic form thundered away, each step sending tremors through the ground.

The deal was far from over. But for now, I had Gideon’s hands locked with mine—exactly where I needed them to be.

Chapter Eleven

The chill of Gideon’s hands intertwining with mine was brutal. It was a cold that went beyond flesh and into the marrow of my bones.

One minute, my colossal bulldog father thundered away into the night, and the next, it was as though the entire village shrank until only Gideon and I existed.

His silver eyes remained, looking less human and more like distant stars with hidden menace.

My pulse remained heightened.

I knew the plan and needed to stay focused. I couldn’t let Gideon’s magic penetrate too deeply.