Page 49 of Magical Mischief

A swirl of color flickered at the edge of my vision.

Bella wove bouts in mesmerizing shapes that teased Gideon’s peripheral sight. Keegan’s presence pulsed from thehotel window, a silent vow to intervene if Gideon tried to snatch me away.

We were a team.

I couldn’t fall for Gideon’s wickedness.

Still, that charismatic aura he exuded pressed at my defenses, making mewantto believe him.

He was lonely, he was betrayed, maybe he wasn’t wrong in all this…

The thoughts teased the edge of my rational mind, and I fought them off with every ounce of magic and logic within me.

Lean on my experiences…

Gideon’s voice slid into my ear like a serpent’s whisper.

“You don’t belong in that tea shop or the Academy. You belong in my world, shaping spells that bend reality to our whim. Isn’t that more thrilling than babysitting Stonewick’s Wards?”

A flicker of heat passed over my cheeks, and I ground my teeth.

“I don’t need your brand of thrilling. I have my father, my friends, and…”

He cut me off with images ramming into my mind.

The illustrations of Stonewick turned to ashes, a devastated and crumbled Academy, Stella and Bella lying motionless, Keegan nowhere to be found, paralyzed my world.

A wave of heartbreak battered me as tears stung my eyes.

Gideon let out a menacing laugh. “Better to surrender than watch them all die.”

I gasped, yanking my mind away from that horrifying vision.

“Stop it! You can’t threaten me with delusions.”

“They don’t have to be fantasies,” Gideon drawled. “They can berealities.Unless you’re so sure you can protect them all from me.”

I forced the visions spinning around me to shift into something bold and beautiful as my runes flared with renewed strength underneath us.

A wave of golden light fought back his black vapor, and we teetered in a precarious balance. Gideon would drive me into that nightmarish future if I faltered even a moment. But if I held strong, maybe I could glean another snippet of truth, the key to shattering his trickery once and for all.

My mind reeled, half-lost in the barrage of images.

Stella’s worried vampire hiss carried on the wind, and a burst of color from Bella’s spell distracted Gideon.

A wave of dizziness crashed over me as I poured every ounce of power into that single, desperate attempt.

“Stay out of my head!” he barked

My mind reeled, forced out from that path.

I stumbled, half-collapsing onto the snow.

Gideon pounced on that moment of weakness, his shadows churning around me like a black, serpentine mist.

“Such wasted talent,” he murmured, voice echoing in my ears. “Think of how unstoppable we’d be.”

My breath came in ragged bursts. “That’s not unstoppable. It’s desperate.”