Page 55 of Magical Mischief

Chapter Thirteen

I woke to a soft rustling in the living room below with a gentle hum of voices filtering through the floorboards.

I was unsure how I got up to my bedroom, but I was grateful to be stretched out in a bed instead of the chair I last remembered.

The sunlight bouncing off the snow and streaming through the curtains made me squint. It felt like mid-morning, which was way later than I usually slept, but after last night’s high-stakes illusions, the scuffle with Gideon, and the last-minute rescue of Dad, I supposed I deserved a bit of rest.

Downstairs, I heard Bella and Keegan laughing. I immediately recognized her airy giggle as though she might break into a playful yip at any second. Pushing aside the soft blanket, I sat up and ran a hand through my hair, wincing at the tangles.

My mouth felt dry and my limbs heavy, but curiosity pricked me. What were they talking about that was so amusing? Rarely did Keegan and I get to laugh about things. It was alwaysrunning from one crisis to the next, or me begging for answers that weren’t quite ready to be given.

A strange stir of jealousy poked my gut.

But I rolled my eyes to stop myself from being ridiculous.

I’d just gotten out of a twenty-year relationship where merely saying the man’s name made my stomach churn, and I needed a spell to make his name turn bitter on my tongue. I was clearly not in any shape to be flirting with Keegan.

Besides, Bella and Keegan had a lot more in common. It would be a pairing that made sense. He was a seasoned warlock shifter. She was a seasoned witch shifter. I stood, stretching until my spine gave a satisfying pop, and rummaged for fresh clothes among the hodgepodge of spell-related clutter piled with loose pages, notepads, and the occasional half-bent bundle of dried sage.

The faint shudder in the walls reminded me that my dad was still giant-sized,and when I peeked out the window, I saw him sleeping.

I suppressed a grin.

We’ll fix that size issue soon enough.

At least he was back at the cottage.

When I moved down the steps of the loft, the savory scent of breakfast sausage wafted up from the kitchen and mingled with the sweet tang of fresh tea.

My stomach rumbled, and I followed the aroma downstairs, careful not to trip on Twobble’s random contraption he’d left by the worn dining room table. I couldn’t even begin to guess what it was supposed to be.

I saw Keegan and Bella sitting near the window, staring at a spell book with their heads close.

Keegan’s broad shoulders nearly eclipsed Bella’s slight frame as she pointed out a line in the text. They laughed at some witty remark I missed, and that prick of jealousy nudged me again. My brows furrowed, but I forced a casual grin onto my face and headed to the kitchen before tripping on a rug.

“Oh, morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Bella smiled at me.

Why did she have to be so nice?

I turned around and grinned.

“We didn’t want to wake you. You deserved the rest.” Her words were chipper, and she closed the book they’d been looking at.

“Thanks. I guess I was more worn out than I realized.”

Keegan smiled warmly, eyes glinting with relief as he stood. “You feeling better? That was quite a show last night. I’m still in disbelief we have Frank the Giant outside.”

I chuckled.

“Speaking of your dad, I fed him some sausage and he seemed to like it. It was funny. When I woke up to check on him, Karvey perched himself on his forehead as if it were a mighty cliff. I think the gargoyles kind of like the new perching option.”

I grinned. “I’m sure my dad was thrilled.”

Bella chuckled.

Just then, the front door banged open.

Twobble barged in as he balanced a small wooden crate in his arms.