Page 7 of Magical Mischief

I stopped walking and turned to face my new friend. “Your call? To the Academy?”

She nodded. “We need this curse to be broken, Maeve. We really do. The divisions are only getting worse.”

“When you say we…” My voice trailed off.

“The magic folk in general, but particularly the shifters.” Her eyes stayed on mine. “The clans are getting restless. They’re fracturing even more amongst themselves.”

“And you think the Academy opening will help?”

“Indeed. Opening the Academy, strengthening the Wards, and breaking the curse are all vital for the survival of our kind.”

She seemed much more inclined to give information than most anyone I’d encountered in Stonewick so far, and because I was used to cryptic responses and vague answers, her openness made me a little suspicious.

“Where do you live?”

“Well, at the Academy now, I suppose,” she said with a smile. “But before coming here, I lived with my family on the upper peninsula.”

She said it as if it were the most logical answer. It was just a den of foxes doing what foxes did up north, except their bodies pulsed with magic.

But that was just it. She wasn’t a fox unless she wanted to be, or was it that she wasn’t a human unless she wanted to be?

“I don’t know if this is too personal, but…” I swallowed down the anxiety. “But did you live as a fox or a human?”

“Most of the time, we stay in our human forms, but there are many times a month when we feel the need to shift and become one with nature.” She shrugged. “Generally, the moon guides us.”

“And you feel the curse is causing even more division among the shifters?”

“I don’t feel it. I know it.” Her expression grew solemn. “There’s so much turmoil between clans. Pettiness is multiplying. It’s why I left at once when I finally got the pull to come here.”

“Did you know anyone here in Stonewick?”

“Not a soul,” she said as I walked the last little bit down the tunnel.

“Don’t you find it odd that the Academy selected someone like me to be its headmistress when there are so many people with magical abilities and experience who could probably do a way better job?” I studied her. “Like you?”

“The Academy knows magic can be learned. What it searches for is a pure heart and life experience. Good intentions.” She nodded. “The willingness to learn, to make mistakes, and to never give up. A solid bloodline doesn’t hurt either, and I’m pretty sure my great-uncle screwed that up for our clan. He was no good.” She snickered, which brought a smile to my lips. “No good at all.”

“So, why wouldn’t the Academy hold my divorce against me when I gave up on my marriage?” I asked over my shoulder.

Bella gasped and reached for my hand. She pulled me to a stop and studied me closely.

“What?” I questioned.

“Maeve, ending your marriage wasn’t giving up. It was the exact opposite. You gave yourself a chance at life, at living. If you stayed in that marriage, it would have been like giving up on yourself, and that’s far worse.”

Her words rang truer than I cared to admit. I’d never thought of it that way, but she was right.

I smiled and nodded. “Thank you. It’s nice to hear that perspective. I’ve just been trying to deal with everything here in Stonewick and all the feelings of failure from a divorce and my daughter leaving…” I shook my head and chuckled. “I just feel like the least likely woman who should have been chosen for the Academy. If the Academy got into my head, it would see I was a complete mess.”

Bella shook her head. “Not a mess. I call that magical chaos. It’s how our brains work to sift through all the worries, anxieties, and unknowns that will eventually lead us to the right choices.” She shrugged. “Embracing magical chaos is much better than being a know-it-all. That’s not what Stonewick Academy is about. There are enough people out in the world pretending to be perfect. Stonewick Academy doesn’t want perfection. It wants potential.”

I chuckled, liking my new fox friend that much more. “You have a great way of looking at life.”

“Two divorces will do that to a person.”

My brows lifted in surprise.

“It’s true, and I think it’s that last one that ensured I’d become an instructor at the Academy. The guy played dirty, but I played dirtier, and something tells me that it will come in handy for our students.”