Page 98 of Magical Mischief

And for the first time in a very long while, the Ward didn’t feel like it was dying.

It felt like it was waiting for spring and new beginnings.

Just like me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The hum of the Maple Ward still moved through me, long after we stepped out and let the door fall closed behind us. It wasn’t just a sound. It lingered beneath my skin like sunlight after the clouds had passed. Warmth and motion. A low current that steadied the pulse.

I stood still for a long breath, hand resting on the wall, and let myself feel it.

Everything I wanted to feel after my divorce, this moment carried.

The freedom, the hope, and the challenge of a fresh start.

But then, like a drop of ink in water, a flicker of dread crept back in.

That silhouette.

The garden.

The way they’d slipped into the Butterfly Ward, silent and unseen. The way they’d fled when they realized they’d been spotted.

It hadn’t felt right. That kind of secrecy carried weight. And yet, standing there now in the hum of something ancient beginning to heal, I couldn’t help but wonder.

What if it hadn’t been a threat?

What if it were someone trying to come in… but unsure how?

The thought surprised me.

But it didn’t feel wrong.

“Maeve?” Bella’s voice was quiet, just behind me.

I turned. “What if it wasn’t Gideon?”

She tilted her head.

“In the garden,” I said. “What if it wasn’t him? What if it was someone else, someone trying to help?”

Bella frowned. “You saw how fast they ran.”

“Maybe they were scared,” I said. “Not all fear is guilt. Some of it’s just… fear.”

She looked like she wanted to argue. And then she didn’t.

“Could’ve been someone looking for shelter,” she said finally. “Or trying to see if the Wards would let them in.”

“They did,” I pointed out.

She nodded. “Which means something.”

My grandma was quiet through all this, walking ahead of us with her fingertips brushing the wall as she often did, like she was reading the Academy’s mood through stone. When she heard what we were saying, she didn’t interrupt. But she slowed a little, waiting for us to fall into step beside her.

“I don’t know who it was,” I said, keeping my voice low. “But I don’t feel that same weight anymore. That pull of something wrong.”

Elira gave a faint nod. “The Academy responds to intent. You know that by now.”