Page 123 of Magical Mission

Not chaos. Not tension. Just… life.

The students had returned from town in a flurry of laughter and bright paper bags rustling with sweets, teas, yarn, and small magical trinkets from their first real adventure in Stonewick. Their voices echoed down the corridors like birdsong, bright and scattered, full of stories and badly whispered secrets.

And all I could think about was the almost kiss with Keegan.

Yet all it took for it never to happen was a spell gone sideways from Opal in the middle of town.

But for the first time in days, the place felt more like a school than a sanctuary teetering on the edge of something darker.

I let the sound wash over me as I stepped through the front doors, letting them close behind me with a quiet thud. The warmth of the hearth met me immediately, but it was the familiar sound of small, determined footsteps that made my shoulders drop a little.

Twobble.

He trotted toward me, clutching a clipboard with six pages of notes and looking as smug as ever. “Well, well, look who didn’t fall into a hedge or vanish into thin air.”

I gave him a tired smile. “Tempting, though.”

My dad followed behind him, letting out a low, pleased huff when he saw me. He immediately pressed against my leg in greeting, warm and solid and blessedly real.

I knelt beside him, wrapping my arms around his big bulldog body, burying my face briefly in the soft folds of his fur. “Missed you, too.”

Twobble stood nearby, eyeing me. “You look like you need a nap. And maybe a facial. You’re all flushed, and your eyes look goofy.”

“I need a space with a month of silence and a goblin that doesn’t talk back.”

“So, notthisplace.” He grinned wickedly.

I laughed, and it surprised me. The sound came from somewhere deeper, more weary, but still grateful.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said softly.

“We always are,” Twobble said, not unkindly. Then he added, “But you’re about to cry, aren’t you?”

“No,” I lied. “I just need to make a call.”

He didn’t ask to whom. He just waved his clipboard. “I’ll be in the dining hall interrogating three students who charmed a portrait into narrating their romantic escapades.”

“Of course you will.”

I walked down the corridor alone, into my quarters, and sat heavily on the edge of my bed. For a moment, I just stared out the window and thought about the near kiss with Keegan.

And my confusion with Gideon.

Was that my problem?

I thought I could fix him? Make him do a take back on the curse?

That wouldn’t happen. I knew it in my heart of hearts.

I was just dealing with an overload of emotions. My best friend was pregnant. My daughter was building a wonderful new life, as was I, and I was falling…

For Keegan.

Maybe I just needed a little grounding.

I let out a sigh and reached for it.

The glow brightened at my touch.