Page 128 of Magical Mission

“She wouldn’t know anything,” I said. “I’d keep the Academy separate. No glimpses. No magical tutoring. Just tea and firewood and the illusion of normalcy for a couple of days.”

“And your friend?” Nova asked.

My eyebrows lifted.

“Skye,” she said simply.

I exhaled. “She wants to come too.”

Stella looked delighted. “I love her. She’s feisty. She didn’t even flinch when I joked we could eat her.”

“She is. And she’d bring a heck of a presence, but she doesn’t know anything either.”

“You’re going to be walking a fine line,” Ardetia said.

“I already am,” I said. “Every day.”

The room was quiet again.

Then Stella stood and crossed the room, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Let her come to the cottage,” she said gently. “Let them both come. But let us help make it safe.”

Nova followed, nodding. “We’ll need to start tonight.”

“Thank you,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.

Ardetia’s gaze softened, just slightly. “And here I thought you brought us here to celebrate because of the shimmer we sealed.”

My eyes widened, and I stared at Ardetia, then at Bella and Nova.

“What? You sealed it?”

Nova smiled. “We did. Turns out, it was indeed opened by someone from the inside, and where it led was…”

My heart pounded. Had it been a student? Gideon? A spy?

“Where it led was…?” I prompted with my hands.

Ardetia knelt down. “To you.”

“What are you saying?” Dread filled me.

“You opened realms without realizing it. I’d call it part of the learning curve.” Ardetia set her hands on my knee. “No harm was done.”

“But I don’t understand. How can I do that if I don’t even know how or why or what or…”

I’d been in the Hedge. I’d felt someone there.

“You have the power to merge realms, to open them, and to close them.” Ardetia let out a deep breath. “You can use them for discovery, for witnessing, and hiding.”

“Or apparently scaring myself and everyone around me.” I shook my head. “So, how did I do that? Was it because I was in the Butterfly Ward at the Hedge there?”

“If you didn’t fully close the opening, it could have left residue, and then as your thoughts grew louder within the Academy, it could have tried to open itself.”

“Could I have let someone in doing that?”

“Highly unlikely,” Nova answered.