Page 16 of Magical Mission

This also told me that it knew Gideon was closer to his goal than I wanted to admit. The Academy was opening, whether it was ready or not.

I looked down at Twobble, who was still gawking.

“And it started with a goblin who refused to stop believing,” I added.

I couldn’t help but think of Keegan and Stella, too. Would they be roaming these halls as visitors soon? And what about my dad?

Twobble tried to huff like it was no big deal, but his ears turned a telltale shade of green.

“Maeve…” My grandma’s voice dropped into something more serious now. “You realize what this means, don’t you? The Academy isn’t just stirring. It’s open. Officially.”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. I realize.”

Nova stepped forward, her gaze on me now. “You also realize this is going to rattle certain… enemies.”

She didn’t say his name.

She didn’t have to.

Gideon.

The snake in the grass. The threat clawing at the edges of Stonewick. The one who wanted nothing more than to control the old magic for himself.

I looked at the line of waiting students, creatures, and wanderers.

And I felt it, bone-deep.

This wasn’t just about learning spells anymore.

It was abouthope.

About standing up to the darkness creeping into the world's cracks while the Academy slumbered.

And Gideon?

He wouldn’t ignore this.

He couldn’t.

Because the Academy was alive now.

And that meant we were no longer just surviving. We were fighting back.

“This couldn’t have come at a better time,” I whispered.

Twobble blinked up at me. “Better time for what?”

“To show Gideon,” I said, my voice steady now, fierce in a way I hadn’t felt before, “that he’s not the only one who gets to decide the future of magic.”

Twobble nodded, face serious. “About time someone told him.”

Nova snorted. “I don’t want to imagine what he has in store for us.”

My grandma, ever graceful and ever the balance between old ways and new, simply placed her hand over mine, where it rested on the door.

“He’ll be trembling when he finds out what we have in store for him.” My jaw tightened at the thought of a man so hellbent on disrupting peace. He had to be stopped, somehow… someway.

“Let’s welcome them properly, Headmistress,” my grandma said softly, her eyes shining.