Page 205 of Magical Mission

And though I couldn’t name it yet, I knew I was not just a protector.

I was woven into their story.

Even if I didn’t understand how. Not yet.

I stayed for a long while, watching the hatchling curl closer to her mother, watching the den settle again into its warm, glowing peace. The kind that had nothing to prove. The kind that simplywas.

By the time I finally rose, the air had cooled again. The magic still hummed around me, but it was calm now, like the Academy had eaten well and settled in for a nap.

I turned at the door and whispered a final vow.

“I will keep the sacred safe.”

Then I stepped back into the world and began to plan for the battles yet to come.

I found Keegan in his classroom, and he followed me out of the Academy.

“Everything okay?”

“As they should be.”

“Fair enough.”

The second we stepped onto the cobbled path leading into Stonewick, I knew something had shifted. The air held a buzz of tension I couldn’t explain, despite the sunshine glinting off shop signs and the soft scent of lavender drifting from Luna’s yarn shop.

The dragon den's magic still pulsed faintly inside me. I could feel it behind my mark, steady and sacred. The vow I made there lingered on my breath like a sealant spell.

But something else was brewing. Something more immediate.

I turned the corner into the square, weaving past two students chatting in front of the apothecary, and made a direct line toward Nova’s shop.

The windows were fogged with incense smoke, and small talismans hung behind the glass, some to ward, some to invite. The kind of place that hummed with unseen truths.

The door creaked open with its familiar chime, and I stepped into a space scented with myrrh, lavender, and old books. Candles flickered on recessed shelves. Tarot decks rested in neat rows along the sideboard. Crystals and charms glimmered in low light, and one of the stained-glass panels cast ribbons of dusky pink across the floor.

But what stopped me wasn’t the ambiance.

It was the way all three faces turned to me. Nova behind the scrying counter, Skye seated comfortably in a velvet chair, and Celeste across from her, holding a steaming mug of somethingwarm. Their expressions froze. Not in fear. Not in guilt. Just in that suspended moment ofoops.

They looked like people who had just shared something they hadn’t meant to and were caught before they could redirect.

“Hey,” I said, trying for casual as I slipped off my coat. “You all look like I just walked in during a séance.”

Skye smiled, but too quickly. “Nothing like that. Just chatting.”

Celeste offered a soft grin, but I noticed the tension in her posture. The way her fingers curled tighter around her mug. Her eyes didn’t quite meet mine.

Nova stayed behind the counter, posture a little too still.

“Everything okay?” I asked, stepping further into the room.

Celeste stood suddenly. “Yeah. I’m just going to stretch my legs. These chairs are way too comfy.”

She disappeared into the back room before I could say anything else.

I glanced at Nova.

“Did something happen?”