Page 21 of Magical Mission

She grinned and nodded. “More than you know.”

“I’m Maeve,” I added, handing them sheets of paper. “You’ll be in the wing overlooking the Butterfly Garden.”

The shorter one nodded. “The ButterflyWard, you mean.”

“You know your Academy history.” I smiled and tipped my head in acknowledgement.

They exchanged glances, pleased.

“That suits us perfectly,” the taller one said, her sharp smile flashing. “We prefer the quieter corners.”

Something tickled at the back of my mind, a memory of cozy evenings at Stella’s tea shop, sipping honey-brew and gossiping over who was secretly dating whom as I tried to gather more intel on Keegan.

Stella wouldlovethese women, I thought with a smile.

They had the same sly, conspiratorial energy.

The same way of making you feel like you were being invited into a secret club.

And that’s when it hit me.

The way they didn’t blink quite enough.

The way they stood just slightly out of the torchlight.

The way one of them wore tall gloves, even though the air was no longer frigid.

At least one of them was a vamp.

I bit back my grin.

Well, why not?

The Academy was foreveryone,wasn’t it?

Even the elegantly nocturnal.

They introduced themselves as they followed me toward the Academy doors.

The tall one was Lady Limora, and for some reason,Ladyseemed fitting.

The short, sharp-smiled one was Mara.

Vivienne was the one in deep purple velvet, with silver hair falling like silk down her back. And the quietest, youngest-looking of them all, Opal, walked silently at the back, eyes darting to every shadow, every crack in the stone, as though memorizing escape routes. We stopped briefly for the women to circle and take a breath in their new home.

“You’ll like these rooms,” I told them as I started up again and opened the old carved door into a long corridor. “Plenty of shadows. Big windows overlooking the garden. And, you know, very few garlic wreaths.”

They laughed again.

Warm.

Genuine.

And a little hungry, if I wasn’t imagining it. I just wasn’t sure if our type of food was what they hoped for.

Nova strolled by and caught the look on my face.

“Making friends already, Bellemore?”