Page 22 of Magical Mission

I smiled and nodded, knowing I could be in over my head.

But as I watched those four women claim their space in the Academy, laughter spilling onto the windows and walls like old magic finally waking up again, I realized this was precisely what the Academy was meant to be.

Alive.

Unpredictable.

And full of surprises.

And I loved my life even more for being a part of it.

Their banter echoed off the high, arched ceilings as if the old stones themselves were eager for gossip.

“So,” Mara said, sidling up beside me as we navigated the winding halls, “do youalwaysmake your students do this much cardio on the first day, Headmistress? Or is this a special treat?”

I laughed. “We’ll call it a bonus. Builds character. And call me Maeve, please. Headmistress still makes me feel like I should be twice my age and glaring over spectacles.”

“Age is just a number. I should know. I’ve been around for a couple of hundred of them.” Mara grinned, flashing teeth that were just the slightest bit too sharp to be entirely human.

Vivienne drifted behind us, and I glanced at her twirling a silver chain with an ornate ruby pendant as though bored. But I caught the spark of curiosity in her gaze every time we passed a woven tapestry or glowing sconce.

Lady Limora, regal and unreadable, floated more than walked, her layered gown brushing the stone with each step. Her movements were so calculated and fluid. Well, all of theirs were, really.

Opal remained mostly silent, trailing behind, eyes darting to every crack in the walls and creak of the floorboards. I caught her studying the exits and the windows. Old instincts, maybe, that allowed for survival.

“Sorry about the long walk. The Academy’s… well, she’s got her moods. Sometimes she takes you the long way, whether you like it or not.”

“She’s got style,” Limora said lightly. “I like her already.”

“I donotlike the stairs,” Mara huffed, dramatically flinging her velvet coat over her shoulder. “My boots weren’t made for this level of suffering.”

Vivienne snickered. “Mara, darling, youchosethose boots when we all told you they weren’t practical.”

“I chose them to look devastatingly fashionable in the moonlight while rejecting insufferable men. Not for hiking up haunted corridors.”

“Oh no,” Lady Limora purred. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone and dumped another one.”

“Where at?” Vivienne deadpanned.

Mara burst out laughing. “Not dumped like… in a river, you ghoul.Broke upwith him. It’s the current lingo.”

“Pity,” Limora murmured. “I was hoping for a more dramatic ending.”

I laughed with them, the tension in my shoulders easing with every step. “This is not the kind of student orientation I ever imagined.”

Mara winked. “Wait until you see our graduation plans.”

Opal, silent for so long, suddenly piped up in a whisper-soft voice. “We’re too old to be dull.”

That set them all off in a fresh round of laughter.

“Oh, Ilikeyou all already,” I said, shaking my head.

Mara flipped her curls. “Maeve, you’re going to adore us. We keep things lively, and we’re plenty loyal.”

“No doubt,” I said, leading them through a pair of carved wooden doors that opened to a long, curved hallway lined with rooms. Yet another area that had only been revealed to me when we needed it.

The windows faced the Butterfly Garden, where the faint glow of the Ward still shimmered in soft pink and gold hues.