Page 73 of Magical Mission

“I came to talk,” I said. “Not accuse. Not threaten. Just talk.”

Mys exchanged a glance with her sister. Krina’s hand rested on a small leather-bound book in front of her, one finger pressed into a page as if she were keeping her place in a memory.

“I understand you’ve kept to yourselves,” I said. “I also hear you might have good reason to.”

“We didn’t break any rules,” Krina said quietly.

“I know,” I replied. “I’m not here because you broke anything.”

Mys tilted her head. “Then why are you here?”

I walked slowly toward the table and took the chair opposite them, keeping my movements calm. No force. No edge. Just presence.

“I think you came here for the same reason many of us do,” I said. “To start again. To find out what pieces are still yours after someone else tried to take them.”

Neither of them responded right away.

But neither of them denied it.

I glanced down at the table. The book Krina had been holding was a spell ledger. Old. Not Academy-issued.

“Krina,” I said softly, “we know your former partner was a shadow master.”

Her fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the page.

“We heard as much from someone you spoke with,” I continued. “We’re not angry about that. But there are signs, shifts in the wards, shadow magic traced along the edges of your presence, that raised concern.”

“Notours,” Mys snapped. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I believe you,” I said, and I meant it.

Krina finally spoke again, eyes fixed on mine. “I came here to forget what it felt like to live in a house where the walls watched me breathe. Where silence was a weapon. I came here to feelsafe.Not to stir up old ghosts.”

“I understand,” I said. “But old ghosts don’t like being forgotten.”

She looked down. “We didn’t summon anything.”

“No. But the Academy felt something trailing behind you. And it tried to protect itself.”

Mys leaned forward now, arms folded. “So what now? You cast us out? Run us off because of something we didn’t ask for?”

“No,” I said. “We help you. If you’ll let us.”

They both stared.

“I want to track the residue. See what’s still clinging to you, and where it’s leaking,” I said. “Not to punish you. To shield you. If something followed you here, we’ll find it. And we’ll deal with ittogether.”

Silence fell.

For a moment, I thought they might refuse.

But then Krina let out a slow breath and whispered, “I didn’t think anyone would care, so we were going to handle this ourselves tonight.”

I reached across the table, resting my hand beside hers.

Relief spread through me as I thought back to what I heard earlier in the library. There was no nefarious plan to take me down or ruin the Academy. They just wanted to protect themselves.

I smiled. “We care. This Academy doesn’t ask you to be perfect. Just honest.”