Page 78 of Magical Mission

“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “It hasn’t been done recently with the Academy, but it should be manageable.”

She didn’t answer right away.

I watched the tension in her shoulders shift and twist. She wasn’t scared, not exactly. It was something deeper. Exhaustion. The weight of being hunted even after you'd left the forest behind.

“I was a fool to think he’d let me go,” she murmured.

“No,” I said softly. “You were brave enough to leave. That isn’t foolishness. That’s power.”

Her breath caught again, this time for a different reason. I saw it. The way her hand trembled ever so slightly on the windowsill and the way her lips pressed together like she was trying to hold in more than just words.

“I don’t want him near me,” she said. “I don’t want tofeelhim anymore.”

“You won’t.”

She looked at me again, and for the first time since I’d known her, she let herself be vulnerable in front of me.

“I’ve been surviving for so long,” she said. “I don’t even know what I’d do if it was gone. If he was really gone.”

“You’d live,” I said, quiet and certain. “Not survive.Live.”

Krina nodded once, then again. Firmer.

“All right,” she said. “Tell me what to do.”

I exhaled slowly as relief mingled with a steel-cored resolve.

“Tonight,” I said, “we’ll bring you to the space we've prepared. Nova, Ardetia, Ember. Me. Keegan. We’ll do it together.”

She straightened her spine. “I want Mys there.”

“Of course.”

“And I wish I could see his face when the tether snaps.”

“If the opportunity arises…”

She returned the smile. “Thank you.”

I didn’t say you’re welcome.

Instead, I reached for her hand and squeezed it once.

“Let’s take the first step.”

Chapter Nineteen

We led them down to the room Nova had prepared. The space pulsed with light and silence.

Magic swirled around us like breath in winter that was visible, fleeting, and impossibly alive. Each strand of light moved with intention, drawn from the fingertips of Nova and Ardetia as they circled the spell ring that glowed at Krina’s feet.

Mys knelt in the corner, here for support and to help in any way.

Krina sat in the center, cross-legged, eyes closed, her hands resting on her knees. Stella knelt behind her, both palms pressed gently to Krina’s back, whispering grounding spells in time with her breathing.

It struck me how amazing this moment was with women gathering to help someone in need.

And beside me, Bella stood watch with silent focus. Her eyes shimmered with the fox’s presence just beneath her skin, ready to shift if needed.