Page 9 of Magical Mission

My grandma stepped forward, her eyes softening, and to my surprise, she smiled gently at Twobble. “Perhaps the Academy finally saw what we overlooked.”

Bella relaxed beside her, her lips twitching into an affectionate grin as she tilted her head toward Twobble. “Guess we’ve been thinking too big.”

Ardetia’s lips twitched with just the barest hint of amusement. “Perhaps we have.”

Twobble tried to clear his throat, but it sounded like a choked hiccup. He rubbed furiously at his eyes, muttering, “It’s just the dust. Rooms like this are always dusty.”

“Very dusty,” I agreed softly, brushing a few stray, imaginary cobwebs from the ceiling, though the room was spotless, truthfully.

My grandma chuckled softly, her voice thick with something like nostalgia. “This is a good day, Maeve. The Academy has always been about more than power or bloodlines. It’s about heart. And your friend has more of that than most.”

Twobble coughed into his arm, stubbornly facing the window. “Well… someone’s gotta teach you all about the goblin way. Don’t want you tripping over your robes.”

Bella laughed. “We’re honored, Twobble.”

His ears turned a fierce shade of green.

And right there, in that quiet moment, I knew the Academy had chosen wisely.

It wasn’t about who was expected. It wasn’t about pedigrees or old names carved into stone.

It was aboutthis.

About heart.

About loyalty.

About believing when no one else did.

And Twobble, my brave, scrappy, fiercely loyal Twobble, was the perfect start to this new chapter.

“Ready to make history, student Twobble?” I whispered.

He squared his tiny shoulders, trying to blink away the stubborn tears.

“Let me at it.”

And the Academy, humming quietly around us, seemed to agree.

Chapter Three

I left Twobble in his room, though it took some gentle insistence on my part. He’d tried to play it cool, but I could tell he was barely keeping it together, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of having his own space in the Academy.

He’d muttered something about reorganizing the desk drawersby importanceand then flopped onto the bed like he might never move again.

I smiled as I closed the door behind me. I hoped to get to the dragon’s wing before the day ended, but beyond that, I had little planned.

“Give him time,” I whispered to myself. “He deserves it.”

But as soon as the door latched, I felt my grandma’s presence at my side, like a familiar shadow.

She walked with that same quiet grace she always carried, but there was something thoughtful, almost… heavy, in the way she kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

We wandered deeper into the Academy together, down the winding corridors that pulsed with faint threads of magic, until the air grew thicker, warmer, tinged with the scent of ancient ink and parchment.

The library.

Even now, after all I’d seen, stepping into the vast, cavernous heart of the Academy’s library caught my breath.