Page 19

The moment we stepped out of the study room, I turned to Nova.

“Let’s get Keegan,” I said.

She just gave a sharp nod and vanished down the corridor like smoke had been waiting for her feet.

I could already feel the magic bristling in the walls. Old enchantments stretched awake and sensed movement that didn't belong. And I was pretty certain the strange guest at Keegan’s inn had less to do with magic and a whole lot more to do with Krina.

I looked at Ardetia. “We need to strengthen our charms. Something that’ll hold against shadowcraft, especially the older strands.”

She nodded once. “I’ll prepare it in the lower west wing. The stonework there is tight. It holds.”

“Good,” I said. “Don’t do it alone.”

She gave me a look. “I won’t.”

As she turned and drifted down the hallway, already reaching for her sigil pouch, I caught sight of Bella approaching from the main foyer. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, her braid unraveling slightly, and her eyes were alert with tension.

“You’re here just in time,” I said.

“Trouble?”

“Possibly.”

“And here I thought a chandelier trying to attack us was enough for one evening.” Her gaze flicked between Krina and Mys, who hovered behind me like they weren’t sure if they were being escorted to safety or exile.

“Should I shift?” Bella asked.

I absolutely loved how direct she’d always been.

“Yes, please,” I said. “If you could scout the outer perimeter and focus on the Butterfly Ward and the east edges. If anything’s trying to seep in, that’s where it’ll feel weakest. Any sort of shadows that seem out of place could be exactly what we’re looking for.”

Without another word, Bella stepped back, took a deep breath, and shimmered.

There was no flash, no burst. Just that soft ripple that always came before her shape blurred and collapsed into itself, replaced by the sleek frame of her fox form with fur pale gold, with streaks of copper and bronze as her eyes turned bright and feral.

She gave me a look that was unmistakably Bella and then darted down the corridor, tail sweeping behind her like wind trailing silk.

I turned to Krina and Mys. They looked a little stunned.

“That doesn’t get less impressive,” Mys murmured. “Shifting is such a talent.”

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you somewhere warm and full of bread.”

That caught their attention.

“Bread?” Krina echoed.

“Banquet hall,” I said, offering a smile. “Dinner’s still going. If you’re going to be here, I want you to be here . Among the others. You don’t have to hide in corners anymore.”

Stella was already waiting near the archway, hands on her hips, eyes sharp but kind.

“We put out fresh trays of meat and roasted veggies just in case,” she said, glancing at the two women. “I felt something stir in the air and figured it might mean extra mouths would show up.”

I nodded. “They could use a little kindness tonight.”

“Then they came to the right place,” she said, and turned on her heel. “Come on, you two. The girls from the Great Lakes brought their special wine. Just don’t tell the sprites. Oh, and someone made the cheese wheel vanish, but I can promise hot cider and pudding with nutmeg.”

I glanced at Twobble at the mention of the cheese wheel, and he just suspiciously eyed the ceiling.

Krina and Mys hesitated a beat longer, then followed Stella down the hall.

I lingered behind them, watching them go. Their shoulders stayed stiff, their steps cautious. But they were walking toward something, not away from it.

That was something.

And then I felt him.

Before he stepped into view, Keegan’s presence came like a pulse.

He rounded the corner in long strides with a tight jaw and eyes scanning.

“You called,” he said with a smirk.

“I did.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Nova said it was urgent.”

“It is,” I said. “And strange.”

“Also, your specialty,” he murmured.

I motioned for him to follow, keeping my voice low. “I think the unruly guest at the inn is here for one of our students, possibly an ex. Krina is her name.”

“Krina?”

I nodded. “Shadow master ex-husband. She’s here to escape. He might be trying to drag her back. He’s not subtle, but he is poking around the wrong places.”

“Or the right ones,” Keegan said grimly.

“I want to keep an eye on him,” I said. “But I don’t want to panic the town.”

“We need to lock down the Academy quietly. Start by adding layers and strengthening the Wards. I’ll talk with Ember.”

“Thank you. I really hope it’s only the ex.” I pressed my lips together and took in a breath before sighing.

His eyes met mine, and he nodded. “Me too. Hey, I heard what happened with the chandelier and what you…did.”

“I wish I could truly say I did it, but the power came from nowhere.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Magic always comes from somewhere. It’s just our job to find the source and embrace it.”

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“For what?”

“Always believing in me.”

“It’s not hard to do, Maeve. You’re incredible. You’ve always been meant for this world. I just started to worry you might not make it back.”

His words flowed through me like a medicine I didn’t know I needed, slowly patching up heartache and filling the holes in my heart.

I glanced in the direction Stella had led the sisters.

“I’m going to figure out a way to help Kryna and Mys settle in. Make them feel seen. They need protection, but they also need to remember why they came here in the first place.”

Keegan’s hand brushed my shoulder, and I felt a tingle run up my spine.

“You’re good at that,” he said.

I didn’t answer, but I held onto the warmth of that moment longer than I should’ve as he turned and disappeared back into the corridor, already working through contingencies in his mind.

By the time I made it to the banquet hall, the warmth hit me like a quilt straight from the hearth. The long tables buzzed with conversation, and the rich smells of roasted vegetables, cider, and braided loaves filled the air. It was as if the near-accident never happened.

Krina and Mys stood just inside the archway, a little stunned, like they'd wandered into someone else’s celebration.

I reached them and nodded toward the nearest table while Stella was filling plates for them.

“Mara saved you seats,” I said. “She thinks Mys looks like the cousin who taught her how to make exploding jam.”

Krina blinked.

“She also wants to ask you about your ring,” I added. “And she’ll probably shove pudding into your hands before you sit down.”

Mys cracked a smile. “Well, that’s oddly specific and terrifying.”

“It’s accurate,” I said, and I wondered how I knew all that.

Was that part of being a hedge witch? A new skill I’d just acquired?

As they took their first steps toward the noisy table, I saw it, just a flicker. Krina’s shoulders eased, and a thread of tension unwound.

This was just the beginning.

But beginnings had power.

And we weren’t alone in this.

Not anymore.

The banquet hall had mellowed by the time I returned.

The boisterous laughter had softened into the hum of warm conversation. `Spoons clinked gently against ceramic, the scent of roasted garlic and honey-sweet carrots still hung in the air, and someone had conjured floating candle blossoms that drifted lazily over the tables.

It was almost peaceful.

Too peaceful, considering what I now knew. I grabbed a plate and added a roll, a few potatoes, and a scoop of vegetable pie. Stella walked up to me and smiled as I took a bite without bothering to find a place to sit.

“I think we’re getting the hang of this Academy thing.”

With a mouth full of roll, I nodded.

By the time I swallowed, Keegan reappeared, but he looked stressed. His eyes fell to my plate, which still had most of the food on it, and he shook his head.

“I don’t have great news.” He leaned closer, and I could smell the faint scent of pine. “It’s Krina’s ex at the inn, and I think he’s already infiltrated things that…”

My eyes met his. “Oh, no.”

“She’s been marked.”

“So Twobble was seeing his shadow follow them that night…” My voice trailed off, and I looked over at Krina, who looked more at ease than I’d seen before.

It almost stopped me.

Because I knew what I was about to do would take that smile away, at least for now.

But I also knew it had to be done.

I moved toward her, careful not to draw attention, and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

She looked up, startled, then her expression softened when she saw me.

“Can I borrow you for a moment?” I asked, my voice quiet.

She nodded without hesitation and set her mug down before standing.

Mara barely paused in her storytelling, already turning to pull Mys into the narrative with a theatrical gasp. I led Krina through a side corridor and into the small gallery room off the hall.

When I closed the door, she turned to face me, brows drawn.

“Something’s wrong,” she said immediately.

I nodded. “Yes.”

I didn’t pace. I didn’t try to soften the situation. I just stepped closer and said what needed to be said.

Keegan’s words echoed in my mind. S he’s marked.

I took a breath. “Your ex… he’s here.”

Her face stilled. There wasn’t a flinch or a twitch. Instead, a quiet sort of freezing that only someone who’s had to survive real danger could manage.

“In Stonewick,” I clarified. “He’s staying at the inn. He’s been asking questions. Looking for things. For you.”

She blinked once. “How long?”

“Only since yesterday that we know of. He must have found a thread recently, some trace, or a tether.”

She swallowed hard, her throat moving slowly. “I didn’t know. I didn’t think he could… that he would find me here. ”

“I don’t think it normally would, but with his talents, he was able to get close.”

I didn’t bother mentioning that Twobble saw his shadow trailing them last night. That would only worry Krina more.

“He’s using whatever magic he had on you to track you. Maybe there was something hidden or something old to keep you within reach.”

Krina turned away, pressing her palms to the windowsill, staring out into the night beyond.

“I should’ve known it wasn’t over,” she whispered. “Even when I ran. Even when I buried everything I owned that he’d ever touched, even then he found me…”

“It isn’t over yet,” I said, walking to stand beside her. “But it can be.”

She looked at me, her eyes glossy but dry. “How?”

“We find the tether. We sever it. For good.”

“Can it be done?”

“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 to feel him 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.”