Page 171 of Magical Moonbeam

Somethingsecret.

A glimpse burned behind my eyes like an after image.

Curled wings.

Molten eyes.

A shimmer of teal and silver and ancient light caught in crystal scales.

No.

The dragons.

My stomach dropped.

I squeezed my eyes shut, forced the thought from my mind like scrubbing soot from glass.

He couldn’t see that.

Hecouldn’t.

I had buried the knowledge deep—deep, deeper than the Hedge, deeper than my magic. Only Grandma Elira and I knew. No one else. Not even Keegan.

But the image kept flashing.

Wings.

Wings in the dark.

Wings in the Library vault. Wings in the Study.

I shoved the thoughts away again, furious and sweating.

Keegan must’ve felt the shift in me, because he stepped back, gripping my shoulders.

“Maeve, what’s happening?”

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find the air.

Because the thought came again.

And I buried it. I no longer could tell if it was coming from me or someone else, but it didn’t matter. I buried them all.

So many secrets tucked away.

You’re heavier with them than you know.

My eyes snapped open, and for a moment, the corridor spun around me.

He was still here.

Notallof him.

But enough.

Tell me your secrets, Maeve.

A sliver was buried somewhere in my mind, like a nail under the skin.