Page 30 of Magical Moonbeam

But she was relentless.

“Don’t be coy, darling.” She grinned. “You’re glowing.”

I flushed, folding my arms. “I donothave a glow.”

“Youdo,” Twobble chimed in helpfully, reaching for buttered toast from a nearby platter.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You two are impossible. We have serious issues at hand.”

Stella gasped as if I’d told her the moon was retiring.

I opened my mouth to respond, probably with something scathing and only halfway witty, but the laughter rising in my chest won out.

It was impossible to be near Stella and not be drawn into her theatrical orbit. She had that gift: the ability to cut through fog and sorrow with humor so sharp it left you smiling before you realized the blade.

I laughed. Harder than I had in days. And it felt good.

Even if the night still lingered at the back of my mind, this moment, this laughter, was real.

Stella linked her arm through mine and steered me toward the table like we were co-conspirators in a rom-com. “Keegan’s not here, by the way.”

I looked at her, brows lifted.

“He stayed at the hotel last night,” she said casually. “Something about wanting to let the Academy settle for a night without him brooding in the corridors.”

“Oh.”

“He’s still brooding at the hotel, obviously,” she added with a grin. “But in a morescenicway. And Ember took her morning class to the river to play hide-and-seek, preferably withoutanyone winning. It’s hard to teach ghostly attributes to folks who aren’t spirit-oriented.”

I let out another soft laugh and nodded. “I bet, but if anyone can, it’s Ember.”

Her eyes softened, and she patted my arm. “You’ve got a lot on your plate, sweetheart. But don’t let that stop you from taking the sweet things when they come. You know, like a kiss from a dashing warlock.”

Twobble pulled up a chair beside me and began dissecting a cinnamon roll like it owed him money. “I second that. Take the sweet things. Especially if they come with abs.”

“Twobble!”

“What? You’veseenhim! I mean, we’ve allseenhim, and he’s quite a specimen, even when shifted.”

Stella nearly snorted her tea.

I covered my face with one hand and tried, truly tried, not to smile again.

But it was too late.

The dream still lingered in the shadows of my mind. Gideon’s voice, his eyes, the chill of that fog. But here, in the warmth of the banquet hall, with Stella's drama, Twobble’s antics, and my dad curled beneath the table, those shadows seemed just a little less heavy.

And I knew this for certain.

If I was going to face the darkness, I’d do it on my terms.

With love in my heart.

And a goblin by my side.

Chapter Eight

The Academy had shifted into full morning rhythm.