Page 99 of Magical Moonbeam

She smiled. “Old habits die soft.”

I stepped farther in and leaned on the edge of the table. “We’re headed to the café. Stella, Keegan, Twobble, even Skonk, unfortunately, and I wanted to see if you’d join us. Consider it a thank-you for keeping the magic alive after hours.”

The room fell quiet. One of the students, a woman with peach-colored hair and ivy tattoos on her forearms, whispered, “Skonk’s coming?” with a grin.

Luna’s eyes twinkled, but her voice was touched with sincerity. “You didn’t have to ask, but thank you for doing it. I’d love to come.”

“Wonderful, and for the record, we’d love to have you any time, any place. You say the word, and we’ll have a spot for you at the Academy.”

“I’d probably tie myself up in a ball of yarn.”

I chuckled. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone did that there.”

She wrapped up her yarn in a flash and called to her students to lock up once they were done. I held the door for her, and we stepped back out into the warm spring evening.

The café sat at the corner of town, spilling music and light into the streets like it couldn’t help itself. The open-air tables were crowded with locals, students, and a few visitors who were trying to figure out how they'd wandered into such a place. Vines curled around the wooden beams, woven with glimmering strands that looked like firefly trails and foxglove blossoms.

Twobble and Skonk were already seated, engaged in an argument.

“You can’t just serve wine in a goblet shaped like a frog!” Twobble was saying, arms waving. “It’s undignified.”

Skonk slouched with smug satisfaction. “It’s festive.”

“It's appalling.”

“I’m appallingly festive,” Skonk countered.

“Goblins aren’t supposed to be festive!”

“You’re just jealous no one’s ever asked you to host a dinner party.”

Stella was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. Keegan had his arms crossed and was watching the argument as if it were a play.

When they saw me approaching with Luna in tow, a cheer went up from a few of the students sitting nearby. I gave them a mock bow, cheeks flushing, but it felt good.

I took the seat Keegan pulled out for me and settled beside him, Luna taking the spot on my other side.

Plates appeared before I could even ask, with soft rolls glazed with honey, roasted root vegetables spiced with rosemary, and hard cider that sparkled faintly with a memory charm meant to remind you of your favorite season.

Stella raised a glass.

“To tomorrow’s madness,” she said. “But tonight, may we be foolish and full.”

“To full,” Twobble said, already chewing.

“To foolish!” Skonk added.

And I… I just smiled because this chaos, comfort, and joy tangled with magic and the scent of spring was what I was fighting for.

Stonewick, in all its whimsical, imperfect, stubborn light.

Tomorrow might belong to curses, Veils, and shadows, but tonight? Tonight was ours.

The clatter of laughter and silverware filled the night, buoyed by the café’s enchanted music. The sound was something soft and string-plucked, like memory wrapped in a melody. Fireflies tangled overhead like stray glittering notes, and vines above the eaves whispered in the breeze.

I didn’t have long to enjoy the moment before a fresh swirl of magic tingled across the cobblestones. I glanced toward the lane and saw them arriving like a breeze at my back.

Bella first, in her fox-light stride, her coppery auburn braid tossed over one shoulder and her coat fluttering behind her as if it had a will of its own.