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I didn’t get far, just enough to lean against the low brick ledge where the planters hung with spring blooms. The scent of lilac and wet stone drifted up from the cobblestones, mingling with the residual taste of cider on my tongue.

I needed air. Space. Something that didn’t remind me of Alex’s sudden reappearance or the coil of unease tightening around a possible engagement that scared the heck out of me.

Keegan stepped outside moments later, like he’d been waiting for the count of ten before following.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stood beside me, hands tucked in his coat pockets, eyes on the moonlight spilling between the gables of Stonewick. The silence wasn’t awkward. It was familiar and comforting. It was the kind of quiet that spoke its own language.

“You don’t have to walk me back,” I said finally.

He arched a brow, just enough to make me smile.

“All right,” I added. “I take that back.”

He offered his arm, not like a gesture, but a habit. I looped mine through his, and we began the slow stroll up the winding path toward the Academy.

My shoes clicked softly against the cobblestones. His stride matched mine like it always did, with its steady solidness.

He was like an anchor to my swirling thoughts.

Keegan was quiet, which was worse than anything he could’ve said.

“I don’t want to overreact,” I continued. “Celeste is just barely into her first real relationship, and I’ve been… cautious. Trying not to project.”

“Which means,” Keegan said gently, “you haven’t asked her the hard questions.”

“No,” I admitted. “I haven’t. But I need to. I think I need to call her in the morning. Really talk to her. And maybe…” I hesitated. “If the curse breaks, if Stonewick is safe again, maybe she could come spend the summer here.”

He glanced at me, a flicker of something lighting in his eyes. “You’d like that.”

“I would,” I said. “More than I realized.”

He gave a slow nod. “Then we’ll make that happen.”

The way he said we settled something deep in me. Not a promise, exactly, but something like it. A shared resolve.

The moonlight made the path glow silver-white, and the breeze carried a faint shimmer of magic through the trees, soothing and ancient.

Stonewick always felt more alive at night, as if the magic came out to breathe after the world had quieted down.

The tourists bounced from one shop to the next, and the locals enjoyed late-night strolls.

But as we walked toward the alley, I noticed Keegan’s silence again. Not the soft, steady quiet from before, but the kind that clung to a thought he hadn’t said yet.

I slowed, tugging gently on his arm. “All right. Spill.”

He glanced at me.

“There’s something you’re not saying,” I added. “And I’m guessing it’s not about dinner rolls.”

He exhaled and looked up at the spires in the distance, golden light still glowing in the tower windows.

“I just…” He scrubbed a hand down his jaw. “I keep thinking about Moonbeam. And you.”

I tilted my head. “You’re worried.”

“I’d be an idiot not to be.” His voice was quiet, but it held weight. “We don’t know what Gideon’s planning. You’ve done everything to prepare, Maeve…more than anyone could’ve asked for. But he’s not like us. He doesn’t follow the same rules.”

“I know that,” I said softly. “But I have to try. I can’t let fear stop me. Not now. You don’t know if you’ll last through the next shift that’s not under your control. My dad is held captive as a bulldog. The town isn’t expanding or growing its magic.”

“I’m not asking you to stop,” he said, meeting my gaze. “I’m asking if you’ve thought about what happens if it doesn’t go the way we want it to.”

The wind picked up slightly, brushing my coat hem against my boots.

“Yes,” I admitted. “I think about that every night.”

He nodded slowly, his jaw tight again.

“But,” I added, “I also think about what happens if it does work. What if we break the curse? What if the Wards heal, the students keep coming, and we rebuild something real?”

He looked at me for a long moment, and then, finally, he smiled. A small one. The kind that didn’t quite reach his eyes but still meant something.

“I like it when you talk like that,” he said. “It reminds me why we fight.”

“I’ll talk to Celeste tomorrow,” I said, quieter now. “And I’ll keep doing the prep. And I’ll try not to lose sleep wondering what Gideon’s next move is.”

“And you’ll let me help,” he added.

I looked up at him, the wind lifting a strand of hair across my cheek.

“Yes,” I said. “I will.”

The path ahead was long, but I wasn’t walking it alone.

And that, for tonight, was enough.

I hadn’t meant to glance back.

Truly, I hadn’t.

But something tugged at my attention as Keegan and I reached the alley. When I turned, there was Alex, sauntering toward Keegan’s boutique hotel with a woman draped on his arm like a stolen shawl.

I couldn’t tell if it was the same lady who had texted him earlier or not. I’d almost say… not.

Her laugh echoed off the stone, high and bright, while Alex held the door with a practiced charm that made my jaw tighten.

Keegan followed my gaze.

“Classy,” he murmured.

I said nothing, just clenched my teeth a little harder.

“Would you like me to slip a bed bug spell under his mattress?” Keegan asked casually, straight-faced. “Just a light one. Mostly itch-based. Horribly persistent.”

I choked on a surprised laugh.

“Of course,” I said sweetly. “Preferably the kind that sings show tunes at midnight.”

His grin widened. “Excellent taste in vengeance.”

I shook my head, the tension easing from my shoulders. He wouldn’t do it.

I knew that, but the offer was balm enough.

Some curses were subtle.

And some were just ex-husbands walking into the wrong town with the wrong woman at the wrong time.

And tonight, I had better things to think about than ghosts who refused to stay gone.