Page 5 of With the Key in the Office

“Freddie,” I said. The name was a pebble in my shoe. “He vanished behind a door. I can’t decide if that’s the most dramatic thing I’ve ever heard or the saddest.”

“Both can be true.” Robbie sank onto the edge of the bed, careful not to dislodge Tilly, who had returned to loaf up. He looked up at me. “Do you think he was a teacher?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or some kind of renovation specialist. Vanderflit goes tight around the eyes when he says the name. That’s not how you talk about an acquaintance. He cares about this man, whoever he is.”

Simon fetched the sparkly mouse and presented it to Robbie with the solemnity of a knight offering a sword. Robbie tossed it. Simon tore off after it, paws skidding on stone as Robbie said, “If the key opens any door, how did it end up with the Lizard Wizard? How was it even taken from the academy? And if the academy once had the key, did they just immediately lose it after Freddie walked through that door? I’m trying to make sense of it all, but I can’t seem to. The way I see it, they should be more careful with a key like that. In the wrong hands that could be very dangerous.”

I poured the hot water over the tea, then handed him a mug. “Ava and Drew will have diagrams by breakfast, I’m sure.”

He chuckled. “They do have that air.”

We sipped and let the quiet settle. I leaned against the wall, watching Robbie more than the cats. He was handsome in a kind, sturdy way, like someone had carved him with the intention that he be useful. His past life had given him steady habits, and they fit him. The Academy had given him mischief, and that fit too.

“Thank you for today,” I said.

“For what?”

“For the party,” I said. “For building a nest of blankets when the world wanted to be sharp edges.”

He ducked his head, pleased. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”

“I know,” I said. “But I like to.”

He stood, set his mug down, and crossed the room. We met in the middle. His hand came up to my cheek. No rush. No demand. Just a question I’d already answered.

We kissed. Not the kind of kiss that tries to write the whole book in a paragraph, just the first page with a very promising sentence.

A rustle. A chirp. A thump.

Simon landed on my shoulder like a pirate’s parrot. Tilly leapt to the nightstand and meowed at my teacup as if objecting to the herbal blend. We broke apart, laughing, and I carefully relocated Simon to the floor. He immediately put his feet on Robbie’s shoe and kneaded him like dough.

“We’re outnumbered,” Robbie said, mock-solemn.

“They were here first,” I said. “House rules.”

We made a game of it, pets, treats, wand toy, repeat, until the cats tired themselves into puddles. The room settled again. The castle hummed quietly. I sank onto the bed beside Robbie, shoulder to shoulder, and the nearness of him calmed everything that had been on a simmer.

“What if the key isn’t just a key,” I asked, “but a test? Like, whoever goes after it has to prove they’re desperate enough to try. Or foolish.”

“Or both,” he said.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I flopped back and squinted at the screen. Emily. The name brightened me from the inside out, the way it always did. I glanced at Robbie. He nodded, already sliding off the bed to give me space he didn’t need to give.

I answered. “Hey, baby.”

“Mom?” Emily sounded surprised, like she’d called to leave a message and hadn’t actually expected a human person to answer. “You’re awake?”

“Very,” I said. “Just hanging out.” My gaze flicked to Robbie, who had perched in my desk chair, trying to look nonchalant with Simon now installed across his thighs like a lion skin. The cat gave me a slow blink that read as approval.

“Are you watching TV alone like a gremlin?” Emily asked. “Please don’t tell me you started that true crime show again. It makes you paranoid.”

“I resent that,” I said cheerfully. “And no. I am not watching anything. I’m with a friend.”

“A friend,” she repeated, putting air quotes around it with her tone.

“A perfectly respectable friend,” I said. “Who is very good at wrangling cats.”

“Wait, are you actuallyoutout?”