It wasn’t just magic. It was life.
The air sparkled faintly with morning spells. Laughter echoed from the exterior steps as students headed toward theirfirst classes. A cluster of book sprites zipped overhead, one of them dragging a satchel of wayward scrolls behind it with great indignation. The aroma of something warm and sweet drifted through the corridor—cinnamon, cloves, and a little too much nutmeg.
I didn’t realize how much I’d needed this familiarity until I saw it again.
And then I saw him.
Twobble.
He stood just outside the entrance, dressed in his usual layers of too-large fabric, sparse hair wind-tossed, and an apple pinched between two fingers as if he were deciding whether it was food or ammunition.
The second his eyes landed on me, he froze mid-bite.
Then hebolted.
“Maeve!” he cried, the apple tumbling to the floor and forgotten entirely. “Oh, shimmering stars and sideways socks—you’reback!”
Before I could say anything, he launched himself toward me and skidded to a stop inches from my boots. His eyes widened.
His head tilted.
He blinked once, slowly.
Then whispered, “Oh.”
Keegan stood at my side, brows drawn. “What’s theohfor?”
Twobble didn’t answer him.
He didn’t even look at him.
Instead, he stepped forward and placed his small, warm hand against my arm, eyes searching my face like he could read the tremble behind my eyes and the shimmer that still clung to my skin.
“You didn’t just come back,” he said softly. “Youbrought it back with you.”
I swallowed. “Twobble—”
“No, no, no.” He shook his head, waving his hand in a frantic circle. “Don’t speak yet. Don’t dilute it with words. I need to feel it.”
Keegan shifted beside me, crossing his arms. “Does someone want to explain this cryptic goblin nonsense to me?”
Twobble waved vaguely in his direction. “Gargoyle’s boyfriend. Shush. The grown-ups are talking.”
Keegan gave me a look that might’ve been annoyance or reluctant amusement.
Twobble sniffed and stepped back. He stared at me again, but this time his sharp eyes softened. “You walked through something most would break beneath. And yet you’ve…stretched.Expanded. Your edges moved, Maeve.”
I blinked. “Myedges?”
He nodded solemnly. “Your soul doesn’t end where it used to. It ripples now. Not dangerous. But… deep.”
Keegan muttered, “Still cryptic.”
I touched Twobble’s shoulder. “You’re not wrong.”
The Academy doors opened behind us, and the soft buzz of mid-morning filled the space. Students passed by with notebooks and armfuls of floating teacups. One of the fae twinshad enchanted a scarf to act as a hovering assistant, which promptly smacked into the back of someone’s head before veering off with a guilty flutter.
“Come on,” Twobble said, motioning for us to walk. “Let’s get you inside before the shimmer tries to whisper any last riddles into your ears.”
