I tried for a smile. It didn’t land.
He walked up, half a muffin already gone. “You okay?”
I glanced back toward the spot Celeste had disappeared from. “I don’t know.”
His expression softened. “Walk me through it.”
We crossed to the little bench outside the restaurant and sat down. I told him everything from Celeste’s excitement to Darren’s grin, to the flicker I’d seen that didn’t feel right, even if I couldn’t describe what exactly it was.
Keegan listened without interrupting. When I paused, his jaw worked thoughtfully as he swallowed the last of his muffin.
“So he grinned,” he said carefully, “and something about it felt off.”
“Yes. But... when I saw the picture she just sent me, it was gone. It looked perfectly normal. Like any boyfriend surprising his girlfriend.”
Keegan tilted his head, his storm-gray eyes kind. “And you think it might have been something from Shadowick?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe? I just... I had thisfeeling.The same one I had when I stood near the cursed mirrors. When I walked the path…”
Keegan leaned back slightly, the bench creaking beneath him. “I haven’t seen him. But from what you’ve told me... it sounds more like mom-sense than danger sense.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s what I’m trying to convince myself.”
“Maeve,” he said gently, “you’ve been running at full throttle for weeks. You’re not just carrying magic, you’re shaping it. Rebuilding the Academy. Guarding the students. You’ve been bracing for a threat that keeps hiding in corners.”
I nodded, my throat tightening.
“And now your daughter, yournon-magicaldaughter, is in town, close to it all, without knowing what’s going on.”
“Exactly,” I whispered.
“Which makes your instincts double time.” He rested his hand over mine, grounding. “But you know what’s also true?”
“What?”
“You’ve raised a smart, capable, sharp-as-a-whip girl. And she knows herself. That photo? That smile? That’s real. And if somethingwasn’t,she’d know it. And so would you.”
I looked down at our hands.
“I hate how fast she’s growing up,” I said.
He chuckled. “That’s the job.”
“She’s going to this lake house,” I muttered. “No idea what could be waiting, and I can’t go charging in there waving a wand and interrogating her boyfriend in front of a canoe.”
Keegan smirked. “Though I’d pay good money to see that.”
I bumped my shoulder against his. “You’re not helping.”
“Sure I am,” he said. “You’re just being a mom. That’s allowed.”
I sighed and leaned into him for a moment, letting the quiet between us settle.
“I needed this,” I said.
He squeezed my hand gently. “And she needed to go. To do something normal. To fall in love. To leave, even.”
“I know,” I whispered.
