I looked toward the stairs, where faint moonlight traced the railings. “Maybe she left a sign in the Wards themselves.”
Twobble perked up. “Like a magical breadcrumb trail?”
“More like a whisper in the roots,” I said. “Something meant for those who know how to listen.”
Keegan’s eyes softened as they found mine. “Then we listen and we hope we’re right about her.”
We fell quiet as the summer air pressed against the windows, carrying the hum of distant cicadas.
“You really think Luna’s trying to help?” Skonk asked quietly.
“I think she’s trying to fix something broken,” I said. “I just don’t know which part… Gideon, Stonewick, or herself.”
Twobble sighed dramatically. “Fixing men never goes well. History proves it and literature predicts it. Disaster.”
I almost laughed. Almost. “Then let’s make sure she’s not doing it alone.”
Keegan nodded. “We’ll follow the trail at dawn.”
Skonk looked relieved and exhausted all at once. “I’ll go wake Bella. She’ll want in.”
“Let her rest until morning,” I said. “No one’s crossing into the realm tonight.”
He hesitated, then nodded and slipped away, his small footsteps fading down the hall.
The moment he was gone, the air felt heavier. I turned toward Keegan, who hadn’t moved. He stood in the half-shadow of the entryway, with eyes fixed on something only he could see.
“You think Luna’s in danger,” I said softly.
“I think Gideon’s too quiet,” he said. “And silence, in his hands, is never mercy.”
I stepped closer until I could feel the faint warmth of him, the solid, steady beat of something that reminded me I wasn’t just fighting for the Academy or the Wards. I was fighting for the people inside them. For all of us.
“I just refuse to believe she’s on his side until I see it.”
He looked down at me, a small, tired smile pulling at his mouth. “You really don’t know how to quit believing in people, do you?”
“I’ve tried,” I said. “Doesn’t stick.”
He reached out, tracing his thumb over my knuckles before stepping back. “Then tomorrow, we start again.”
“Together,” I said.
The chandelier above us flickered once.
And in that tiny, trembling pause before the light steadied again, I swore I heard a whisper through the walls in a voice soft as spun thread, threading itself through the silence.
“Find me before she does.”
I didn’t know if it was Luna or the shadow that spoke.
But I knew it meant the same thing.
Dawn couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter Four
Keegan’s heartbeat was the first spell of the morning.
