“It was on a broom.”
“What?” Celeste’s head snapped toward him. “A broom.”
“Yes,” he said solemnly. “A very temperamental broom.”
“You flew,” she said, looking back at me, voice climbing. “To rescue Gideon. From the Priestess. On a broom.”
“When you put it like that, it does sound a little unhinged,” I said.
Her mouth fell open, then she laughed, a sound somewhere between disbelief and awe.
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not,” Keegan said. “She was… impressive.”
Celeste shook her head slowly. “I leave for college, and you turn into an action heroine.”
I smiled, though the memory still made my stomach tighten. “It wasn’t heroic. It was necessary. And believe me. I’m never impressive on a broom. They’re moody and never listen. It just takes me where it wants to go.”
“That’s worse,” she said. “That means you didn’t have a choice.”
I didn’t argue with that.
We sat there for a moment, the three of us, and I could feel the churn of magic beneath the surface of things.
“So,” Celeste said quietly, “if you don’t know what she wants… what does that mean for us?”
I took a breath, choosing my words carefully. “It means we stay aware. It means we don’t assume safety just because things feel calm. And it means…” I paused, the next part catching painfully in my throat. “It means it might not be safe for you to stay here long.”
Celeste didn’t pull away. She leaned in closer. “You don’t want me to go.”
“No, I’d love it if you stayed, but,” I said immediately. “I want you safe. Those aren’t always the same thing.”
Keegan rested his hands on his knees, gaze fixed on the path ahead.
“Magic’s churning,” he said. “You can feel it, right? Like the world’s holding its breath.”
“Yes,” I said. “I feel it.”
Celeste nodded slowly.
“Me too,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to say anything.”
I turned to her, startled. “You feel it?”
She shrugged, a little self-conscious. “It’s like… static under my skin as if something’s winding up.”
Keegan glanced at me, his expression soft but serious. “That’s what worries me.”
“And me,” I said.
The thought settled heavily between us. Celeste’s magic had woken up at the worst possible time, when ancient players were shifting and old grudges were stirring. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in normalcy and keep her there, but Stonewick had never been a place that honored wishes over reality.
“I don’t regret coming,” Celeste said suddenly. “I don’t want you to think that.”
I squeezed her hand. “I don’t.”
“I just…” She exhaled. “I didn’t realize how big all this was.”
