And that was when it hit me, sharp and bittersweet.
This was why she couldn’t stay right now.
Stonewick would never let her be small. The Academy would always feel her. Magic would always answer her faster than it should. And with the Priestess moving pieces in the dark, with orcs marching toward ancient thresholds and dragons stirring in the deep, Celeste needed distance, safety, and time to grow without every shadow reaching for her.
I hated knowing that, but it also steadied me.
Nova’s voice rose and fell, weaving memory and forgetting into a careful pattern. Ardetia’s sigils glowed, locking the spell into a shape that wouldn’t fracture. Bella murmured quietly to Celeste, grounding her, keeping her present.
The toad trembled once, then stilled.
Celeste lifted her hands slowly, palms open, and spoke the words she’d practiced.
“I release you,” she said, her voice steady. “From what I held. From what I couldn’t carry.”
The magic shifted, and she continued, “By the grace of second chances and the mercy of being seen, I ask the magic to loosen its grip. Come back to yourself. Come back whole. Come back knowing you are no longer a toad.
To say I was proud of Celeste wasn’t putting it mildly.
Warmth spread through the room, not explosive, but deep and resonant. The shop hummed, shelves vibrating softly as if approving.
Light gathered at the center of the circle, folding inward as I held my breath.
This was it.
Whatever came next, there was no undoing it.
The magic surged, but it wasn’t wild or dangerous. Celeste’s magic was deliberate, and I knew with bone-deep certainty that she would walk out of this room changed.
And that was exactly why she had to leave Stonewick while she grew and changed without the confines of an Academy with expectations.
I stared at my ex-husband as his puffy toad cheeks drooped to match his eyes.
The spell didn’t snap, crack, or explode. It didn’t tear its way through the room the way so many dramatic, magical moments like to do. Instead, itunwoundslowly and deliberately.
The light in Nova’s shop softened first. The crystals rang, and the circle dimmed just enough to draw the eye inward.
The tarot cards hovered overhead, slowed their lazy orbit, each one turning face down in unison, as if respectfully averting their gaze.
Celeste’s breath stayed steady.
That alone felt miraculous.
The toad—Alex, my ex—shuddered.
The break began subtly, with a tremor that rippled through his squat little body. His skin shimmered as if something beneath it was gently knocking and asking to be let out. It was…unnerving.
The brownish-green darkened, before it lightened, and the texture smoothed in places and roughened in others. He was caught between two truths that could not coexist.
I leaned forward without realizing it, and Keegan’s hand came to rest at my back, warm and solid, his presence grounding me instantly.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, so quietly only I could hear.
I nodded, swallowing hard.
Celeste lifted her hands a fraction higher, palms open, fingers relaxed. The magic responded to her,listening. It flowed up her arms like warm water, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“I release you,” Celeste said again, softer this time.
