The realization didn’t land all at once.
The sensation crept in sideways, like fog rolling over a winding road.
Nova’s smile lingered on Celeste a beat too long, thoughtful rather than merely warm, and Stella’s stillness honed from curiosity into something far more alert.
Celeste shifted under all that attention. “Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
The toad chose that moment to hop, and it wasn’t a timid, apologetic hop. It was full of confidence. He jumped through the door, belly brushing the stone, and paused as if evaluating the acoustics.
The Academy didn’t reject him this time. He croaked once, loud and self-satisfied, and angled himself toward the warmth spilling from the kitchen corridor.
Twobble gasped like he’d been personally insulted.
“Oh no. No. Absolutely not. You don’t get to make yourself at home,” Twobble said.
The toad hopped again, slower this time, as if testing boundaries.
Twobble’s ears flattened.
“I will eat you,” he warned. “I don’t care if you used to file taxes.”
“I don’t think you should—” I started, then stopped.
The words caught in my throat, tangled with the memory of Alex’s voice, the way Celeste had mimicked it, the casual cruelty of it. I watched the toad settle himself beside a bench like he belonged there, like the Academy was just another place he’d decided he deserved to occupy.
Keegan leaned closer to me, eyes bright with barely contained amusement. “You’re thinking it too, aren’t you.”
“I don’t want to,” I muttered.
“But you are.”
“Yes,” I admitted.
Celeste looked between us, brow furrowing. “Thinking what?”
Nova finally spoke, her voice gentle but precise. “Celeste, when your father… changed, how did you feel in that moment?”
Celeste hesitated. “Angry.”
Stella arched a brow. “That’s putting it mildly.”
Celeste exhaled, shoulders tightening. “I was furious. Embarrassed. I wanted him to shut up. I wanted him to stop talking about Mom like she was some joke. I wanted him to stop talking at all.”
The toad croaked again, sharp this time.
Twobble pointed at him. “See? Evennow, he’s being rude.”
Nova nodded slowly, eyes never leaving Celeste. “And did you think about magic?”
Celeste blinked. “No. I mean… yes? But not like casting a spell. It was more like…” She paused, searching. “Like something snapped into place.”
My chest tightened.
“Snapped?” I asked quietly.
Celeste’s gaze flicked to me. “Like the world finally agreed with me.”
Silence dropped hard. I’d never heard a more perfect explanation of magic.
