We were stuck.
Together.
And as I stood there, caught between distrust and a strange, unwilling hope, I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever theAcademy was trying to force into being, it wasn’t finished shaping us yet.
The Academy relaxed, as a creature does when it decides the immediate threat has passed.
The sensation was a slow, deliberate easing that I felt through the soles of my feet and up my spine. The hum beneath us softened, the air warming a fraction, tension draining from the stone like breath leaving clenched lungs.
With a quietthrum, the stairs reappeared.
Solid. Whole. Unapologetic.
I let out a deep breath, and I wasn’t the only one.
Gideon stood very still at the edge of the stairwell, shoulders drawn together, jaw set.
But I watched as the moment registered, and the invisible pressure he’d been pushing against finally gave way. His shoulders loosened, just a little.
The Academy had made its point, and now it was stepping back.
“Of course,” Twobble muttered. “Now it decides to behave.”
No one waited around to see if the Academy might change its mind.
The group scattered almost immediately, like a flock running into pasture.
Lady Limora swept off down one corridor with her skirts whispering and the toad dangling indignantly from her grip once again.
Ardetia followed Nova in the opposite direction, their low voices already slipping into strategy and spellwork.
Stella vanished with my dad padding along beside her, the bulldog casting one last smug glance over his shoulder.
Even Twobble hesitated only a second before hustling after them, muttering something about needing a snack and emotional fortification.
In less than a minute, the corridor felt strangely empty.
Only Keegan and I remained, standing side by side as Gideon fell into step behind the others, his back to us now, posture composed but watchful. He didn’t look back. I wasn’t sure whether that was restraint or pride.
We watched him disappear around the corner, presumably headed back toward his temporary quarters now that the Academy had decided to allow it.
Keegan broke the silence first.
“So,” he said quietly, “he returned to your dreams?”
I smiled faintly and shrugged. “Dreams? Nightmares? Who’s into labels?”
He let out a soft laugh, but his eyes stayed serious, searching my face for what I wasn’t saying yet. I stopped walking and drew a slow breath, the cool stone beneath my feet grounding me as I weighed how much to share.
I knew better than to keep things from him.
I turned to face him and lifted my hand to his cheek, my fingers brushing along the line of his jaw, feeling the warmth there, the steadiness. The simple reality of him standing in front of me felt like an anchor after everything else.
“How are you feeling,” I asked gently, “since the circle?”
His smile spread without hesitation, bright and genuine in a way that still startled me sometimes. He leaned into my touch, eyes softening.
“Honestly?” he said. “Like a million bucks.”
