“That’s one way to put it,” Nova said. “And we certainly can’t expect the Hollows to step in to save us all the time because the Hollows wouldn’t. This is a special predicament. A vow was made on its land.”
Keegan shifted closer to me, his shoulder brushing mine. “I didn’t understand what happened at the time. I just knew we couldn’t physically go with her. Stonewick, or I suppose the Hollows, wasn’t letting us leave.”
I swallowed. “And her?”
“Thrown clear,” Stella said briskly. “She wasn’t harmed. Just… removed.”
Twobble whistled. “Remind me never to annoy the Hollows.”
Nova’s lips curved faintly. “You already do.”
A fragile, strange warmth spread through my chest. The Hollows hadn’t necessarily protected them. It had chosen to uphold something that would shape magic as we knew it.
“But that means,” I said slowly, “if Gideon changes his mind—”
“The Hollows won’t stop him from regretting it,” Nova said. “But they will hold him to it. That’s why the circle must be closed soon. Before he tries to twist the vow into something unrecognizable.”
Keegan’s gaze dropped to the floor, then lifted again, steady. “He won’t wait forever. He hates being bound.”
“And the Priestess?” I asked.
Stella’s smile sharpened. “She can push. She can threaten. But she cannot interfere directly anymore. Not without breaking rules far older than she is.”
Bella crossed her arms. “Which she won’t do lightly.”
“Because even she knows better,” Nova agreed. “But once the circle is closed and the vow has been seen through, the Hollows will go back to being neutral ground and the Priestess…”
She didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t need to. The priestess would be free to wreak havoc once again.
The Academy hummed, low and content, like a cat settling deeper into a sunny windowsill after lunch.
Twobble cleared his throat. “So in summary, we have a goblin spy with a limited attention span, a wolf and bulldog who survived multiple curses, a headmistress who has caught the attention of the priestess, an ancient unseen force enforcing magical consent, and a bad guy on a ticking clock, snooping around town.”
Stella nodded. “When you put it that way, it sounds downright cozy.”
I laughed softly, the tension easing just enough to let me breathe.
Keegan turned toward me, his voice lower now, meant only for me. “You okay?”
The question was gentle and pure.
I leaned into his shoulder, just a little, relishing the comfort he always managed to provide. “Not entirely. But I think… I think Stonewick has my back.”
His arm came around me without hesitation. “It does.”
Outside, the light shifted, and somewhere beneath the stone, something old and watchful settled back into its waiting.
The circle wasn’t closed yet, but the elements were holding.
Nova lifted her staff slightly, the way someone might lift a lantern in a dark attic, as if to signal the next step.
“The Wilds are ready,” she said, closing her eyes. “I can feel their call.”
The words weren’t dramatic, yet the air shifted like the Academy had leaned in to listen. The walls held their breath. The glass in the windows shimmered its response, as if the building itself wanted to be included in the decision.
Twobble’s ears perked. “Ready as in… snacks are out? Or ready as in… everyone should stop breathing in mushroom dust?”
“Both,” Stella muttered, chuckling. “We don’t have time for any funny business.”
