I laughed under my breath. “That good, huh?”
“That good,” he confirmed. “I haven’t felt this way since before Stonewick was cursed by Gideon.”
The words landed heavier than he meant them to.
Decades.
I nodded slowly, my hand still resting against his cheek as the truth of it settled in.
“Before you and my dad were cursed by him,” I said quietly.
Keegan’s smile faded, not into sadness exactly, but into something more thoughtful.
“Yeah. Before all that.”
We stood there for a moment, the Academy’s lanterns glowing softly around us, corridors calm again, as if nothing extraordinary had happened. But I knew better. We both did.
“He’s changed,” Keegan said after a beat. “Some.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “Enough to notice, but not enough to trust.”
He nodded. “That’s where I landed, too.”
I dropped my hand from his cheek reluctantly and folded my arms, staring down the corridor where Gideon had gone.
“I don’t like that the Academy’s forcing this,” I admitted. “I understand it, but I don’t like it.”
Keegan shifted closer, his shoulder brushing mine. “It’s never gentle when it thinks it knows better.”
“No,” I said. “And it usually does.”
He snorted softly. “Doesn’t mean we have to enjoy it.”
I glanced up at him, grateful for the steadiness he offered without trying to fix anything. “He said he has unfinished business.”
Keegan’s jaw tightened. “That worries me.”
“Me too,” I said. “Especially after what happened in the dream. Or whatever that was.”
He studied me carefully. “You think the Priestess was involved.”
“I think she tried to be,” I replied. “And that scares me more than anything Gideon’s said out loud.”
Keegan reached for my hand this time, threading his fingers through mine. “Then we stay alert.”
“Yes,” I said. “And we protect Celeste.”
“Always,” he said without hesitation.
The Academy hummed again, soft and approving, as if it agreed with that plan at least.
I glanced once more down the hall, imagining Gideon in his room, pacing or sitting too still, carrying whatever weight he’d decided was his alone to bear. Part of me was angry with him. Part of me was tired of being drawn into his gravity. And part of me, quiet and unwelcome, understood exactly why he felt the need to leave, even as the Academy refused to let him.
Stonewick had always been like that.
It didn’t release its pieces easily. My mind drifted to Grandma Elira, and I suddenly felt like we were all just a number.
Keegan squeezed my hand gently. “You okay?”
