The toad ribbited loudly, clearly thrilled with himself, and hopped again. This time, he dove toward a stack of cushions meant for quiet reading, scattering them.
Stella gasped. “He’s feral.”
“He’s always been feral,” I griped, darting forward just as he launched himself onto a bench. “Alex, stop that!”
The toad ignored me completely.
Skonk groaned from the doorway, holding a fresh treat. “I leave for ten minutes.”
Celeste laughed despite herself, half-horrified, half-amused, as the toad bounded past her and knocked into a plant stand. The plant swayed dangerously, its leaves dangling and almost reaching for the toad as if it had its own solution. I’d never seen that side of the plant before.
And that was when it happened.
Heat bloomed along my hip, sudden and unmistakable.
I froze.
The birthmark.
It wasn’t burning, but it pulsed with warmth, like a warning ripple. I pressed my hand against my side instinctively, breath hitching as the sensation intensified.
Keegan noticed immediately. “Maeve.”
“I feel it,” I said quietly, my eyes tracking the toad as he skidded to a halt near the far wall. “Something’s stirring.”
The Academy responded with a subtle shift, the hum deepening, sconces brightening just a fraction as if the building itself had gone alert. The air felt charged now, not dangerous yet, but rigid.
The toad puffed up, throat swelling as he let out an indignant ribbit that echoed louder than it should have.
“Oh, no,” Stella muttered. “That’s not normal.”
Ardetia stepped forward, eyes narrowing. “He’s reacting to something.”
“To me?” Celeste asked, glancing between the toad and me.
“Maybe,” I said, though my focus stayed on the warmth spreading under my skin. “Or maybe whatever just brushed past Stonewick’s Wards.”
“What did you say?” Nova asked.
But my ex hopped again, this time directly toward the center of the hall, landing squarely atop a sigil etched faintly into the floor. The moment his webbed feet touched it, the sigil flared.
Light rippled outward in a brief, dazzling pulse, and the toad froze.
So did everyone else.
The warmth on my hip deepened. It still wasn’t painful, but insistent, like magic knocking from the inside out.
Keegan swore softly under his breath. “That mark of yours…it’s responding.”
“Yes,” I said, heart pounding. “Which means whatever just set him off didn’t come from him.”
The toad blinked, then ribbited once more, this time sounding almost… offended.
Stella sighed. “Wonderful. The frog’s a magical tripwire.”
The Academy shuddered in agreement, stone and magic settling into a watchful silence as I straightened, hand still pressed to my hip.
Something had crossed a line, and the toad, of all creatures, had felt it first.
