“Yes, I do. I watched the scene unfold. Nova showed me how to do it, and I watched my mother walk toward the Priestess.”
I waited until he looked at me.
“My mother has spent her entire life finding ways around obstacles,” I said. “She left Stonewick. She built a life somewhere else. She raised me without letting the Priestess’s shadow swallow our family. If she decided to go, Twobble… she was going to go no matter what any of us told her.”
He pressed his lips together.
“I don’t like it,” he said.
“Neither do I.”
Silence stretched between us, and finally, a smile touched his lips.
And I knew, he finally believed me.
“You’re getting a lot of good applicants.” He shoved a stack toward me and ate another piece of candy. “The Academy must have put out a call again.”
“One is a vampire witch who specializes in emotional alchemy. It sounds suspicious but intriguing.”
Despite everything, a small laugh escaped me.
“She attached three recommendation letters and a detailed curriculum plan,” he said solemnly. “Very thorough.”
The Academy must go on.
He didn’t say it exactly like that, but it hung in the air anyway.
“I thought things might… slow down,” I admitted.
“Ha. In Stonewick?”
I chuckled and nodded.
Twobble stared at me.
“No matter what Shadowick wants to throw at us, students still require education.”
I smiled and glanced at the vampire’s letter of recommendations.
“And the good news is that witches still believe in this place enough to send resumes.”
“Maybe they know everything that’s happening.”
Twobble shook his head. “Word spreads fast. They know. Between the orcs and shifters, not to mention us goblins, thoseapplying know exactly what they’re volunteering for. If anything, instability makes people apply faster.”
“That’s a strange recruitment strategy,” I muttered.
“Hope to make something better sustains the interest.”
My brows lifted in surprise. “Hope?”
“Absolutely.” He licked his fingers and let out a deep breath. All the wrappers were empty.
“What does magic mean to you?” I asked suddenly.
Twobble blinked twice and cocked his head slightly. “Well, that’s… broad.”
“Come on. Try giving me an answer anyway.”
