“Magic,” he said slowly, “means belonging.”
I didn’t expect that, but it fit absolutely perfectly for Twobble. He’d spent decades trying to get into the Academy, and it continually told him he didn’t fit in, didn’t belong. My chest squeezed at the thought of this little goblin trying again and again.
He continued, fiddling absentmindedly with a corner of parchment.
“I wasn’t allowed inside the Academy for years,” he said. “Blown miles away if I tried. Rejected by Wards that I didn’t even understand. But then you showed up, and the Academy… bent.”
He glanced around the office as if half-expecting the walls to comment.
“It means being seen as more than just a nuisance,” he finished quietly. “It meant everything to be accepted here.”
“Twobble,” I said gently, “you’re never a nuisance.”
He snorted. “Well, that’s debatable.”
“I mean it. If nothing else, you just know how to brighten my day.”
He shrugged, uncomfortable with sincerity. “Well, I do believe Skonk is quite a nuisance.”
I glanced down at his shoulder. “Where’s Cindy?”
“In the Butterfly Ward for now. She seemed pretty hungry. Every time I turned around, she was slipping off and finding herself a leaf.” He turned his gaze back to me. “What does magic mean to you?”
“To the Priestess,” I said slowly, “it means control.”
“But I asked what it means to you.”
“Well, to me…” I hesitated. “It means hope.”
He beamed. “Good answer for a headmistress.”
“Thank you. I rather liked that idea.”
“Do you think she’s in danger?” he asked quietly. “Your mom?”
I nodded as he absorbed the answer.
“But I don’t think she’s helpless,” I added.
He seemed to consider that, and pushed another stack of applications toward me.
“Look these over tomorrow,” he said, tapping the papers. “If the Priestess decides to escalate, we’ll need proper teachers in place.”
I raised an eyebrow. “We?”
“Obviously.”
“You’ve promoted yourself.”
He straightened his vest with exaggerated dignity. “Head of Morale and Confectionery Distribution.”
“That’s not a real position.”
“It is now.”
Despite everything sitting heavy on my chest, I felt a small warmth creep in.
Life didn’t stop just because the world tilted. The Academy still had students to teach and kitchens to run and apparently, goblins inventing new job titles.
