I caught a familiar flash of iron in the lantern light.
As we made our way onto the sidewalk, I caught a glimpse of a happy sight. My dad came over, looking dazed.
“I heard it was the Priestess,” he said softly.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Just a little mark,” I said, trying to distract him. “I think Mom is still okay. I think we have a chance.”
My dad nodded slowly and hugged me before taking a few steps back. “The most important thing is getting you back to your old self.”
He scanned my hand, pressing the compress Luna had given me on my shoulder.
Stella stood near the edge of the street, still gripping the cast-iron skillet like it was a sacred weapon.
She turned when she saw us, and she raised the skillet slightly, scanning the dark tree line behind us as if daring another shadow to try its luck.
I couldn’t help laughing.
“You planning to carry that around all night?” I called.
Stella sniffed the air, teasingly. “You never know when a shadow might get ideas.”
She glanced down at the skillet and back at me.
“And besides,” she added, “this thing has a very respectable track record tonight.”
“There were lots of interesting magical methods tonight,” I said, my voice getting stronger with each step.
“I know we’re all focused on Maeve’s new abilities with shadows and how that might be devastating or exciting, depending on how you look at it, but let’s not forget what else happened tonight.” Twobble cleared his throat.
Skonk looked at his twin cousin and lifted his brow in expectation.
“Golden sparks shot right out of these bad boys.” Twobble wiggled his fingertips. “Never happened before, might I add.”
I smiled and nodded. “I was truly impressed.”
“Very impressive,” Nova agreed.
Stella smiled and went ahead to the tea shop with Lady Limora and the girls, and I looked over at Keegan, wondering how he was holding up after seeing his dad.
He probably thought it was a figment of his imagination, considering Rendel didn’t stick around to chat.
“How are you holding up with everything?” I asked, straightening more as Nova’s arm fell away.
I kept my gaze on Keegan, and a flutter of something shadowed his expression.
“Just an unexpected few visitors tonight.” He moved his gaze in front of us to the tea shop. “But nothing I feel like talking about.”
He opened the door, and I inhaled the sweet and earthy scent as cinnamon floated through the air.
The tea shop had never looked like this.
The moment we stepped through the door, warmth wrapped around me like a blanket. A faint tang of magic lingered in the air, and I couldn’t help but want to breathe it in.
Stonewick had apparently decided the best response to a supernatural battle was tea.
