Waiting.
Not knowing what was coming.
“They won’t just keep her there,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. “Not if the Priestess is already moving pieces into place.”
Karvey inclined his head slightly. “That’s our concern.”
I exhaled slowly, pressing my free hand against my shoulder where the shadow mark had begun to itch again, faint at first, then a little stronger, like it was trying to remind me of something I didn’t want to hear.
“The Priestess needs the tears,” I murmured, my voice quieter now. “My grandma won’t act until she’s ready to use them.”
The words felt wrong even as I said them.
Cold.
Calculated.
But true.
Keegan’s gaze didn’t leave mine. “Then we still have a window.”
“For how long?” I asked, shaking my head slightly. “A day? Two? We don’t even know where the stone is, and Gideon…” I trailed off, the frustration tightening in my chest. “He was the one who had it, and now he’s gone.”
Twobble cleared his throat, softer this time. “And he didn’t exactly leave a forwarding address.”
“No, he didn’t.”
Silence settled over us again, not comfortable this time, but heavy with everything we weren’t saying.
I looked around the cottage, at the small table, the scattered herbs, the pastry sitting there like it didn’t belong to the same world.
Now it all felt… distant, and mastering kitchen witchery seemed unimportant.
“I have to get to the stone first,” I said finally, the words coming out steadier than I felt. “If she gets it before I do, then it won’t matter where my mom is. It won’t matter what we do. My grandma will have everything she needs.”
Keegan’s jaw tightened slightly. “But you don’t know what it will do to you if you touch it.”
I didn’t answer that because I did know.
At least a part of me did.
And that part had been quiet about it.
Too quiet.
“I don’t have a choice,” I said instead, meeting his gaze. “Not this time.”
The shadow mark pulsed again, just once, sharp enough to make me flinch before I could stop it.
Keegan noticed.
Of course he did.
His grip on my hand tightened slightly. “Maeve—”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, though the words felt thinner than I wanted them to.
Karvey watched me, his stone features unreadable, but there was something in his eyes now that hadn’t been there before.
