And somehow, that felt like the most important piece of all.
Chapter Thirteen
I looked at Keegan and smiled. We had stepped away from the banquet hall as things were winding down. We walked outside, and the cool fall air skated over my cheeks.
“Gideon told me that he thinks the Priestess will go after Celeste.”
Keegan's jaw clenched, and he nodded slowly. “I would like to think it would never get to that.”
“I suppose it already has. I believe we need to send someone to her. I don't think it's safe enough to bring her back.”
Keegan scratched his jaw and nodded slowly, looking up at the star-filled sky. “Who do you think would be best for it?”
I shook my head and let out a deep sigh. “I don't know.”
But I did know. I wanted Keegan to be watching over my daughter. If anyone could protect her, I knew it was him.
“Do you find it odd that Rendel is not here?”
His eyes stayed on mine. “Odd? No. Worrisome? Yes.”
The night settled deeper around the Academy, and the soft whir of magic from the Wards brushed against the edges of the silence in a way that should have felt comforting.
It didn’t.
“Is that because your dad always does that?” I asked. “He’d show up exactly when he needed to, said just enough to shift everything, and then he’d be gone before anyone could ask the question that mattered?”
Keegan didn’t answer right away, but I saw the way his shoulders shifted, the way his breath slowed as if he was deciding how much to give me.
He sighed. “That’s nothing new.”
I glanced at him. “No?”
He shook his head, his gaze drifting past me for a second before returning. “He’s always moved like that. In and out. He never stayed long enough to be pinned down, never explaining more than he wanted to. My mom and dad raised me in Stonewick, but my mom was the only constant in my life. My dad would come and go while I grew up, but when the curse came down, they both left and didn’t look back.”
“Until recently.”
He pressed his lips together and nodded.
“I remember Stella or Nova telling me something like that…as if he never quite fit the mold for Stonewick.” I shrugged. “I just didn’t know what they meant.”
“He did what he wanted. Always did. He was probably grateful the curse hit, so he had an excuse to leave for good.”
“You don’t mean that.” I reached for his hand.
He nodded. “I do.”
I exhaled slowly, letting the cool air fill my lungs before I spoke again. “Gideon said something else.”
Keegan’s expression changed. “What?”
“He told me that we shouldn’t trust everyone who shows up in our circle.”
“I don’t think that takes a genius to come up with that.”
I laughed, looking toward the Academy. “It felt pointed.”
Keegan’s jaw tightened slightly.
