Page 128 of Magical Melee
“Expected?” Nova echoed, her voice calm but probing. “The Academy doesn’t open its doors lightly. If it lets you in, it sees something in you. We were right.”
I nodded, the memory of the encounter still vivid. “They told me I had a choice: stay at the Academy and learn the ways of magic or come back here to help you fight. They said if I stayed, the Academy could teach me everything I needed to know, and it could protect me. But if I came back to the cottage… I might never get another chance.”
Stella crossed her arms, leaning against the windowsill. “And you chose to come back.”
“I couldn’t leave you,” I said, my voice firmer than I felt. “Not with Gideon out there, threatening everything.”
Keegan stopped pacing as his hazel eyes locked onto mine.
“You should have stayed. You were safer there,” he said, his voice low and nearly a growl.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I chose to stay behind and let you all fight.”
“We would have been fine,” he said gruffly.
My eyes narrowed on him. “You don’t know that.”
“The Academy doesn’t issue ultimatums lightly. If it’s offering you that kind of opportunity, it’s because it knows what’s coming. You should have stayed.” He folded his arms over his chest and glared at me.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
“I care about you, too,” I said sarcastically.
A quick smirk covered his face as Nova chuckled.
He dropped his arms and walked over to the window, ignoring my statement further, and stared outside.
“Fine. It’s nice to have you back,” he said wryly.
The thrum of magic that had filled the air earlier seemed to grow louder, pressing against the walls like an unseen force.
The distant sounds of the gargoyles defending the cottage grew sharper as their cries echoed in the morning light.
Without warning, a new sound filled the air—a deep, rhythmic beating, like massive wings cutting through the sky.
It grew louder and louder until it seemed to shake the very walls of the cottage.
“What is that?” I asked.
Before anyone could answer, the roof gave a sudden, violent shudder.
“What is going on?” My eyes widened as I glanced at Stella, who scribbled letters into the air.
A series of heavy thuds shook the walls. It sounded like something—orsome things—had landed with the force of a small earthquake.
“Eagles?” I squeaked out.
Keegan’s expression darkened. “Gryphons,” he said grimly.
“Gryphons?” I repeated, my voice rising slightly. “As in half-lion, half-eagle, legendary creatures of lore? Mystical, magical, imaginary beings?”
“The very same,” Stella said, her tone almost too calm. “And if they’re here, it means the stakes just got a whole lot higher.”
A loud screech echoed from above. The sound of talons scraping against the roof tiles shuddered through the air. The cottage trembled slightly.
“Are they friend or foe?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“Friend,” Nova said, her voice steady. “For now.”
