Page 151 of Magical Mission
I let out a long, slow breath and blew out the candle.
The pull of the calling path still buzzed beneath my skin, low and steady. But it didn’t feel urgent, merely insistent.
It was as if it knew I needed time.
To rest.
To question.
Tofeelit all before I faced whatever it had to offer.
I turned onto my side and pulled the quilt higher beneath my chin.
And with the soft rustle of the wind outside, and the warmth of my not-so-empty room, I finally let myself surrender to stillness, uncertainty, and sleep.
Meanwhile, the path waited, quiet and gleaming beneath the watchful eyes of a vampire guardian and the stars that kept their own counsel.
Tomorrow would come, but tonight, I would finally let go.
Chapter Thirty-Five
It wasn’t the sunlight streaming across the floor that woke me. It hadn’t even been my dad’s snores, which had reached an impressive crescendo as he sprawled belly-up near the hearth.
No, what pulled me from the depths of sleep was the knock.
Persistent.
Loud.
A sound that nudged into the edges of my dream like it belonged there—gentle, steady,familiar.
And then I heard it.
His voice.
“Maeve?” It wasn’t loud or urgent, but it was threaded with that husky morning warmth and a hint of amusement.
It sank through me like thunder, and suddenly he was everywhere in my mind. Standing in the corridors of my dreams, smiling like he knew every secret I hadn’t dared to speak. The smirk and confidence oozing from Keegan swept me into the dream state again when I realized it wasn’t a dream.
I bolted upright.
The knock came again.
I blinked.
“Keegan,” I whispered, the sleep still tangling in my limbs.
Itwashim.
Not a dream.
I tumbled out of bed, with my heart racing for reasons that had very little to do with magic and very much to do with the man currently waiting on the other side of the door. I scrambled for my robe, tying it hastily around my waist as I padded barefoot across the stone floor.
My dad snorted awake, lifted his head, then promptly dropped it back down with a grunt.
Some guard dog.
I cracked open the door, and there he was.
