Page 156 of Magical Mission
He didn’t ask what. He just kept walking with me.
The path curved again.
We passed a tree with silver bark and no leaves, though the ground beneath it was littered with pale petals. The trunk shimmered faintly, as if it were made of memory.
Then another flicker erupted, but this time to my right.
A girl.
Dark hair. Laughter on her lips.
Gone before I could place her.
But my chest ached like Ishouldknow her.
I stumbled slightly.
Keegan’s hand caught my elbow.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said breathlessly. “It’s just… it’s starting.”
He nodded, but the concern in his eyes didn’t fade.
“I don’t think you’re going to see what I see,” I said. “Miora warned me.”
“I didn’t come to see it,” he said softly. “I came to be here while you did.”
The path narrowed again, and the shimmer grew thicker.
I felt it now, not just beneath my feet, but in my pulse. In my breath. In themagicI’d yet to harness or understand.It wasn’t pulling me forward.
It wasmirroringme.
With every step, I felt it stretch ahead like a reflection of my fear, my own need, my wondering.
And behind us, the way back to the beginning had misted over in a distant trail.
I looked at Keegan, taking him in as his steady gaze remained on me. His grounding presence was so deeply appreciated.
The fact that even here, in a place meant only for me, he didn’t feel out of place.
He feltnecessary.
I stopped walking.
“So this is where it’ll split,” I said quietly.
He studied me for a beat. “You sure?”
“No.” I laughed softly. “But I feel it as if the ground knows something’s about to change.”
He let go of my hand.
But he didn’t step back.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I said.
