Page 120 of Magical Mission
The night air was cool but soft. The seasons hadn’t made up their minds yet. It was like a tug-of-war between chilliness and warmth.
We walked slowly, our steps in rhythm as the cobblestone streets of Stonewick stretched quiet and half-lit before us. Shop windows had finally dimmed.
The sweet scent of lavender drifted from the candle shop down the block that was still open and offering tutorials for students.
Somewhere in the distance, wind chimes clinked gently.
I let myself breathe for a few paces, letting the warmth of our conversations linger, but it didn’t last long. The shimmer in the Academy. The box. The orb. And—
Gideon.
It coiled again in my chest, uncomfortable and persistent.
I stopped walking as the anxiety came from nowhere and shot through me like a lightning bolt.
Keegan slowed with me and looked down, concerned. “What is it?”
“I need to ask you something,” I said, still facing the shadowed road ahead. “And I want you to really hear it before you… judge it.”
His brow furrowed, but he nodded.
“I keep thinking about Gideon,” I said.
Keegan was quiet, but that silencetightened.
“I know he’s dangerous. I know what he’s done. The curse, the manipulations, and the shadows. And all of the pain he’s caused in Stonewick. You and my dad… But—” I paused, pressing my lips together. “There was this moment, when Gideon and I had connected here on these very streets, when we were rescuing my dad. I connected with Gideon’s mind and crept into a place he didn’t want me to, and I saw things… From when he was young. And the look on his face.” I shook my head. “Keegan, it was like watching someone trying to reachfor something they loved and couldn't. He was standing on the outskirts of Stonewick being ridiculed.”
“Youfeelfor him,” Keegan said quietly.
“No!” I said quickly, turning to face him. “I don’tfeelfor him. It’s not sympathy, not like that.”
He just looked at me.
Which was worse than arguing.
“You think I have a soft spot for him,” I said, a little defensively.
“You’re not the first woman to try to understand the man holding the knife,” Keegan said softly. “You always want to believe there’s something else behind the hurt. You did that with your ex, too.”
My chest tightened, but not from anger.
From recognition.
Keegan knew me better than I knew myself.
“That’s not fair,” I said, though my voice was gentler than I expected.
“It’s not an accusation,” he said. “It’s a worry.”
I blinked up at him, with my heart suddenly far more exposed than I’d prepared for.
But that’s what Keegan did. He always saw right through me and helped me discover things I didn’t even understand.
Keegan started walking, just a few steps, then turned back to me. His eyes weren’t angry, only concerned. Watching me with the kind of focus that felt like being unraveled.
“How do you know so much?” I asked. “About me. About how I think.”
A grin tugged at the edge of his mouth, low and crooked. “It’s the canine in me.”
