Page 135 of Magical Mission
“You smell it too?” I whispered.
He grumbled in agreement, and I sat up slowly.
It wasn’t smoke, tea, or breakfast, either.
The scent was pure magic.
I swung my legs out of bed and dressed quickly, fingers brushing over the thick shawl draped on the chair by the window.
By the time I stepped into the hallway, the scent had grown stronger, interlaced with the soft hush of morning spells and a few faint voices echoing up from the lower floor.
I made my way down the corridor with my dad padding at my heels, ears perked.
The moment I reached the second arch, I spotted movement outside the stained-glass windows overlooking the gardens next to the Butterfly Ward.
Some students huddled together in an excited circle, staring at the hibernating herb gardens.
Not all of them. Just a few.
And not just any students.
Vampires.
Lady Limora stood tall and still at the edge of the frost-silvered hedge maze, her cloak pooling like ink at her boots. Mara and Opal flanked her, their postures elegant yet alert, their eyes catching the morning light like polished garnets.
Whatever they were looking at, it wasn’t the garden.
It didn’t seem to be in the direction of the Hedge either.
It seemedbeyond.
I slipped down the side corridor that led to the garden doors, casting a warmth spell over my shoulders as I pushed through the old oak arch.
The moment I stepped outside, the scent grew stronger.
Cinnamon.
Frost.
Lavender.
And something older, deeper.
Lady Limora turned her head slightly as I approached, her voice smooth as honeyed wine. “Headmistress.”
“I was going to say good morning,” I said, breath puffing in the cold. “But something tells me it’s not quite a usual morning.”
Mara gave a dry chuckle. “It started normally. Tea. A pre-sunrise stroll. And then—this.”
She gestured forward, toward the edge of the Butterfly Ward.
At first, I didn’t see it.
Just low mist clinging to the earth like a forgotten dream.
Then it shimmered.
Again.
