Page 23 of Magical Mission
“This is your hall,” I said, gesturing. “You’ve got the best view, and if the Academy is feeling gracious, an easy exit to the courtyard.”
“Sold,” Mara said, claiming the room nearest the corner.
Vivienne drifted toward the next door, testing the doorknob with a dainty flick of her fingers.
“Oh, charming,” she mused. “Proper locks. I do hate having to sleep with one eye open.”
“Old habits?” I asked.
She smiled without answering.
Lady Limora took the room at the far end, closest to the garden. She didn’t speak as she stepped inside, but I saw the way her shoulders softened, the way she inhaled deeply like the room itself had called to her.
Opal lingered outside her door, hesitant.
“Is it alright?” she whispered, looking at me.
“Of course,” I said gently. “It’s yours.”
She smiled shyly, and the hard edges faded from her expression for a moment.
As they moved into their rooms, I leaned against the wall, watching them claim their spaces, their laughter and excitement filling the once-lonely hall.
What struck me the most was that these vampires were seasoned, calm in their quiet magic. Yet, they were here.
It reminded me so much of nights back at Stella’s tea shop, with late evenings spent drinking lavender tea, sharing stories about old loves and small-town gossip.
Stella would adore these women. She’d probably have them wrapped around her finger in under an hour.
The thought evoked a bittersweet warmth in my chest, both grounding and stirring all at once.
Maybe I’d write to her tonight. Tell her all about the new faces filling these empty halls. She’d enjoy hearing about the woman who wore gloves indoors and the one who threatened to haunt me over staircases.
And she’d definitely tell me not to ignore the fact that at least one of them was probably a vamp. It was so unfair that Stella, Keegan, and my dad couldn’t come inside yet. I wasn’t sure how that worked, but I hoped the Academy would eventually let non-students in again.
“We have our own bathrooms,” Mara squealed.
I chuckled to myself as she poked her head out of her room, hair already loose, eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Maeve,” she called. “When’s dinner? I’mstarving.And if you say salad, I’m leaving.”
“Salad with any kind of dressing you want,” I teased.
Mara made a face. “Ugh,rude.”
Limora emerged then, gracefully as ever, her smile soft but edged with something that reminded me of old royalty and forgotten palaces.
“You’ve done well here, Maeve,” she said, surprising me with the sincerity in her voice. “It feels much different than the last time I was here.”
Her statement surprised me speechless.
“You didn’t expect previous students to return?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what I expected, but so far it all feels right.”
She tilted her head. “But be careful. The Academy might have awakened, but so have the things outside its walls.”
I nodded, feeling the weight of her words.
