Page 131 of Magical Moonbeam
Intent.
He wasn’t a puppet.
He was aplayer.
“Oh, Maeve,” Gideon said softly, as if speaking to a friend who’d just caught up to the truth. “Didn’t you ever wonder how your daughter found someone so perfect, so quickly? So willing to embrace her quirks? So ready tobelong?”
“She has no quirks.” I clenched my fists.
He shrugged. “Eh, like her mom.”
“You planted him.”
Darren smiled. “No one planted me. I just… noticed her.”
“You manipulated her,” I snapped, the words sharp enough to slice through the tension. “You got close so you could get tome.”
His expression didn’t change. “That’s one version of the story.”
“Why?” My voice broke as I turned back to Gideon. “Why bring her into this? Why risk her? Whyher?”
Gideon’s eyes softened, almost tender. “Because she’s your center. And because you have something we need.”
“Her blood?” I hissed. “My power?”
“No,” Darren said quietly. “Her choice.”
Celeste looked between us, her confusion blooming into fear. “What are you talking about? What choice?”
I reached for her again, gently, desperately. “Baby, listen to me. You’re not safe here.”
Darren’s hand tightened on her arm.
She blinked up at him. “Darren?”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s alright. Just trust me.”
“No,” I said, stepping forward. “Don’t trust him. Don’t trust any of this.”
Celeste stared at me. “Mom… you’re scaring me.”
I let the tears come. Just a little. “Good. Because youshouldbe scared.”
The moonlight outside pulsed.
The dancers in the fog crept closer to the windows.
And I finally understood why Gideon had been so calm.
He’d never needed to trap me.
He just needed tomake me choose.
And now he was forcing me to choose between saving my daughter…
…or saving the magical world.
And the worst part?
