Page 148 of Magical Moonbeam
Too rehearsed. Too clean.
Not him.
A shiver crawled up my spine, and for once, it wasn’t just fear.
It wasclarity.
This was no longer Gideon.
From the moment we arrived, when Celeste came down those stairs, when the fog shifted, when the buildings stopped changing, it was him.
But now, I’d felt something go still. I thought it was dread. I thought it was me being so close to the mansion.
But it wasn’t.
He’d stepped out of the game then. Or perhaps he’d nevertrulybeen on the board.
The illusion tilted its head again. “You’re stalling, Maeve.”
No.Youare.
A shadow flickered above me.
I looked up, instinct, not thought, and saw the dark shapes circling overhead.
Shadow dancers.
But they weren’t gliding lazily this time. They were fast. Focused. Spiraling lower like storm clouds with teeth.
I turned in place slowly, feeling the shift of magic across my skin.
This place… it wasn’t just a battlefield anymore.
It was a trap.
I looked back at the illusion of Gideon, this carefully constructed phantasm still trying to hold its shape. It wasn’t just fog and glamour. It was laced with memory, with pieces of him from when wehadstood face-to-face.
But now? It was hollow.
A reflection.
“You’re not here,” I said softly.
The figure’s expression didn’t change.
“If you wanted me to stay,” I whispered, “you’d face me. In truth. You’re not afraid of me, right?”
Silence.
“You wouldn’t send a shadow to lie for you,” I said. “Unless... unless this isn’t about me staying anymore.”
The image flickered again. It wavered once, like candlelight in a draft.
And then it spoke.
“The choice is still yours, Maeve. Stay, and you can save her. You can saveeverything.”
The mansion stood before me like a godless cathedral, windows flickering with moonlight and shadow. The front doors were slightly ajar. And somewhere inside, I could feel it, that pull.
