Page 16 of Magical Moonbeam
Keegan blew out a slow breath. “So either he’s retreating, regrouping, or he’s watching from farther away.”
I nodded. “And that’s what’s worrying me. He doesn’t retreat.”
“No,” Keegan agreed. “But maybe evenhe’sworried. Maybe the Wards are stronger than he expected. Maybe his decoys failed harder than he wants to admit.”
I looked back toward the Academy, rising like a carved stone sentinel behind the flowering trees.
“We’ve been focusing so much on the curse, the Wards, the Moonbeam, but maybe we’re missing something even bigger,” I murmured.
Keegan gave me a sidelong glance. “Like what?”
“Hiswhy.” I chewed my bottom lip. “Why does Gideon want Stonewick so badly? Why go to all this trouble?”
Keegan was quiet for a beat. “Power. Always the first answer.”
“Sure,” I said. “But power isn’t the kind of thing you keep attacking year after year if you know it’s sealed. He’sfixatedon this place.”
Keegan crossed his arms, frowning thoughtfully. “Because it’s the one place that won’t bow to him.”
“But he’s not just sending curses or illusions. He’s infiltrating, stealing, and studying. Sending people in.” I hesitated. “Like he’s not trying to destroy Stonewick… but tochangeit. From the inside out.”
Keegan looked at me. “Or take it away.”
The words hung between us.
“Maybe he thinks it belongs to him,” I said slowly.
“Maybe it once did,” Keegan replied. “Or maybe to someone in his line. Magic like this, land like this, it’s old. And old things don’t forget being taken from.”
I looked at him then. “Do you think that’s all he wants? Land?”
Keegan’s gaze didn’t waver. “I think land is just the start.”
He turned and kept walking, and I followed, letting his words swirl and settle. My boots crunched against loose stones on the path as the air grew thicker with unspoken thoughts.
Then, after several long steps, Keegan said, “What if it’s not just Stonewick?”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
He stopped again and turned to face me. “What if it’syou?”
The question hit like a rush of cold water.
I stared at him. “Me?”
“He’s targeted you more than once,” Keegan said, his voice calm but edged. “Found you in dreams. Sent magic thatseeksyou. Even those decoys weren’t meant for just anyone. They were designed to foolyou.”
I swallowed. “I’ve thought about it. But I don’t know why. I’m not that important.”
“You’re the one who woke the Academy,” Keegan said. “The one who bonded with the cottage. The Wards respond to you. You’re the one who’s unraveling the history, who’s changing the magic just by existing here.”
I felt a strange pull inside my chest at his words. It wasn’t fear exactly.
“You think he sees me as a threat,” I said.
“Or an opportunity,” Keegan said, softer now. “Maybe both.”
A breeze stirred the leaves above us, sending a whispering hush through the trees.
