Page 158 of Magical Moonbeam
We pressed deeper, winding along the spiral path that led to the Ward’s heart. I’d been here before when Elira had spoken through the vines. When the Academy whispered truths I wasn’t ready to hear.
But now it was silent.
And silence in a magical place was never quiet. It was screaming in a voice you couldn’t hear until it was too late.
“Look,” Celeste said suddenly, pointing to the center.
At first, I didn’t see it.
Then the light shifted, and I realized what had changed.
The mirror tree.
It was cracked.
Hairline fractures snaked along the reflective surface of its bark, each one shimmering with moonlight and threat. The tree that once showed futures, memories, and truths now reflected only a single thing.
Shadow.
It wasn’t an object.
It wasn’t a figure.
It waspresent.
Keegan inhaled sharply. “He’s been here.”
I nodded.
Celeste stepped closer. “Is this how he got in?”
“I believe so,” I said, voice trembling.
We’d strengthened the Butterfly Ward once already, and I wasn’t going to allow this man to weaken the beauty that kept the Academy alive.
We stood at the edge of something ancient and terrible, and for the first time tonight, I wasn’t sure if we were strong enough.
But Keegan took my hand.
Celeste gripped my other.
And together, we stepped toward the wounded tree.
If the Butterfly Ward was going to fall, we were going to hold the line ourselves because sometimes, that’s how you saved a world you loved.
“Mom?” Celeste’s voice came through the mist, just outside the Veil of thorns that began to curl between us. “You okay?”
“I just need a minute,” I said, already slipping through the edges of the Ward, where the roots tangled deep and the Veil of magic grew wild and old. “Stay there.”
Keegan said nothing, but I could feel his concern in the space he didn’t fill. He was keeping Celeste steady and keeping me tethered as I walked into the Hedge.
It folded around me.
It was dark. But not frightening.
No, this place had never meant me harm.
It simply didn’t let me lie.
