Page 160 of Magical Moonbeam
A sound cracked the silence with familiar voices breaking through the Ward’s outer perimeter.
Nova was first through the mist, her cloak trailing silver sparks in the air. Her eyes found me instantly as I stepped out of the Hedge.
“What happened?” she demanded, scanning the mirror tree with a hard stare.
“The other Wards?” I asked instead, heart tight.
“Unbreached,” Nova said. “Stone, Flame, and Maple held. Some thinning, some tremors, but no entry points. Nothing from him.”
My chest caved slightly with relief, and I stood, brushing off dirt and fear, and pointed to the crack glinting along the tree’s bark.
“He didn’t need the others,” I said softly. “He got in through the Butterfly Ward.”
Silence dropped over them like a shroud.
Bella and Ardetia stepped forward, their eyes narrowed as they surveyed the roots. “He left something behind.”
Keegan growled low in his throat. “Or someone.”
“No signs of tethering magic,” Bella murmured. “At least not fresh. But this tree… it’s not whole.”
Stella crossed her arms. “He used the Ward’s beauty. Its gentleness. The way it opens for those with purpose.”
I nodded. “He twisted it.”
Nova stepped beside me, silent for a long beat. Then, with a voice so calm it scared me more than any storm, she said, “I’ll stay. I’ll attempt to heal her.”
I turned sharply. “What?”
“I’ll stay with the Ward,” she repeated, eyes never leaving the mirror tree. “He slipped through here once. He might try again. In the meantime, I’ll do my best by her.”
“But the Academy—”
“Has you.” Her gaze finally flicked to mine. “And they have Twobble. And Skonk. And Stella. And your daughter. And Keegan. Not to mention Vivenne, Opal…”
“I get it…” I didn’t want to let her go. Not like this. Not after everything we’d survived together because there was some sort of finality in things tonight, and it worried me.
But then Celeste stepped forward and placed her hand in mine. “Mom… she’s right. We’ll be okay.”
And just like that, I wasn’t the only one who had grown.
Nova placed a palm against the base of the tree, and the vines curled gently toward her.
“I’ll talk to it,” she said, almost to herself. “Tell it stories. Remind it who it was before the shadows.”
My heart ached, but I nodded.
“All right,” I said. “But you shout if anything changes. We’ll come running.”
She gave me a small smile. “I’ll be the loudest tree whisperer this Ward has ever known.”
The others began drifting toward the Academy in the distance, where gold light now flickered in welcome.
I hesitated and turned back one last time.
“Nova?”
She didn’t look up. “Go, Maeve. They need you.”
