Page 34 of Magical Mayhem
He was slipping beyond what any of us could pull him back from.
My throat ached, as tears stung my eyes.
But Bella’s gaze told me something else, too.
That I could trust her.
If anyone could understand what it meant to hold Keegan to this world, to fight tooth and claw against the shadow eating him alive, it was Bella.
Her lips pressed together, and she gave the faintest nod, almost imperceptible, but it anchored me.
I turned back to Keegan, clutching his hand as if I could anchor him, too. His eyes fluttered, sweat beading along his brow, his lips moving with words too broken to hear.
“I’m not leaving you,” I whispered fiercely. “Do you hear me? You’re not going anywhere. Not without me. And if I’m not by your side, I’m only a shout away.”
His hand twitched weakly in mine, and my chest cracked open with relief.
Behind us, Nova’s staff pulsed brighter, Ember’s glow spilling like mist, and Ardetia’s silver threads winding tighter around Keegan’s arm. Bella moved closer.
The room swelled with light and shadow, and the thrum of magic.
But the sound of shallow breath couldn’t be missed.
And in the center of it, I knelt, my heart pounding, a secret burning in my chest so hot I thought it might consume me.
Because as I held Keegan’s hand, I couldn’t stop seeing Gideon.
Slumped in the Wilds.
Alone.
Fading.
Worsening.
Just like Keegan.
Two threads pulling tighter around my throat. If I lost one, I would lose the other. And if I lost them both, Stonewick was gone.
Malore would win. He would gain power to twist the ancient rites and create a new Hunger Path.
I bowed my head against Keegan’s cheek, tears slipping hot down my skin, praying to whatever power still listened that I wouldn’t be forced to choose.
Chapter Eleven
The air in Keegan’s chamber felt too heavy.
I couldn’t breathe.
Slowly, I loosened my fingers from Keegan’s hand and rose to my feet. My knees wobbled as the weight of choice pressed on them harder than any curse. I turned toward the door, but Bella’s sharp eyes caught mine.
In a flicker, she was at my side, her steps soft but purposeful.
I waved goodbye to my dad, and Bella slipped out behind me as the door clicked shut, leaving the others inside.
The corridor was dim, the sconces flickering against the stone.
I pressed a hand over my heart.
