Bearly Bewitched (Mystic Hollow #4)

Chapter 27

TWENTY-SEVEN

T he morning sun filtered through stained glass windows, casting rainbow patterns across their joined magic. Even through the curse’s lingering pain, hope bloomed in her chest like the first flowers of spring.

A shock wave ripped through the ward anchor points around the courtyard before Madame Zephyrine could finish her healing spells. Magical backlash crackled through the air like bottled lightning. Vail tried to stand despite the throbbing pain in her shoulder, but Kaine’s grip tightened.

“Don’t even think about it.” His voice carried that alpha-command rumble. “Let me handle this.”

“I’m fine.” The words came out shakier than she intended. The curse mark on her shoulder pulsed with dark energy, making her vision swim. “The wards?—“

“Can wait until you’re healed.” He nodded toward where Felicity hovered near the largest ward stone, panic twisting her features as she attempted to stabilize the failing enchantments. “Burke?”

His second-in-command moved swiftly to assist Felicity, but Thaddeus Ledger materialized first. His hands moved in quick gestures as he appeared to help contain the ward fluctuation. But something about his spellwork struck Vail as wrong—less stabilization and more... redirection.

“Fascinating reaction.” Ledger’s gaze fixed on the lingering traces of curse energy around Vail’s shoulder, his expression far too interested. “The way it responded to your hybrid magic shield... most illuminating.”

He shifted slightly, placing himself between Ledger and where Daisy still pressed close to Vail’s uninjured side.

“Perhaps we should discuss ward maintenance procedures again, Miss Hawthorne?” Ledger turned to Felicity, though his eyes kept darting between Vail’s injury and Daisy. “These fluctuations seem to follow your traditional strengthening attempts.”

Felicity’s face flushed with shame as she hurried away. But Vail noticed how Ledger’s attention tracked the magical residue clinging to Felicity’s aura—the same calculating look he’d given Vail’s curse wound.

“Uncle Kaine?” Daisy’s small voice trembled. “His magic feels... wrong.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Kaine’s hand smoothed over her hair while his other arm supported Vail. “Stay close.”

Later, in Vail’s office, Madame Zephyrine’s healing magic had reduced the curse mark to an angry red line across her shoulder. She spread out the ward research notes found abandoned in the library, trying to ignore how every movement sent twinges of pain down her arm.

“You should rest.” Kaine leaned over her desk, his solid presence both comforting and distracting as they examined Felicity’s cramped handwriting. The moment he moved closer, his presence altered the very fabric of the room - wine glasses humming in harmony, candle flames stretching toward their shared energy, while the enchanted table settings rearranged themselves to create more intimate space between them.

“This is important.” Vail pointed to a series of cryptic runes, trying not to shiver at how his arm brushed her uninjured shoulder. “Look at these diagrams. Someone’s been using Felicity’s spells as a conduit. See how the energy signatures overlap? She thinks she’s maintaining the wards, but her magic is being manipulated.”

“By Ledger?” Kaine’s voice roughened as he covered her hand with his own, supposedly to trace a particular runic sequence. The contact sent sparks of awareness racing up her arm, momentarily drowning out the curse’s lingering ache.