Magical Musing (Stonewick Magical Midlife Witch Academy #2)

Chapter Six

I followed Nova out of the room with soft footsteps against the worn wooden floor. My heart still thundered loud enough to make up for it.

Frank stayed behind with a watchful eye lingering on Keegan as if his presence alone could keep him anchored.

Maybe it could. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

The great room was dim, lit only by the flickering glow from a large stone fireplace. Nightfall had come while I was in Keegan’s room.

The flames cast shadows that danced along the rugged beams and shelves stacked with old books, trinkets, and things I couldn’t even begin to understand. They had to mean something to a warlock, to a shifter.

I forced that last thought out of my mind, glanced out the tall windows, and watched the snow drift lazily outside like an ordinary winter evening.

But nothing felt ordinary.

Nova sank into one of the leather chairs, her posture relaxed, her eyes in tune. I paced for a few moments before I dropped heavily into the chair opposite her.

“You have to let me in,” I blurted. “You have to tell me more. I don’t understand. None of this makes sense. I should have known this weeks ago.”

Nova’s gaze didn’t waver. “What do you want to know, Maeve?”

“Everything. I thought all the shifters abandoned Stonewick.”

“They did,” Nova replied quietly.

“Okay.” I shook my head, unable to reconcile the facts.

Her fingers traced the rim of a chipped mug on the table between us. “All but two.”

Her words hit me like a cold gust of wind.

“Keegan,” I whispered, more to myself than to her.

“He refused to give up his post here in Stonewick. No matter the cost.”

My mind flashed back to something I’d heard once, a passing comment—someone mentioning that Keegan’s parents hated the cold weather and moved. I’d never thought much of it at the time. Just idle gossip. But now it lodged in my chest like a shard of ice.

I snapped my gaze to Nova’s. “What about his parents?”

Her jaw tightened slightly, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

And something else.

“They left,” she said finally. “When the others did.”

The words settled bitterly around us.

I clenched my hands in my lap, trying to process it.

Keegan had been left behind—not just by his people but his own family.

And yet, he stayed.

For Stonewick.

For the Academy.

For all of us who had no idea what he was sacrificing.

“Why? Why would he stay when everyone else left? When his own family left?”

Nova leaned back, her eyes softening. “Because someone had to.”

Her words were simple, but they landed with the force of a storm. I thought of Keegan—gruff, distant, always carrying the weight of something none of us could see. And now I knew why. He’d been holding up more than just his burdens.

He’d been holding up Stonewick itself.

I stared into the fire, and my heart ached in ways I couldn’t explain.

“Keegan has a sense of duty to this place.”

Nova’s words hung in the air, lingering like the smoky tendrils rising from the fire. I stared into the flickering flames, letting her voice settle over me. The rising temperature of the hearth did little to thaw the chill creeping up my spine.

“He resisted the pull of the curse that fractured families, broke alliances, and turned Stonewick into what it is now. That curse wanted him gone, like the rest. But he refused.”

I swallowed hard. My fingers clenched around the armrests of the chair.

“Why stay when it would’ve been easier to leave?”

Nova turned her eyes back to me, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Someone had to stand when everyone else ran. He made a vow—a promise to protect this town, the Academy… and the person he swore to watch over.”

I frowned, confusion knitting my brow. “Who’s that?”

Nova’s smile deepened, soft but filled with something I couldn’t name. “Why, you , of course.”

I blinked. The words didn’t make sense at first. “Me?”

Nova chuckled softly, the sound like a whisper of wind through leaves. “Yes, Maeve. You.”

My heart thudded, and a strange mix of ease and disbelief flooded me. “But I don’t understand. He barely knew me until recently.”

“Didn’t he?” Nova’s voice was gentle but edged with mystery. “Sometimes we think we meet people by chance, but magic rarely works that way. He’s been watching over you longer than you realize.”

I tried to process that as my mind raced with memories. Every glance and every moment with Keegan…was there something more beneath the surface that I’d missed? I shook my head, trying to clear the fog of emotions clouding my thoughts.

I’d felt immediately connected to him the moment I saw him at the tea shop, but I dismissed it as puppy love from when I was a kid and the connection to my dad.

“But how could his parents abandon him?” The thought gnawed at me, an ache I couldn’t shake. “He would’ve been so young…”

Nova’s expression softened, sadness flickering in her eyes.

“He was young. But even then, he was brave. He knew he couldn’t let the darkness win. If the curse was powerful enough to divide a family, he knew it could conquer a town—and all the magical folk within it.”

I stared into the fire again, imagining a younger Keegan—alone, scared, but standing firm against forces that had driven away even the strongest. My chest tightened with something that felt like grief for the boy he’d been and admiration for the man he’d become.

“So, his parents left him around the same time my dad passed…” My voice trailed off, and I cleared my throat as I thought about his strength and resilience. “How did he manage? He’s never spoken about it.”

“He wouldn’t,” Nova replied softly. “That’s who he is. He carries it all—his past, his pain—without complaint. But make no mistake, Maeve. His loyalty to Stonewick isn’t just about duty. It’s about hope. Hope that the town, the Academy, and the people within it are worth fighting for. That they’ll survive even when everything else falls apart. It’s even more important than Stonewick. As we’ve mentioned before, there are three factions across the country. Each faction has two districts. One that is considered to seek the light more than the darkness and, of course, one that chooses…”

“The darkness.” I nodded slowly, letting her words sink in. My heart felt heavy, but underneath the weight was a spark—a flicker of understanding that hadn’t been there before.

“If Stonewick falls, it might give the idea to the dark divisions in the other two factions that they could overthrow the villages of light.”

“The darkness could spread.” I stood, walked over to the window, and paced.

Snow drifted down, soft and relentless, blanketing the world in quiet.

“And me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why me?”

Nova joined me.

“Because you’re part of Stonewick, even if you don’t fully see it yet. The Academy knew it. Keegan knew it. And maybe, deep down, you realize it too.”

I didn’t know what to say.

My heart raced with emotions I couldn’t name—gratitude, guilt, fear, something that felt suspiciously like affection.

I pressed my hand to the cold glass.

“Keegan has been through so much,” I whispered, my breath fogging the window. “And he’s still here. He never played the victim. He’s only shown strength and guided the town through something horrific.”

Nova’s hand rested lightly on my shoulder. “Because of people like you.”

I closed my eyes momentarily, letting the kindness of her words sink in.

When I opened them, the snow was still falling, but the world felt different—sharper, clearer.

I turned back to Nova. “I want to help him.”

Her smile was soft but filled with determination. “You already have.”

“Who did he make his vow with…” I cleared my throat. “To protect me.”

Nova cocked her head slightly, and her eyes narrowed on me. “Your father.”

I took a deep breath.

Keegan had mentioned he’d been watching over me, but I guess I never knew the sacrifices that meant or how serious he was when he said it. I didn’t truly understand it was an agreement between my dad and Keegan.

Since arriving in Stonewick, I’d slowly learned that when people finally say something, it tended to be of even more importance than their actual words.

I stared into the fire, the flames flickering like fragile threads weaving together the frayed edges of my thoughts.

“What happens with the curse? Is he… shifting and then…?”

Nova’s gaze remained steady, though a shadow passed through her eyes. She sat back down and loosely laced together her fingers as if holding herself in place.

“No, not exactly. Keegan wasn’t in his wolf form when the curse fell on Stonewick. But that’s part of the punishment. Everyone who chose to stay here… well, they’ve been frozen somehow, tied to this place. For him, the curse attacks the very thing he’s tried to resist.”

I leaned forward, my heart pounding. “What do you mean?”

“His body betrays him.” Nova’s words were matter-of-fact. “Every ten years, when the moon reaches its peak, the curse forces his body to react as if he’s shifting. But he’s not. His magic fights against it, and it’s a battle he can’t win—only survive.”

Survive. That word settled like a stone in my stomach.

Nova continued, her eyes dark with the weight of years I couldn’t even imagine. “If he ever fully shifts during this time… it will kill him.”

I couldn’t breathe for a second.

“It’s a fight every decade,” Nova whispered. “And every decade, it gets worse. Harder. The curse digs in deeper. We don’t know if it’ll be this time, the next… or when. But if the curse isn’t broken, it will end him.”

“But he’s strong,” I whispered as if saying it aloud could make it truer. “He’s… Keegan.”

“He is.” Nova nodded. “Stronger than anyone I’ve ever known. But even the strongest people have their limits.”

The words echoed in my mind, unraveling the illusion I’d held onto—that Keegan was invincible in his gruff, stubborn way. The thought of him fighting this silent war, decade after decade, with no promise of victory, broke something in me.

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

The weight of it all felt like too much—his sacrifice, his loneliness, his stubborn loyalty to a town that might be the very thing killing him.

I pressed my hands to my face, trying to hold myself together.

“I feel useless,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Like I’ll never learn everything the Academy has to offer in time. How am I supposed to help him when I don’t even understand what’s happening?”

Nova didn’t answer right away. She just watched me, eyes filled with something I couldn’t name…pity, maybe, or understanding too deep for words.

And then the door burst open.

Stella barreled into the room. Her wild and sparkly demeanor dimmed marginally by panic.

“Should I have bought the dog biscuits this time? Where are we at with his whole thing?”

I gasped in horror but shook my head in disbelief.

Stella always had a way of breaking the tension.

“No, not yet.” Nova eyed her with a slight smile edging her lips. “No dog biscuits needed.”

“Where is he?” Stella demanded. Her eyes darted around until they landed on me. “Maeve, where’s Keegan?”

So, even with the dog biscuit joke, she was nervous. She wanted to see him like I did.

I shot to my feet with my heart still tangled in knots. “He’s down the hall with Frank.”

Without another word, Stella dashed toward his room.

Her worry spilled into every hurried step, and Nova stood, too.

And Nova’s calm composure slipped just enough to reveal the cracks underneath.

“She’s right to worry,” she murmured. “The curse doesn’t just attack the body. It attacks the spirit.”