Chapter Six
“Are you okay?” The words sounded distant as my eyes fluttered open. “I heard you calling me.”
The first thing I saw was Keegan, sitting at the edge of my bed, his brow creased in concern. He’d been there for a while, long enough to catch me mid-nightmare. A heavy shame settled in my chest as I realized I must’ve been thrashing in my sleep. I wiped sweat off my brow.
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to apologize for, Maeve. I’m just worried about you. You’ve been through a lot in a very short amount of time.”
I blinked a few times, trying to separate the dream’s haze from the reality of the sunlight warming the space around us.
“Yeah, fine,” I managed, my voice still shaky. “I…how long have you been here?”
Keegan cleared his throat.
“Long enough to see you scowling and muttering. I tried to wake you, but…” He shook his head, a flicker of guilt crossing his eyes. “You were flinching in your bed. It looked intense.”
The guilt of my whereabouts riddled me, and I pressed my lips together. “Thanks. I’m…a hot mess.”
He chuckled and shook his head, brushing damp hair from my cheek. “One person’s mess is another person’s dream.”
I chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that.” I pushed myself upright, feeling foolish and exposed.
“But seriously. Are you okay? Is there anything I can get for you?”
I debated what to say but was never particularly great at lying. So, I decided to stick with the truth.
“I was… in Shadowick.”
His gaze sharpened instantly.
“He invaded your mind again?” The anger in Keegan’s voice surprised me.
I swallowed and traced the sheet’s pattern with my finger before speaking again.
“Not this time. I think I… invited him.” The admission made my cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I forced myself to hold Keegan’s gaze. “I wanted to see if I could pry any new information from Gideon. Everything felt unfinished after that spell we tried earlier. I needed to confront him. I also needed to invite him here.”
Keegan shook his head slowly. A storm of emotions played across his features.
Worry, anger, a hint of exasperation, and something else danced across his face.
“We warned you about letting him in, Maeve.” He let out a long breath, raking a hand through his hair. “It’s not your fault. You haven’t grown up around magic. You can’t possibly know how dangerous it is.”
I knew he didn’t mean it as an insult, yet my heart twinged at the reminder.
“Still… it was my choice,” I said softly. “It’s on me. I knew there was unfinished business.”
Keegan didn’t argue. He merely sat there in stiff, thoughtful silence, but an unspoken tension filled the small loft between us.
I took a shaky breath as the reminder of Gideon’s words mocked me.
He wanted me.
All of me.
I had to frame that bit of information in a less harmful way.
The protective fury that would spark in his soul might derail our chance to save my dad, and I needed everyone’s help. Keegan had spent a lifetime watching over me. He didn’t need to see me screw up right at the end.
Still, a plan was taking shape in my head. And it was one I wasn’t sure Keegan would appreciate.
“I think I know how to lure Gideon here.”
Pacing the small loft, he slowed and looked at me. “And that is?”
“Me. He wants me. If we can leverage that, draw him out…”
“Absolutely not,” Keegan snapped.
“It’s the only way.”
He stopped mid-pace and turned to face me. “You’re not bait. I made a vow to your father and…”
“And I made one to my dad.” I swallowed, keeping my voice steady despite the tremor in my gut. “We need something that’ll work, Keegan. And this time, I know Gideon will come if I let him think I’m open to… negotiation.”
Keegan’s eyes blazed with immediate refusal. “This is too dangerous, Maeve.”
A flush of heat crept up my neck.
“I’m not a helpless novice, Keegan.”
His brow lifted with a slight curl of his lip.
“Okay, I might be a novice, but I’m not helpless.” I chuckled. “I’m doing this for my dad, remember? We might never get him back if we wait around and try to pin down some imaginary location. Gideon can move him whenever he wants.”
Keegan opened his mouth to protest but hesitated, conflict warring in his gaze.
He hated this idea.
I could see it in the tightness around his jaw. But he couldn’t deny that getting Gideon to walk into the center of Stonewick on his own free will would be…difficult.
I let out a trembling breath.
“I won’t do it without backup. And I’m not going to let Gideon walk away with me. But if he shows up, we can corner him and force a trade…” My voice trailed off.
“Force a trade?” Keegan echoed, disbelief mingling with reluctant acceptance. “You think that’ll work?”
I met his gaze levelly, ignoring the swirl of fear in my stomach.
“It has to,” I whispered. “For my dad’s sake. I won’t let Gideon keep him.”
Keegan nodded slowly, jaw set. The lines of tension on his face made my chest twist with gratitude and guilt. Neither of us said it aloud, but we knew what this meant. We were about to dangle me like a prize Gideon couldn’t resist.
And all the while, I couldn’t shake Gideon’s final words in my dream.
“Why, it’s you I want, Maeve. All of you.”
The memory smoldered in the back of my mind, fueling determination and dread.
My eyes fastened on Keegan’s, and I drew a deep breath, letting the air energize every part of my body before I spoke.
“Besides, I already invited him.”
“What?” Alarm darted through Keegan’s gaze. “When?”
“The final day of Yule. Eleven.” I cleared my throat. “It seemed fitting, ending the year with him out of our lives and my dad back in our lives.”
“Then we better prepare ourselves for one hell of a fight.” Keegan nodded, and if I didn’t know better, I thought I caught a hint of a smile.