Chapter Eight
I scanned a few lines, feeling a faint pulse of magic hum beneath my fingertips.
This was it. This very spell would save my dad, but I couldn’t tell a soul. I needed the element of surprise, even when it came to my friends.
“It’s illusions, mostly. Protective illusions that even fools sorcerers,” I said, reading the words and imagining the outcome. “Helpful stuff.”
“Indeed,” Bella said, nodding.
But there was something else. A synergy with living creatures, a reference to… shifter synergy.
Big and small.
The text called it sizoria.
Stella sipped her tea, her vampiric features momentarily soft.
“Maybe because Gideon’s illusions are mostly anchored in the darkness and partially in the light that he’s stolen, it will suggest how to play one off the other. If you could weave realities keyed to that synergy of dark and light, you might be able to shield your father or break Gideon’s illusions for a brief moment. Then we can come over, snag him up, and run like the wind.” Bella shrugged and glanced over with a smile. “Or you could just make some brownies and watch them explode.”
“It might come to that.” I laughed despite myself.
“If there’s a witch that could pull that off, I dare to say it just might be our Maeve.” Stella always had a flair for drama.
“I’m getting better by the day, though.” I grinned, feeling the tension lessen slightly.
“And we have until tonight to create perfection,” Stella snickered, walking toward the pastry counter. “No worries there.”
I flashed a wry grin, feeling the confidence build inside. This secret plan of mine would be perfect, and no matter how much I wanted to tell Stella, Keegan, Bella, and Nova what it entailed, I just…couldn’t.
They’d know most of it, just not the finale.
From the moment I set foot into Stonewick, I’d been told the answers would come when I needed them, and as annoying as that had been, I was starting to understand Stonewick’s logic, the Academy’s wisdom. And now it was my time to use that motto.
My eyes flicked back to the incantation.
Reading the instructions made my head spin, but I could sense the inherent power underneath and the element of surprise.
And something inside of me knew that my father would know exactly what to do at the right time.
This was going to work.
It had to work.
We had my dad to get back, an Academy to open, a curse to be broken.
I exhaled, flipping to another page where two shifters on opposing sides fought one another.
I swallowed back a creeping dread. Gideon’s illusions were precisely what made him so dangerous. He could slip into my dreams, my reality, wearing any face he pleased. He used the shell of my best friend to deceive me easily, but the essence…the essence was wrong.
And I had to always give myself a moment to ensure that I knew who I was dealing with, no matter how hectic the situation, even tonight.
“The book gives me the means to replicate or break illusions that tether themselves to shifter energies.” I closed the cover. “Which is exactly what I need if I’m going to save my dad.”
“Not if you’re going to save Frank,” Stella said softly behind the counter. “ When you’re going to save Frank.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
Bella nodded. “If you ask me, the sprites couldn’t have found a better time. No matter how complicated or risky it looks, you might find a clue inside that book, which spells Gideon’s downfall not just tonight, but in general.”
A flutter of hope stirred in my belly, mingled with guilt. My dad was still out there, being held captive, while I sipped tea and studied spells.
Even so, a wave of calm took hold, reminding me of the steps we needed to take.
We couldn’t just rush in mindlessly. We need the right magic and the right plan.
Stella walked over with a teapot and set it down in front of Bella.
The aroma of steeping lavender and honey wafted from the teapot set in the center of our table, providing an odd sense of comfort in the middle of turmoil.
“A little something for you, Bella.” She slid an empty teacup in front of her. “Thank you for making your way out of the Academy for this.”
“How did you know lavender and honey is my favorite combo?”
“It’s my job. After many years of selling tea, I’ve learned a few things.” She winked at Bella.
I frowned and eyed Bella’s tea, and before I could ask, Stella shook her head and frowned.
“And no, I did not give Bella magical tea. It’s straight lavender and honey. No funny business. It’s amazing how long you’re holding onto that, Maeve. It was one time.” She held up her index finger. “Once.”
Bella settled back in her chair, crossing her legs elegantly. “What did I miss?”
“My first time stepping into this store, I ordered some tea, and the next thing I knew, it was changing colors and making me faint.”
“We don’t know that it made you faint. That could have been all Nova’s doing, and you ordered the tea for your information. I didn’t do anything to it other than steep it and serve it. It’s not my fault you picked the one magical tea on the menu.”
Bella chuckled. “In her defense, it doesn’t work on mels. The non-magical folk just don’t have the same receptors, I suppose.”
“Lucky me,” I sang with a chuckle.
A few minutes of silence passed as I thought about tonight.
Keegan and Nova would need to hide in the shadows and be ready to battle, if needed. Stella should be hidden in plain sight, and I wasn’t sure about Ember and Bella.
“You must miss the Academy, though. Aren’t you itching to poke around the library more often?” Her fox-like eyes sparked with a hint of teasing.
“Oh, without a doubt. There’s so much hanging in the balance.”
“Have you seen the classrooms yet?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t. They aren’t open yet.” I exhaled, feeling a sudden ache in my chest. “I do miss it. I miss the opportunities that are being hidden away. That’s what I miss.”
“That’s what your grandma mentioned. I thought it was just that they weren’t open to me.”
“Nope. From what I gather, they’re closed to everyone until the time comes…”
She nodded thoughtfully.
“Before all of this with Shadowick and my dad’s kidnapping, I was excited about opening the Academy first. I wanted to witness the old corridors thrive again, meet the teachers, watch new students fill those halls.” My gaze flicked to the closed book, a powerful reminder of what was waiting. “And after my dad’s safe, I can’t wait to get back there again and push forward.”
“You’re the only one who can open it. Everyone in Stonewick sees it. Grandma Elira sees it. Heck, even the Wards themselves sense you belong.” Stella nodded, a note of pride in her voice.
“I still haven’t been to the Maple Ward,” I said, shaking my head. “Every time I think I should go check it out, something happens.”
“Yeah, life hasn’t been smooth sailing recently,” Stella agreed. “But your grandma will point you in the right direction. The Maple Ward is special.”
“How so?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “We’re back to that again. Questions with no answers.”
The mention of Grandma Elira sent a pang of guilt through me. She was so happy to have me back at the Academy, to have someone to listen to and talk with.
“I just can’t believe all the lies and deceit that fill up Gideon and his days in Shadowick.” I shook my head. “It’s especially hard for a new witch like me. I don’t want to be tricked.”
Bella’s voice softened. “Sometimes, though, the truth is the best weapon.”
I stared at the curling steam in my mug.
Maybe Bella was right.
Fight him with the truth.
Stella reached out, resting a cool hand on mine, a sympathetic spark in her eyes.
“Don’t let fear paralyze you, darling. We’re part of you forever, whether through conjuring, tea, or late-night battles arise at the cottage, we’ve got your back. Keegan especially.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. “Really. And those doors to the Academy will open.”
“We believe you.”
“I really do miss it,” I confessed. “I can’t wait to get my dad back so I can focus on opening it up for real and breaking the curse. Stonewick needs it. We all do.”
Stella’s expression softened. “And we need you. Promise not to rush into Gideon’s illusions alone, all right? Tonight is going to be all about patience.”
I gave a rueful laugh. “We all know how that works for me.”
“Exactly why I said it, dear.”
Eventually, my gaze drifted back to the old book, its faint glow beckoning.
I let my fingertips trail over the runes on the cover for a moment. The hush that fell around me spoke volumes.
Stella sipped her tea silently, giving me space while Bella waited patiently. Stella nudged me gently.
“Don’t forget,” she reminded me in a dramatic stage whisper, “the first rule of spells. Mislead your enemies, not your friends.”
She walked away to clean the tables and counters, and I let myself stew on that for a minute. Was I misleading them by not confessing what I’d planned to do tonight?
The bell above the door jingled softly, its sound strangely ominous beneath the flicker of golden candlelight. Keegan stepped in first, snow dusting the shoulders of his coat, followed closely by Nova, who swept in with her usual cool elegance, her long scarf trailing behind her like a silken cloud.
The energy shift was immediate.
Stella, who’d been wiping down the counter with a cloth that had seen better decades, glanced up and narrowed her eyes.
Without a word, she flipped the little wooden sign in the front window from Open to Closed and turned the old brass lock with a loud click . The door heaved as it settled into place. It was almost as if it knew something important was about to happen.
“Tea?” she offered, voice deceptively casual.
Keegan gave a small nod. “If you have something strong.”
“I have something illegal in three regions,” Stella replied. “Perfect for plotting.”
Bella, still seated next to me, arched an eyebrow. “She’s not joking, is she?”
“Nope,” I said, then smiled as Stella began working her magic behind the counter.
Nova approached the table where I still had the book. Her eyes flicked over the runes, her expression unreadable.
“You found something,” she said, not quite a question.
“I think it’s exactly what we need,” I said. My voice stayed calm, but my pulse thudded in my ears. “But I need you all to trust me. I can’t share the spell’s details… not yet. Too much is at stake. Too many eyes and ears… seen and unseen.”
Keegan’s brow furrowed, but he nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on mine.
“We trust you, Maeve.”
Nova nodded. “Keegan said he didn’t have much detail about what you and Gideon spoke about, but remember this…” Her eyes steadied on mine. “No deal made in the darkness, in between realms is valid. It’s a breakable bond. Most don’t know that, but it’s true. Nothing will tether you to the deal you made.”
Those words grounded me more than she probably realized.
“Thank you. I didn’t know.”
“Few do.”
Stella returned with a tray of steaming tea for each of us, and set it down in the center like a sacrament.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s plot.”
The fire in the hearth crackled, and Bella leaned forward, her fox-sharp eyes gleaming. “We’ll need diversions. Decoys. Everyone is playing a role.”
Keegan pulled out a chair across from me. “And we’ll need to figure out how to get Gideon the message that Maeve’s offering herself as bait, on her terms, not his.”
The windows fogged gently from the warmth inside. The snow still fell beyond the glass. For a moment, the shop was a world within a world, cloaked in cinnamon steam and ancient magic. Plans began to take shape in the quiet hum of conversation with carefully constructed layers of trust, whispers, and courage.
I sipped my tea, letting the heat slide through me. The tea shop felt like the last peaceful breath before the plunge. And though the night outside would be full of shadows, in this small sanctuary, we had hope.
And we had each other.