Chapter Seventeen
“Maeve, I think the troughs are safer,” Twobble said, studying me.
I shook my head. “But we don't have time for mistakes.”
“I hate to say it, but Twobble is right.” Nova’s gaze found mine.
“My broomstick has taken me there before. It will take me to the compound again.”
Caleb stepped in front of me as the witches congregated around the front door of the Academy.
“I made a promise to Keegan to keep you safe.” Caleb glanced at my dad and then back at me. “And your father.”
I brushed past the alpha. “Then you'd better figure out how to ride a broom.”
Twobble shook his head and rolled his eyes as he shrugged. “I never know what to do with her when she gets like this.”
Lady Limora stepped forward with Vivian, Mara, and Opal behind her. “There's nothing like a community broom ride at moonlight.”
“Indeed.” Stella smiled at me. “Helps to clear the mind.”
The vampires turned and looked at Caleb. He cocked his head slightly. “So instead of going in undetected and giving ourselves a shot at being inconspicuous, you're going to announce yourselves in the night sky.”
“It occurred to me that we've been doing nothing but cat and mouse games with the Priestess. I'm tired of it. I think it's about time we quit hiding.” My hands moved to my hips. “She probably expects a quiet sneak like we’d planned.”
My dad stepped towards me and glanced at Caleb and back at me. “Well, the Priestess certainly won't expect it.”
My brows lifted in surprise. “You're not against this.”
He shook his head. “Can't say that I am. She has my wife and soon, my granddaughter.”
My father had spent so much time trapped inside fur and silence that hearing raw emotion from him still caught me off guard sometimes. There was no growl behind it now or bulldog snort of irritation to soften the edges.
The Academy doors stood wide as witches, shifters, goblins, and familiars crowded the front steps beneath the glow of the moonlight. The autumn wind moved through the trees lining the path, carrying the scent of smoke, damp leaves, and hope.
It felt like the entire Academy was waiting for something more.
Nova stepped down the steps beside me.
Her dark braid moved over one shoulder as her gaze swept across the grounds before meeting mine.
“You don’t agree with me,” I whispered.
“The troughs would shield us longer,” she said carefully. “But speed matters now.”
“It does,” I agreed.
Caleb folded his arms over his chest. “Speed only matters if you survive getting there.”
I looked toward the moonlit sky above the Academy towers. “I’m trying to get Celeste back before the Priestess decides her fate.”
Twobble climbed onto the stone railing bordering the steps and pointed a finger at me. “You’re doing that thing again where you sound terrifyingly reasonable while actively planning something reckless.”
“Thank you.” I nodded, glancing at the midlife students.
“It wasn’t a compliment.” He scowled as Skonk elbowed him lightly.
Skonk grinned. “I think it kind of was.”
Lady Limora’s curls shifted in the breeze as she moved gracefully down another step. Vivian, Mara, and Opal lingered behind her.
“The Priestess expects fear,” Lady Limora said softly. “She expects whispers and hesitation and hidden paths beneath the trees and canopies.” Her lips curved slightly. “She won’t expect an airborne magical uprising.”
“I hope that’s true,” I said, letting out a deep breath.
“That’s because airborne magical uprisings are objectively bad ideas,” Caleb muttered.
Stella smiled brightly. “And yet historically memorable.”
Bella came down the Academy steps with several fox shifters behind her. Their eyes reflected gold beneath the lantern light, sharp and alert as they surveyed the grounds.
“You know,” Bella mused, “I actually like this.”
Caleb looked horrified. “Of course you do.”
“She’s trying to manipulate us into moving quietly and separately,” Bella continued. “That gives her control of the playing field. But this?” She gestured toward the gathered crowd. “This changes the energy entirely.”
Ardetia stepped slowly onto the front steps behind us, pale hair gleaming beneath the moonlight. She was also equipped with a broomstick.
I touched the pendant at my throat unconsciously and felt a pull to Celeste, wherever she might be.
“She doesn’t get to call the shots anymore,” I said quietly.
The Academy rumbled beneath my boots in agreement.
My broomstick floated down the steps toward me from where I’d left it near my bookshelves, gliding through the air with unsettling eagerness. Several of the newer midlife witches gasped.
“I suppose the Academy must approve of our plans.” I attempted a smile.
“Oh, that’s deeply dramatic,” Stella whispered approvingly.
My broom stopped directly beside me, hovering patiently as if it had already made up its mind.
Caleb stared at it for a long moment before dragging a hand down his face. “I cannot believe I’m about to say this.”
“That’s usually how the best moments begin,” Stella informed him.
“If we do this,” Caleb continued, ignoring her, “then we do it with structure.” He pointed toward the gathered shifters. “Foxes and wolves flank the sides from the ground. Orcs stay near the rear perimeter and hold the ridge if things go bad. We need some sort of element of surprise.”
Caleb stepped down from the front stairs and lifted two fingers toward the gathered shifters waiting near the courtyard gates. The wolves immediately straightened, their attention locking onto him with practiced ease.
Bella moved to several fox shifters, who slipped silently from the shadows near the hedges.
Moonlight caught along Caleb’s jaw as he surveyed the grounds.
“We are stronger, united. We will prevail.” Caleb hollered as my dad nodded in agreement.
One of the orcs near the fountain gave a deep nod and slammed a fist lightly against his chestplate in agreement.
The sound echoed across the courtyard.
Beside me, Bella rolled her shoulders once, and for a brief second, I saw the outline of her fox shimmer beneath her skin like fire moving under paper.
“We’ll stay fast,” she said. “No direct engagement unless absolutely necessary. If shadow creatures break from the compound, we herd them away from the witches in the sky.”
“Preferably without dying,” Twobble added.
“That’s usually the goal,” Caleb muttered.
Several goblins darted between the broomsticks gathered near the courtyard wall, passing out tiny lanterns glowing with greenish light. Others tightened straps on satchels filled with herbs, charms, and what looked suspiciously like kitchen utensils.
I blinked at Skonk. “Is that a frying pan?”
“In case of emergencies.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It’s cast iron,” he defended. “You’d be surprised.”
Twobble puffed out his chest proudly. “The goblins have organized themselves into aerial and ground support divisions.”
I stared at him. “Since when do goblins have divisions?”
“Always. We are survivors, Maeve. That doesn’t happen by accident.” He pointed toward a cluster of goblins climbing onto broomsticks that looked wildly too large for them. “Sky goblins handle message delivery, distraction maneuvers, and emergency snack distribution.”
“Don't forget medical care.” A goblin behind him lifted two bags overhead.
Twobble nodded. “Exactly.”
“Ground goblins?” I asked carefully.
Twobble’s grin widened slowly. “They tend to be in front of or behind chaos.”
“That feels accurate,” Stella murmured.
“At least you're honest.”
He gave a wicked and mischievous grin as Nova moved through the courtyard.
She touched shoulders as she passed witches and shifters alike, murmuring protection spells beneath her breath.
The lantern light bent strangely around her magic tonight, softer and ancient somehow.
It seemed like every person she touched seemed to steady a little more.
The air felt charged, while the Academy towers loomed behind us against the dark sky and broomsticks hovered inches above the stone paths, twitching impatiently beneath nervous hands.
A few witches whispered to one another while adjusting cloaks and tightening boots.
One vampire witch calmly reapplied lipstick using the reflection in a floating orb.
My father stepped closer to Caleb near the gates, and for the first time in my life, I saw them not as alpha and outsider. I saw two men who respected each other.
“We bring them home,” my dad said quietly.
Caleb nodded once. “We’ll bring them home.”
Beyond Stonewick, a howl rose low and distant.
The shifters along the gates lifted their heads immediately.
“Is it Keegan?” I asked Caleb.
“He's closer to Celeste.”
“Then that settles it.” I tightened my grip on the broomstick as the witches around me began rising slowly into the moonlit sky one by one.
Below us, goblins scattered across the grounds carrying glowing lanterns while wolves slipped into the trees and orcs formed heavy lines near the ridge path.
For one breathtaking second, the entire courtyard moved together like a single living thing.
And standing there beneath the lantern light with magic moving through the Academy stones behind us and an army of midlife witches gathering beside me, I realized the Priestess had made one catastrophic mistake.
She thought Stonewick was weakest when emotional, but she’d never seen what happened when people who loved fiercely stopped being afraid of losing everything and listened to their hearts.
A few witches moved carefully toward their broomsticks near the courtyard wall while others exchanged nervous looks.
One older woman adjusted her cloak and muttered, “I have only flown once since 1998.”
Another snorted. “That explains the landing at Gerald’s retirement party this summer.”
“That hedge came out of nowhere.” She chuckled.
My phone buzzed again in my pocket, and every ounce of warmth vanished from my body.
Keegan.
I answered instantly. “Tell me you found her.”
The line crackled with wind and movement.
“I found tracks leading toward the eastern crossing,” he said roughly.
“Good. You’re still on her.”
“But Maeve…” He hesitated.
My stomach dropped, and I looked around the courtyard. “What?”
“There were signs of a struggle.”
Signs of a struggle.
My grip tightened painfully around the phone.
“Was she hurt?” My voice was steady as adrenaline surged through my body.
“I don’t know.” His voice lowered. “There was blood, but not much. Any mortal would have missed it, that's how little there was.”
I didn't know if he was trying to make me feel better, but my knees nearly gave out from relief and terror all at once.
Caleb stepped closer immediately when he saw my face pale.
“What happened?” he demanded quietly.
Keegan spoke again before panic could swallow me whole.
“I found one of the Priestess’ shadow hounds dead near the trail.”
That snapped my head up. “What?”
“It looked like Celeste fought back.”
“That’s my girl.” For one stunned heartbeat, pride surged through the horror.
“We’re leaving now,” I said quickly.
“Maeve, listen to me carefully. The compound’s magic feels unstable tonight.”
“I'll tell the others.” I cleared my throat. “But how unstable?”
Nova went still beside me.
“How unstable?” I whispered.
“The shadows are moving wrong,” he said. “It’s as if something inside the compound is waking up.”
Ardetia closed her eyes sharply. “No,” she murmured under her breath.
“What?” Bella asked immediately.
My gaze moved to Ardetia’s.
“The center,” she said softly. “Something beneath it is stirring like we’ve spoken about before.”
Keegan exhaled harshly through the phone. “Maeve, whatever the Priestess is doing, she’s accelerating it.”
That decided it.
“We’re on it.” Any lingering hesitation inside me burned away instantly.
Keegan hung up.
I stepped forward and swung one leg over the broomstick.
The wood vibrated beneath my hands, recognizing me immediately.
Behind me, several other broomsticks lifted shakily into the air as the witches prepared themselves.
Twobble watched all of it with increasing horror. “I just want it officially documented that I preferred the tunnels and troughs.”
“No one asked you,” Skonk said.
“I asked me.” Twobble pointed at his chest. “And that counts for something.”
Lady Limora mounted her own broom with surprising elegance. “Honestly, this feels nostalgic.”
Vivian smiled faintly beside her. “Like the old days.”
“That sentence alone concerns me,” Caleb muttered.
Stella stepped over her broomstick and somehow still looked like she belonged in a painting instead of preparing for magical warfare.
“I do love a dramatic entrance,” she admitted.
Nova approached me slowly while the courtyard filled with rising broomsticks, shifters gathering at the gates, and orcs strapping gleaming weapons across broad shoulders beneath the moonlight.
“You understand,” she said quietly, “that once we cross into the compound tonight, there will be no more waiting games. Some of us might not return.”
I nodded. “I know.”
The truth settled heavily inside me, but the Priestess had taken my daughter.
She had my mother, and she had spent too long twisting lives and magic and fear into weapons while the rest of us scrambled behind her trying to undo the damage.
Enough.
I couldn't let her use her bloodline to her advantage. No tears, no stones, no immortality.
The Academy doors creaked wider behind us as more witches spilled into the courtyard carrying charms, lanterns, satchels of herbs, and enough determination to make the night itself nervous.
The building buzzed warmly at our backs, protective and proud.
“Ready.” I nodded.
Caleb looked up at the sky, filled with witches on broomsticks, and let out a long-suffering breath. “Keegan is going to kill me.”
“I guess I forgot to mention to him how we were getting there.” I eyed Caleb, silently pleading that he wouldn't mention it.
Bella grinned. “He'll only kill you if we come back without Maeve.”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “Comforting.”
“This is either going to become legendary history or a deeply cautionary tale,” Twobble announced.
“Why not both?” Stella teased.
Honestly, she was probably right.
I tightened my grip on the broom and lifted my gaze eastward, where the distant horizon seemed darker than the rest of the night.
Twobble hopped on as the pendant at my throat pulsed once like a heartbeat, and the broom launched upward.
Behind me, the witches of Stonewick rose into the sky together, and I knew the Priestess didn't have a chance.