Chapter Sixteen
I unfolded the letter, and the paper crackled in the stillness.
The wolves remained stationary, and the world held. I saw her handwriting, and it steadied me, but shattered me at the same time.
Maeve,
If you’re reading this, I’ve already gone.
I know how that feels ~ sudden and unfair.
I’m sorry for that. You deserve honesty, even when it frightens you.
I have lived too long in fear of her shadow.
I left Stonewick to protect you. I hid what I was to protect you.
And still, she circles. You are stronger than I ever was at your age.
Stronger than I allowed myself to be. But strength does not mean you must carry every battle yourself.
There are things only I can say to her. There are truths she will not yet hear from you.
Please, don’t mistake this for loyalty to her. It is loyalty to you.
My vision blurred as my dad’s hand rested gently on my shoulder, and I forced myself to continue.
You asked about legacy, and about blood and what it remembers. Blood remembers fear if we let it, but it also remembers love. And I love you.
But I need you to know that magic means something different to every one of us. To the priestess, it means control. To me, it means saving my family. It always has. I can’t promise an outcome, but I can’t keep hiding from this woman.
Love,
Your Mom Forever
The words ended there, and there was no hidden message or secret instruction. It was just a mom’s love being revealed in the only way she could after a decision was made like that.
I lowered the letter, and guilt ran through me because if this was protection, then she believed I needed protecting. And I didn’t know whether to be furious… Or terrified of what she thought was coming.
The wolves didn’t move until I did. They were still stationed in a wide, living circle around the cottage.
Shifters I barely knew stood shoulder to shoulder with Caleb’s pack.
A few of the northern orcs had shifted their camp closer to the outer tree line, forming a quiet second ring.
I was certain the leader's wife orchestrated that for me.
Karvey had already resumed his perch above the roofline. The sound of stone against slate as he repositioned himself for a better vantage point was a source of comfort to me.
But one thing I couldn’t get over was that no one had asked any of them to do this.
I never asked for more protection. I hadn’t requested anything. They came here of their own free will to offer support, and for that, I could never repay them. It was something I didn’t even know I had needed until they all arrived.
I still couldn’t believe that my mother had stepped into the Wilds alone.
But I wasn’t alone in that awkward stage of disbelief.
We were all in this together.
Keegan’s hand remained at my back as we walked toward the cottage steps. My father stayed close on my other side. Caleb followed a half pace behind. Twobble trailed us more quietly than I had ever seen him before.
The door creaked softly when Keegan pushed it open.
The cottage greeted us with warm lamplight and the faint lingering scent of chamomile.
I stepped inside and felt the warmth of familiarity wash over me as Grandma Elira stood near the kitchen entryway, and Miora hovered near the hearth.
My grandma’s eyes found mine immediately, and I didn’t know what to say. So, I stated the facts.
“She’s gone.”
Elira nodded once. “Yes.”
I hugged myself and walked across the room to the little couch by the fire. My legs still felt unsteady, so I sat slowly. The last thing I needed was to tumble off the couch.
I kept the folded letter between my fingertips and let out a deep breath.
The cottage was small enough that no one ever felt far away.
Keegan walked over to the mantel and leaned against it.
His arms were folded but relaxed, and he was watching me the way he always did when I was trying to hold myself together.
Caleb lingered near the door and glanced toward the windows every so often.
My father sat next to me and patted my knee.
Twobble stood at the edge of the rug, quiet in a way that wasn’t like him at all, and it made my heart ache a little more. I motioned for him to come over, but he stayed put as I tried to let the truth settle in my bones.
Cindy sat on his shoulder, but a sparkling ring sat around her. He patted her shell and let out a deep sigh, but he didn’t move.
And I wondered if my mom knew this would happen. If she understood what her actions would do to everyone involved.
My mom purposefully walked away from Stonewick. She didn’t run or struggle on her way out. She chose to move toward Shadowick, alone.
Chose.
“She believes she’s doing the right thing,” My grandma said gently.
I looked up at her and narrowed my eyes. “You don’t sound all that surprised.”
“I’m not.”
“She is one of the bravest women I’ve ever known,” Elira continued quietly. “Stubborn. Protective. Fierce in ways she doesn’t always show. She loved Stonewick and Frank so much, but she loved you more. That’s why she left all those years ago.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You knew she might do something like this?”
“I felt she had been thinking about it.”
“I had no clue,” I said, sighing. “None.
My grandma tilted her head slightly. “You would have stopped her.”
I pressed my lips together and let my silence answer for me.
“She has always believed she could walk into danger if it meant someone else didn’t have to,” Elira said softly. “She also made a habit of walking away from it if she thought it would save the ones she loves.”
My father rubbed a hand along his jaw and nodded as his gaze caught mine.
“She’s not reckless. Your mother doesn’t move without thinking. If she walked toward the Priestess, she had a reason.” He kept his gaze on me, and I nodded.
“But that doesn’t mean it was a good choice,” I muttered.
“No, but it was hers to make.”
I could see the pain in his eyes. He’d lost his wife once, got her back, and lost her again.
The fire popped gently in the hearth, and somewhere outside in the dark, the sound of paws moved through dried grass. Above us, Karvey and the others adjusted their weight on the roof and then went still again.
“We shouldn’t rush after her,” Caleb said at last. His voice stayed calm, careful. “If the Priestess expects anything tonight, it will be a reaction or movement.”
“She always pulls the strings,” I said.
“You’ve been pulling them too,” Caleb replied, and Keegan nodded once. “Don’t forget that you’re allowing us to come together and to unite. That will bring more strength than anything.”
“But it’s fragile,” I added.
“For now.” Caleb nodded. “But time together will strengthen our bonds. We just need time.”
I stood and paced near the fire to warm the constant chill in my bones.
“We don’t have time,” I said, glancing at Keegan and then at my dad.
Keegan stood behind me and rubbed my back. “We have to move carefully.”
Carefully was the opposite of how my body felt. I wanted to launch every magical thing I had at the Priestess’ compound, but what would that prove?
That I had no restraint? That I didn’t respect my mom’s wishes?
“But I can’t just stand here.”
The room tilted slightly, and Keegan steadied me with a hand at my back. I felt dizzy and confused, and I didn’t know if it was because my mom had left or because I felt helpless.
“We’re not doing nothing. We’re thinking together. We’re processing together.” Keegan smiled, and it touched his eyes, making me feel a bit calmer.
“I just can’t believe she left willingly,” I said.
“That matters,” he answered. “It changes things. It changes how we respond.”
Grandma Elira’s gaze warmed.
“Magic means something different to everyone,” she said softly, echoing my mother’s words. “Your mother believes she’s acting out of love.”
“That doesn’t make it safe.” I wrapped my arms around myself again and shivered. “And it doesn’t make it easier.”
“No,” she agreed. “It doesn’t.”
“She asked me something earlier tonight,” my dad said. “She asked if blood can be corrected.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “She thinks she can reason with the Priestess or worse, yet…she thinks she can change her.”
“Maybe,” Grandma Elira offered. “Or maybe she’s trying to keep the Priestess busy.”
“Busy from what?” Caleb asked.
Elira’s eyes met mine, and I took a deep breath, feeling warm again.
“From Maeve.” I didn’t like the sound of that.
“We need to keep an eye on the Wards even more so now.” I glanced at Caleb.
“And no one should move alone,” Caleb said, taking a step inside.
“And what about the orcs?” I asked.
“They’ve already doubled their watch,” Caleb explained. “I think they can sense a change, and they don’t want to do anything or let anything ruin their chances of going home. I’ll pass along what we’re talking about so they don’t take it as being confined.”
“Thank you,” Keegan said.
I pictured what was happening outside with wolves and orcs standing side by side around the cottage.
The Priestess thrived on division, and tonight there wasn’t any.
I breathed in slowly, knowing that whatever we did, it would be controlled and unified.
“We can’t let panic decide this.” I glanced at Miora and then at Twobble.
He hadn’t spoken since handing me the letter.
Twobble still stood where he had when he first walked into the cottage, with his hands clasped together and shoulders curled inward in a way that made him look smaller than usual. It nearly killed me to see my goblin looking so…defeated.
“Twobble, how are you holding up?”
His eyes flicked up, and his gaze met mine.
“Not well,” he admitted.
The honesty of it squeezed my heart even more.
He looked around the room before coming over and taking a seat. The fact that he didn’t ask for a pastry of some sort told me everything.
“You couldn’t have stopped her,” I said softly.
“I could have tried harder. I should have blocked the path or tripped her. I thought about screaming at her and lobbing some hard scones at her.”
“You did scream,” Caleb said mildly.
“Yes,” Twobble replied. “But politely. I needed assistance because I didn’t believe what I was witnessing.”
“She told me to stay put,” he continued quietly. “And I listened.”
“You respected her boundaries,” I said.
“She was walking toward danger. I knew it in my bones,” he said, his voice tight.
“But I saw it in her eyes. She wouldn’t have listened to me if I jumped on her back and rode her piggyback.
I wish I’d taken Skonk’s shift down in the UnderLoom to collect the herbs.
Then it would be his fault he didn’t stop her. ”
I laughed softly and patted his bony knee. “It’s nobody’s fault, dear Twobble.”
“That doesn’t help how I feel.”
“She trusted you to find and bring me the letter.”
His small shoulders trembled once. “I didn’t like how certain she looked.” His voice was almost a whisper.
Keegan stepped closer behind me, silent but steady.
“We’re still together,” Caleb said firmly. “That matters.”
“Yes,” my grandma said softly. “It matters very much.”
I looked around the cottage at my father, at Keegan, at Caleb, at Twobble.
And thought about outside where wolves and orcs stood guard together.
The Priestess had built her power on control, and this wasn’t part of that.
This was people choosing each other, and still, my mother was gone.
“My mom believes she’s saving us,” I said quietly.
“Then we’ll make sure she doesn’t have to do it alone.”
My father nodded. “And we’ll bring her home.”
The fire crackled softly.
Above us, Karvey shifted once on the roof.
Panic still circled the edges of my thoughts, but beneath it something steadier began to grow. It wasn’t anger or fear any longer. It was resolve and that had always served me well.