Chapter Thirty-Three
I fell to my knees as my birthmark flared hot beneath my skin, and suddenly every shadow in the woods turned toward me.
Every one of them.
Twobble made a choking sound in the back of his throat.
He stared at the shadow mark on my shoulder as if it had personally insulted him.
“Oh,” he said after a second, his voice a little thin. “Well, that feels… targeted.”
I was about to answer when the woods behind us exploded with noise.
Branches snapped, and leaves tore free of limbs as someone crashed through the undergrowth, swearing loudly enough to make the birds reconsider their life choices.
Skonk whipped around so fast he nearly lost his footing, broom already raised like he intended to challenge whatever came out of the trees to a duel.
“More things!” he shouted.
Twobble squinted toward the noise, clearly weighing his options.
“Let’s all hope,” he muttered, “that this batch of things is slightly friendlier than the last batch of things.”
The brush exploded outward.
Nova came first.
She tore through the undergrowth like a storm had decided to put on boots, raven hair flying behind her. Magic was already crackling along her fingers as she skidded into the clearing. She looked like a ball of electricity, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
“Maeve!”
Ardetia arrived a heartbeat later, moving with that smooth, unsettling grace the Fae never seemed to lose, even when running over uneven ground. Bella followed close after her, low and fast, eyes sharp as she scanned the clearing.
Stella burst through the trees a second later, breathing hard and gripping a cast-iron skillet like it was the only thing she’d had time to grab before running out the door.
Lady Limora came through the brush behind her, somehow still looking composed despite the sprint through the woods, her cloak settling around her as if she’d simply chosen to arrive this way.
Vivienne, Opal, and Mara followed close on her heels, their voices low as they worked quick spells under their breath.
The moment they stepped into the clearing, they all slowed.
Then they stopped.
Every gaze lifted toward the sky since the shadows had thickened while we’d been regrouping.
What had started as scattered shapes now churned above us in a dense, circling mass that blotted out the fading afternoon light.
They were being controlled.
Nova’s expression hardened immediately.
“Oh no.”
Ardetia’s voice was quieter, but sharper. “They’re hunting.”
Bella’s shoulders tensed when she saw my shoulder. “They’ll follow the mark.”
Stella blinked. “The what now?”
“Later,” Nova said, eyeing my shoulder before she noticed who was standing beside me.
Nova’s gaze snapped to Rendel.
For a moment, the shadows stopped mattering.
“You—” She stopped herself.
Stella followed her gaze, and the skillet in her hand lowered slowly.
“Well,” she said after a moment. “That’s unexpected.”
Rendel didn’t react.
He stood exactly where he had been, calm in a way that felt almost stubborn now that chaos was circling above us.
Nova recovered first.
“You have a lot of nerve showing your face,” she said coldly.
Stella glanced up at the sky again.
“Nova,” she said quietly. “Not the moment.”
She gestured overhead as the shadows started diving again.
Any reunion, hostile or otherwise, would have to wait.
The first wave dropped straight toward us, and Ardetia stepped forward before anyone else could react. Her hands rose, elegant and precise, and a ribbon of pale blue magic swept outward in a wide arc.
Three shadows hit it and shattered.
Vivienne clapped her hands once. A burst of bright sparks shot upward like a firework, cutting through the swarm and sending several shapes scattering.
Opal and Mara joined her, their magic weaving together quickly, instinctively.
Bella didn’t bother with spells other than the one she cast to protect herself.
She launched herself into the air and collided with one of the diving shadows hard enough to break it apart like smoke caught in a strong wind. It was as if it had bounced off some imaginary bubble she’d managed to conjure.
“Well,” she said. “That seems effective.”
Skonk swung the broom again, knocking another shadow sideways.
“I’m having a very bad afternoon!” he shouted.
Twobble darted between everyone’s legs and drew a circle in the soil. The edges glowed, and the interior flared brighter.
“Everyone, please remain inside the goblin safety perimeter!”
“Is it safe?” Stella asked.
“Absolutely not!” Skonk answered. “Not against this.”
The shadows screamed again, and the sound rippled through the forest like something tearing apart.
Nova’s eyes dropped to my shoulder, and her expression tightened.
“Maeve.”
“I know.” I nodded.
“That’s a mark.” She eyed me.
“Yes.”
“That’s extremely bad.”
“I gathered.”
Rendel had been watching the path ahead of us—the one where the shadows had bowed.
“They’re not here to kill you,” Rendel said quietly.
Skonk paused mid-swing, the broom still raised above his head.
“Well,” he said after a beat, “that is the first encouraging thing anyone has said today.”
Rendel didn’t smile.
“They’re here to guide Maeve.”
My stomach dropped as someone, maybe Skonk or Stella, started to ask what that meant, but the question never made it out.
Above us, the shadows stopped moving.
One moment, they were wheeling through the branches like a storm, and the next, they hung perfectly still, frozen in the air.
A thin ribbon of mist slipped between the trees.
It spread along the forest floor first, pale and quiet, curling around roots and stones before rising into the clearing. The air cooled so quickly that I could see the faint cloud of my breath when I exhaled.
The shadows lowered.
Every single one of them.
Nova took a slow step forward, her eyes fixed on the mist as it thickened ahead of us.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
A figure stepped out of the haze.
Tall. Motionless. Wrapped in robes the color of smoke just before a fire dies.
The Priestess.
I knew it before I saw her face.
The shadows gathered around her as she moved, swirling close as if drawn to her presence.
She stopped at the edge of the clearing and looked over the group, one face after another, taking her time like she was deciding exactly how much trouble we might be.
Nova.
Ardetia.
Bella.
Stella.
The witches.
The goblins.
Then me.
The mark on my shoulder flared again when her eyes settled on me.
The Priestess smiled.
“Well,” she said softly. “This saves me a great deal of trouble.”
“I’ve never liked her.” Twobble squeaked.
“Feeling is mutual,” the Priestess hissed.
Nova stepped forward, green fire gathering along her hands.
“You won’t take her.” She straightened her shoulders and looked into the Priestess’ gaze.
The Priestess tilted her head slightly.
“My dear Nova,” she said. The way she said it made the air feel thin. “You’ve always been so dramatic.”
Ardetia moved beside Nova, her expression cold.
“You’re not welcome here.” Ardetia narrowed her gaze.
The Priestess glanced around the clearing and smiled before bringing her focus back to me.
“And yet,” she said lightly, “here I am.”
More shadows slipped down from the trees, gathering around her feet.
Bella crouched low, ready to spring in her fox form as Stella raised the skillet.
Rendel was the one who broke the silence.
“You shouldn’t have come this far for nothing.”
The Priestess turned her head toward him, and this time she studied him properly, like she was dusting off an old memory.
Recognition lit her eyes.
“Rendel.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“So,” she said lightly, “the wandering mage has finally stopped hiding.”
Nova’s attention snapped to Rendel, and he cleared his throat. “She doesn’t have what you want.”
The Priestess laughed under her breath. It was a quiet sound, almost warm—if you ignored the shadows shifting around her feet like restless things waiting for a command.
“Oh, Rendel,” she said with a faint shake of her head. “You do have a habit of appearing where you’re least wanted.”
Then her attention shifted back to me.
“And Maeve.”
The mark on my shoulder throbbed again, a sharp pulse of heat under my skin.
Her voice softened, almost curious. “Did Rendel explain what that mark means?”
No one said a word, and the silence stretched between us.
“Well,” she murmured, sounding almost pleased.
She lifted one hand, and that was all it took.
“You’re my little homing beacon,” she whispered.
The shadows broke loose at once, diving toward us in a dark, rushing wave.
Ardetia reacted first. Her hands came up, and bright magic flared through the clearing.
Nova unleashed a bolt of green flame, and Bella leapt.
Twobble screamed and reinforced the barrier as Skonk swung the broom like a champion of chaos.
And through it all, the Priestess stood calmly in the mist, watching the fight like someone enjoying the opening act of a play.
Her eyes never left mine as the mark on my shoulder burned hotter.
And somewhere deep in the magic of Stonewick—
Something answered our call.
The shadows came down like a flock of black birds startled out of the trees.
Ardetia’s magic flashed first, a bright ribbon of pale light cutting through the clearing. Several shadows hit it and burst apart in smoky fragments, but more poured through the gaps behind them.
Nova stepped in beside her, green fire snapping from her hands. The flames streaked upward and caught two of the diving shapes midair. They shrieked and unraveled, dissolving before they could hit the ground.
Bella didn’t bother with spells. She launched herself forward and slammed into one of the shadows with the force of a thrown spear. It burst apart under her strike, scattering across the forest floor.
“Keep them back!” Nova shouted.
Twobble was already scrambling around the circle he’d drawn earlier, reinforcing the glowing boundary with frantic little bursts of gold magic.
“I’m doing my best!” he yelled. “But there are a lot of them!”