He looks over at me then.
And the look in his eyes, steady.
Open.
Home.
It wraps around my heart like a second root system.
And I know this moment will stay with me longer than any spell.
CHAPTER 28
THORN
The festival’s lanterns are still flickering in the trees.
Even now, two days later.
They’ve dulled, softened, floating more like memories than light.
But I don’t put them out.
Not yet.
Not while Clara’s still here.
She hasn’t told me out loud. Not directly. But I heard Julie talking to Callie by the water barrels, her voice pitched just low enough to pretend she wasn’t hoping I’d catch it.
“National Eco-Magical Integration Grant. Full ride. Research funding, travel. A real team.”
And Clara’s name tied to it like ivy on old stone.
I felt it like a vine snapping in my chest.
Didn’t say a word.
Just walked back into the Grove and let the silence settle over me like a second skin.
Now, I’m kneeling by the heart tree. The roots here still pulse strong—restored, solid. It breathes around me like a heartbeat, slow and deep.
I press my hand to the soil.
It welcomes me.
But the magic’sshifted.
It’s not pulling me downward anymore. It’s not gripping my spine like it used to.
It’s easing.
Loosening.
The Grove is changing again.
Becauseshechanged it.
And now it’s letting go.
