“Fantastic,” I muttered.“I love this for me.”
I climbed.
At the top, a trunk glowed in the corner.
The lid blasted open.
Something massive surged upward.
I screamed and stumbled backward, barely catching myself before tumbling down the ladder.Below me, Willow hissed, body coiled tight.
Then—
Silence.
The light vanished.
The trunk was closed.
Nothing moved.
“I’ve officially lost my mind,” I whispered.
I hustled down the ladder.As I shoved the attic door shut, a familiar voice chimed cheerfully behind me.
“That was a warning.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Tani!”
The fairy hovered at eye level, wings a buzzing blur.“Relax.You’re fine.Mostly.”
“Oh, that’s comforting.”
“That thing wasn’t fully here yet,” Tani said.“It was testing the boundary.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.“Great.Love boundaries that test themselves.”
I headed downstairs and snatched the wine bottle.Tani fluttered alongside me.
“You don’t have much time,” the fairy added.“Whatever Alice stopped is waking up.”
“Of course it is.”
When I showed her the list, Tani nodded.“Flower ingredients.You’re missing the rest.”
“Then how do I make the potion?”
“You find the rest the way Alice did.”
I stared at her.“Cryptic is not helpful.”
Willow brushed against my legs, then padded down the hall—stopping at the basement door.
I sighed.“Basements are never good news.”
But I opened the door anyway.
