Chapter 17: A Brewing Storm
Joy sat in the courtyard, her head resting against the stone wall as she flipped through Barbara Moon’s journal again. She was starting to feel like she might never crack the mystery behind the faded entries. Who was Liona? Why did that name keep popping up in her head? But today, that wasn’t what bothered her the most. No, today, her mind was a tangled mess of something else—boys.
Ever since the potion incident in class, things between Dani and Zephyr had been weird. Zephyr had barely been able to look Dani in the eyes after the Love Pheromones disaster, and Joy couldn’t help but notice how… sweet Dani had been about it. He didn’t laugh at Zephyr like Ash had. Instead, he had been all serious, trying to help them through the embarrassment with that calm, big-brother-like demeanor of his.
And then there was Willard. The prince of the Magic Realm. Joy’s thoughts strayed to him more often than she cared to admit. She’d caught him gazing at the stars the other night, lost in thought, murmuring some poetic line about the universe that made her heart do a little flip. Not to mention, he was good-looking in that quiet, brooding way—green eyes like freshly sprouted leaves, and a way of moving that made him seem almost too graceful to be real.
Joy groaned and closed the journal, leaning her head back against the wall. She didn’t have time for this. She had bigger problems to worry about, like that woman with the fiery hair she’d seen watching her after the potion incident. But somehow, every time she tried to focus, either Dani’s serious gaze or Willard’s soft smile slipped into her mind, and her stomach fluttered in the most annoying way.
She wasn’t falling for both of them, right? That would be ridiculous.
Wouldn’t it?
As if on cue, Dani appeared, strolling into the courtyard with a book under one arm and a small, handmade cloth pouch slung over his shoulder. He always looked so put together. His dark hair was neatly styled, his shirt immaculately pressed. Joy was pretty sure he ironed everything he owned.
"Hey, Joy," Dani said, his voice as steady and composed as ever. He sat down next to her, pulling out some colorful thread and a needle from his pouch. He began to sew a patch onto a jacket he’d brought along. "How’s the journal decoding going?"
"Frustrating," she muttered. "But I guess it’s nothing compared to, you know, sewing like a master. I didn’t even know you were into that.”
Dani smiled. “It’s calming. My mom always said being good with your hands is a sign of someone who can handle life’s challenges.”
Joy rolled her eyes, but she smiled too. Of course, Dani would have a calm, philosophical reason for sewing.
Just as she was about to make a sarcastic comment, Willard appeared, making his way across the courtyard. He had a notebook in one hand and a gardening tool in the other, looking like he’d just come from planting a new row of flowers.
"Hello, Joy. Dani." Willard’s voice was soft, almost melodic. He gave them both a nod, then settled down on the grass nearby. “Have either of you seen the stars tonight? I swear there’s something unusual about the alignment. I was out in the garden earlier, and it felt like the sky was… speaking.”
Dani raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware stars could speak, Willard.”
“They can’t, technically,” Willard replied, unfazed. “But if you listen carefully, you can feel the universe shifting. The moon was particularly bright. It’s almost like it’s trying to guide us toward something.”
Joy found herself staring at Willard as he talked about the stars, completely lost in his words. He had that dreamy quality that made everything he said sound important, even if she didn’t fully understand half of it.
