“But you want to be,” Dagmar pointed out. “Come back to Maple Hollow, apologize to Gwen. Don’t be too proud to be happy, for goddess’s sake, you silly witch.”
“And what about Astrid, hmm? What about the coven leader?”
“The high priestess loves her granddaughter but knows just as well as you or I that Astrid can be an arrogant, conniving cow,” Dagmar said, and my mouth fell open. “She thanks you for putting Astrid in her place and for showing your true witch spine and promises there will be no retaliation for what you did.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I . . .”
Before I could think of a reason, Dagmar let out a long sigh, clearly disappointed with my reticence.
“Listen, I know what it means to live your life regretting unspoken apologies. It’s one of the reasons I’m here. I’m sorry I didn’t stop Astrid’s show sooner. I really didn’t realize what she was doing. I’m sorry I let Gwen get hurt.”
I blinked, shocked for a second time. “Thank you.”
Dagmar had come here for me. She’d come to save me from myself because she cared about me, just like she cared about all of the campers from the decades she’d been in charge.
In the two months that I’d been in the city, I hadn’t found anyone who would’ve helped me if I were being attacked, let alone if I was feeling sad. It was probably my fault; I could’ve reached out and made friends, but I had a family in Maple Hollow. Where nothing I could do was unforgivable, they would always welcome me home, and they would travel hours and hours to come tell me I was making a mistake and support me even if I chose to continue in it. That was why I was grateful to be a witch. And I loved being a witch. I loved being in a coven with other witches, however meddlesome they were.
I didn’t want to live without my magic. And I didn’t want to be anonymous like I’d thought.
Dagmar simply nodded. “Second chances are only given to those brave enough to take them.” She stood and clapped me on the shoulder as she passed. Hera chittered her beak at me. “Don’t be a mouse, Sabine. Be bold.”
I let her walk to the door, the click of each bolt and lock making me feel like something was breaking free within me.
When Dagmar’s hand reached for the doorknob, I called, “Wait!” She turned back to me, neither smug nor surprised, just waiting for me to continue.
“Can I get a ride?”
38
Gwen
Faith and I flitted around the Halloween Festival, skirting through the crowds from stall to stall and brimming with autumnal merriment. My belly sloshed with mulled wine and hot cider, funnel cakes and pumpkin-spice brownies. The whole town square had been overtaken with twinkling lights, braziers of magical fire in every hue, and carnival stalls themed around the supernatural holiday. Tourists and townspeople reveled together. It was truly the most magical thing I’d ever seen in my entire life, and my whole body buzzed with the thrill of it.
Billy had given Faith and me a half-hour break from manning the ice cream stand, and we were determined to hit up every stall before we were due back for more scooping. We wore pointy witch hats and black velvet dresses, and we’d painted our lips a dark burgundy, really vamping it up so we could use our magic with impunity throughout the night. All of the new spellswe’d learned were written off as festive holiday tricks. It was delightful.
We took our pumpkin-shaped giant pretzels to the rows of bench seating placed around the gazebo. I searched the area, trying to find a place to perch, when my eyes landed on familiar faces.
My hand released my pretzel, letting it drop, but Faith’s magic caught it before it crashed onto the leaves beneath our feet.
There, standing in the middle of the throng, were my mom and dad.
When Mom’s eyes landed on me, she instantly ran toward me, her black robes flowing behind her.
I let out a half laugh, half cry as I shot forward and wrapped her up in my arms. “You’re here.”
Dad came around my other side and held us both in a tight hug sandwich.
“We’re here,” Mom murmured into my hair. She finally released me, and I took in her witch hat, which looked so right on her that it was as if I’d seen her wear it a million times. “You look so beautiful,” she said, getting choked up again. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”
“Honestly,” I said, wiping the dripping eyeliner from my cheeks, “I thought it would take years. Two months is not so bad.”
We both laughed in the same exact way.
“This place looks incredible,” Dad said, looking around one more time before hugging me again. “I missed you, bud. You’ve got to show us all your regular haunts. Get it?Haunts?”
