“How is that even possible? I grew up on the east coast, and after Calla died, I just sort of… ended up everywhere else. Including the Bay.”
“Yes, and you stopped ending upanywhereelse once you reached the Bay.”
“Because I met Ronan, and he helped me get set up.”
“Yes, he did. But he would’ve done that anywhere. You stayed in Blackmoon Bay because the city is part of your soul. It called you home, Gray. Just like it called Haley home. And eventually, it will call your other sisters home, too.”
“But Ronan already had a life in the Bay before I came along. Friends. A job.”
“He did.”
“Don’t you think that’s kind of a crazy coincidence?” I asked. But then I said, at the same time she did, “There are no coincidences.”
We shared a laugh, breaking the tension just a bit.
As we walked a little further down the shore, I linked my arm into hers, suddenly wanting to feel connected to her. Grounded.
Deirdre tucked in closer, too.
“Trinity was a jealous woman,” she continued. “Her own mother was quite powerful, too, yet she’d never inherited the gift. Trinity’s witchcraft was mediocre at best, relying heavily on tricks and sleight of hand. The idea that her infant and toddler daughters possessed so much power, when she herself had virtually none, finally drove her mad.
“Desperate to claim your power for herself, she tried all kinds of magical experiments and spells on you and your sisters, but nothing worked—largely because she didn’t have the skill, but also because it was against the natural order. Stealing another witch’s power… it’s an abomination. No force or entity or energy outside of her own greed would’ve aided in something so sinister. So Trinity remained as weak as ever, while her daughters continued to grow in power. Finally, in a last act of desperation—”
“Oh, no.” I closed my eyes, swallowing hard. “Don’t tell me. This is the part where the evil villainess gathers up a bottle of blood and a box of chicken bones and heads down to the crossroads…”
“Yes, Gray,” she said, her tone grim again. “Your mother made a crossroads deal—no bones or blood necessary. Sebastian, as you know, trades in souls.”
A shiver ran through me, making my teeth chatter. Was my mother the one who’d sold me out to Sebastian in the first place? How could she have done such a thing?
I opened my mouth to ask, but Deirdre was already speaking again.
“The terms were simple: her daughters’ magic in exchange for her own mortal soul, to be collected in ten years’ time.”
I sighed in relief. Something told me this story had a terrible ending, but at least my mother hadn’t sold my soul. A dim light in a room full of darkness, but a light nevertheless.
“But like most desperate people in their hour of desperation,” she said, “Trinity neglected to read the fine print. She got her daughters’ magic, sure, but not in the way she intended.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, from you, she got the ability to bring the dead back to life—so long as the deceased was a plant in need of some water and sunlight. From Serena, she got the power to summon spirits with a drop of her blood—but only the spirits of her long-dead childhood cats, Maise and Matilda. Adele’s gift of foresight allowed her to see into the future—by fifteen seconds. And thanks to Georgie, a talented herbalist by age three, your mother became adept at brewing tea.”
“That’s… it? That sounds like a practical joke.”
“Oh, it was no joke. She’d asked for her daughters’ magic, and that’s what she got. She just wasn’t specific.”
“I’m assuming she didn’t just let it go at that,” I said. “Chalk it up to a lesson learned.”
“No. She didn’t.” Deirdre shook her head, her eyes clouding with some ancient sadness I could only guess at. “Your mother wasn’t well. Not by any definition.”
An icy chill slid across my skin, my whole body erupting in goosebumps. Something dark and malicious slithered out of my memory, seeping into my mind, bringing with it flashes of something it’d long since tried to bury.
It was part of the same memory I’d recalled when Deirdre had first mentioned the name Silversbane in our meeting with Sebastian—the dark-haired woman at the creek, frantic, manic, forcing me into the water. Holding my head under, even as I fought for my last breath.
“I am Silversbane! This magic ismylegacy. Mine! Why should you have it when it was promised to me? My birthright! You have stolen it, Shadowborn filth!”
New memories rushed in, filling in the gaps. My mother had promised to take us for a walk in the woods. She’d bundled us up in winter coats and hats, even Georgie, who still needed to be put in a carrier.
But she hadn’t bothered with our socks or boots. She marched us into the winter woods, our feet freezing. All of us were crying.
