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“Home.”
It was Rhi who said it, but I could practically see the word perched on my mother’s lips.
“Yeah. This is where we’re meant to be, Darkness or no Darkness,” I said.
We all looked at each other—the four Vesper witches of Sedgwick Cove. And I knew in that moment that, whatever else we might do, and wherever else we might go, nothing within us would ever supplant that truth.
We were the First Daughters. And we were here to stay, whatever may come.
* * *
That night on the clifftop, a circle was drawn, and three Vesper witches stepped into it. They lit a fire under a cauldron, and added the elements that would spark very old magic in its belly. They spoke words of great power, words left for them by the kin who walked the shore so many years before them, tracing their very footsteps, the connection singing in their veins. And one by one, they drew a knife across their flesh, and sealed the Covenant with their blood.
The Covenant of the Three, renewed.
They weren’t alone. The Conclave stood around them, the matriarchs of our magical community, overseeing the completion of this most crucial safeguard to our home, even as we all knew that it could not last. The Darkness had strengthened. He was not content to wait any longer, and we would need to be prepared to meet him in this place we called home and defend it from him.
And nearby, I sat and watched, too, perched on a rock with Zale, Nova, and Eva beside me, all wrapped in the same, reverent silence until the circle was closed. No one outside of the Vesper witches and the Conclave had ever seen the Covenant renewed but, as Xiomara had said, we had earned the right to witness it with our own eyes.
“This renewal took a great deal more than three willing Vesper witches,” she told us. “It took your sacrifice and your courage. You are as much a part of it as they are, and it is only right that you should be there, all of you.”
The rest of the Conclave could not argue, even if they wanted to. They owed us too much, and they knew it. They also knew that the old traditions of keeping the Darkness at bay would need to be revisited, adapted, and changed; and that meant opening doors that had previously been closed. The Covenant was no longer a secret, and how to proceed in the days to come would be as much our generation’s work, as theirs.
“Well, that’s that. The Covenant of the Three, renewed,” Eva sighed, as we watched the circle close. “It’s not like how I thought it would be.”
I turned to her. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I thought I’d feel safer. Like it was all over. Instead I feel like…”
“Like this is the calm before the storm?” Zale suggested.
Eva smiled grimly. “Well put, MacDowell.”
“I know what you mean,” I said, watching the last remnants of smoke rise from the circle, as the flames under the cauldron were doused. “I want to be excited to learn magic and become a real witch, but all I can wonder is if I’ll learn enough for the next time I have to face him.”
“Yeah, because you sucked so badly at it this last time,” Nova said, rolling her eyes. She caught my eye, though, and smirked just a little.
“That was seriously one of the sickest things I’ve ever seen,” Zale agreed, nodding.
“Yeah, I don’t think you need to worry about having enough magical ability,” Eva said, laughing. “Although, you may need to worry about having too much.”
I tried to return the laugh but could only manage a smile. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I don’t even think I was in control of it. It… it scared me.”
Eva patted my shoulder. “Raw magic can be scary—ask any witch, they’ll tell you. But knowledge and control will come. It’s what we all have to learn. You’ll be okay, Vesper.”
I nodded, trying to believe her.
The adults started moving away from the clifftop, wending their way down toward the rocks, where we sat.
“Well, that’s it, I guess,” Nova sighed. “Another generation of Claires playing with fire and Vespers putting it out. What a legacy.”
I turned to her. “That’s not the legacy. Not anymore.”
“Look, you don’t have to be nice about—”
“One Claire made a mistake last night, that’s true, but another Claire braved the Darkness itself to fix it. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. As far as I’m concerned, there are no Second or First Daughters anymore. It doesn’t matter who came first or whose blood protects this place. All that matters now is who stands and fights for it. And in that, the Claires and the Vespers stand together.”
“Don’t forget the MacDowells and the Marins, too!” Zale added.
