Wolfe agrees, and my dad gives me another smile before turning and walking toward home. I try not to dwell on the image of him walking away, on the way it hurts my insides like a punch to the gut. But I can ache for the loss of my previous life while delighting in all the wonders that are yet to come.
Wolfe and I walk in the direction opposite my dad, to the wild part of the island where anything is possible. When we finally get to the manor, a man is waiting for us outside. Wolfe offered to magic me into dry clothing while we were on the boat, but I didn’t want to use more magic than necessary in front of my parents. I look horrid, though, and now I wish I had agreed to it. I self-consciously smooth my hand over my dress and try to fix my messy braid.
The man smiles, and his expression tells me he isn’t at all surprised to see me here.
“I’m Galen, Wolfe’s father,” he says, even though it’s obvious—they look so much alike.
“Have we met before?” I ask, reaching for a memory of him that I can’t find.
“Several times.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember.” I look down, but Galen reacts as if it’s nothing.
“Not at all. I heard about what you did tonight.”
I suppose it makes sense that he already knows—he probably keeps tabs on the island more than my mother realizes—but it still catches me off guard.
I start to explain myself, say I understand if he doesn’t want me here, but he holds up his hand, and I stop speaking.
“Welcome home, Mortana.” Then he pulls me into a hug. I’m stunned by his kindness, but it helps to ease the ache in my heart, and I’m sure that I’ll be happy here.
“Thank you.”
“I know you’ve had a long day, so I’ll let you get settled. But tomorrow, if you’re feeling up to it, the rest of the coven would love to meet you.”
“How many of you are there?”
“Seventy-three,” he says.
Seventy-three. The number astounds me, and I’m amazed that I went my entire life without knowing of their existence. But I can’t help the excitement that rises inside me as I realize I will have a home here. A family.
It will be different from the life I have always envisioned for myself. But it will be wholly and completely my own.
“I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
Galen offers a warm smile, then turns to Wolfe and squeezes his shoulder. His eyes look glassy, tears pooling in them as he looks at his son. Then he walks inside, leaving Wolfe and me alone.
Wolfe turns toward me and extends his hand. “Do you want to see your new home?” I can hear the heaviness in his voice, the weight of my decision wrapping around us both. It’s a good weight, a calming one, binding us together.
I look at the manor, its steep pitched roof reaching toward the heavens. Lanterns cast a soft, warm glow on the stone wall and illuminate the climbing vines that crawl along the exterior. Smoke drifts into the clear night sky from a large chimney, and the soft sound of a piano filters out into the cold.
“Yes.” I take his hand in mine, but a shock runs through me, a flash of something I can’t place, and I pull away.
There is a life for you here.
“What did you say?” I ask him, stepping closer.
“I didn’t say anything.” He watches me. “Are you okay?”
“I could have sworn I heard something,” I say. “It was a long day. I guess I’m just tired.”
“Then let’s get you inside.”
Wolfe offers his hand to me once more, and I take it.
I don’t want to lose you.
My grip tightens as an image rushes into my mind: the two of us in this same place, standing in the woods outside the manor on a cold autumn night. He had just shown me his home for the first time, opened his entire life up to me so I could envision something different for myself. And I ran away.
I squeeze my eyes shut as the memory takes hold of my brain and my chest and my heart, digging its roots into me, ensuring I never forget it again.
“I’ve been here before,” I whisper. “With you. Right here. You told me there is a life for me here.”
Wolfe doesn’t say anything, but when I meet his eyes, they’re red. He nods and his jaw tenses. “Yes.”
Then it’s a flood.
A moonflower and a light. Crashing into Wolfe in a field. Missing the rush. Learning dark magic. Going to the western shore over and over, hoping to see the boy who changed everything.
I can hear your heartbeat.
Clutching him in the sea.