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“Tyler, you ass!” Talia slugged him in the shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to die. You promised you’d be my best man at my wedding, and I’m not even engaged yet!”

Tyler chuckled, and tears streamed down Talia’s cheeks as the three siblings started laughing together. Their laughter was like a song, so full of joy and reunion.

“Yeah, you jerk,” Tate teased. “What about that song you promised me? You never finished writing it.”

Tyler smiled. “I did. I wanted to visit you in Hok’evale after the war was over and sing it to you. I left a recording of it on my computer, in case anything happened to me. Ask Mom and Dad. They’ll be able to find it for you.”

“In case anything happened to you?” Talia repeated. “Tyler, were you planning on sacrificing yourself?”

“Only if I had to,” he admitted. “I’m sorry I had to go. I didn’t want to leave either of you behind, but I died that night trusting that my sacrifice would be worth it. I don’t want you to be sad that I’m gone. Listen to our songs, and know that I’ll always be with you.”

The girls embraced their brother in a group hug.

A young woman cleared her throat, and we all turned to see a girl with a jet-black ponytail and almond-shaped eyes wearing a Miriamic College hoodie.

“Amy!” Mandy cried. She ran forward, throwing herself into Amy’s arms. Mandy sobbed as she pulled her best friend close.

It was hard to think about Amy without remembering the sound of her screams the night of the Burning. Amy had been one of my dearest friends, and I missed her a lot.

She laughed as Mandy squeezed her tighter. “I know I’m a ghost, but I think I can still be suffocated.”

“I’ve missed you so much,” Mandy said. “I’m never letting you go. Ever again.”

I stepped forward. “It’s really good to see you again, Amy.”

Mandy stepped aside, and I pulled my friend’s spirit into a close hug. She smelled of vanilla, just like I remembered.

“I’ve missed you all,” Amy told me. She drew away to embrace Lucas, then did the same to Talia. Miles gave her a light hug, even though the two hadn’t known each other well.

When Grant hugged her, he leaned back to lift her up in his arms. “I’ve missed my favorite lab partner.”

Amy laughed. “It seems you’ve been brewing potions just fine without me.”

Grant set her down. “It’s not the same. You’re a brilliant Alchemist.”

“She’s a brilliant person,” Tate said longingly. She drew Amy into a hug, but as they pulled away, her hands lingered in Amy’s a moment. “I wish you could’ve stayed.”

“I had to go,” Amy replied gently. “My death pushed you all to change things, and you finished what you set out to do. I’m in a better place now, but so are all of you. Even though it seems we’ve been separated all this time, I’ve always been with you.”

Chloe approached Amy. “I know we weren’t friends, but I want to tell you I’m sorry for the way I treated you. It was wrong of me to threaten your cat and use you to try turning Mandy into a toad. I said really mean things I wish I could take back. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I’m in Alora now, Chloe,” Amy said, gesturing around. “Those feuds of the past mean nothing to me here. Of course I can forgive you, because all I want for you is healing.”

Lucas grabbed my shoulder, startling me. I followed his stunned gaze to lay eyes upon a man with a similar build and features to my own husband. I’d seen pictures of him before, and I knew instantly that it was Lucas’s brother, Eric.

Tears beaded in the corners of Lucas’s eyes. “I never thought I’d see you again. Not in this life, at least.”

“Believe it, brother,” Eric said as he strode forward. “This was always meant to happen. You know I’d never leave without saying goodbye.”

Lucas dragged his brother close, and they clapped each other on the back as they lingered in a long overdue embrace. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut tightly as tears free flowed down his cheeks.

He didn’t look sad, though. With the tears came a smile, and his immense gratitude was clear as day.

“I used to be so angry at you,” Lucas whispered. “I thought you left me alone. But I want you to know whatever I said back then, I don’t mean it anymore. I’m not mad at you, and I hold no resentment. All I ever did was love you, and I was only sad to let you go.”

“It’s okay that you were angry with me,” Eric said gently. “I just wish I could’ve been there to help. I should’ve told you how much I loved you before I left.”

“You didn’t have to,” Lucas assured him. “I already knew.”

“Except I love you more than you will ever know,” Eric said.

Lucas pulled away and glanced around the square again, marveling at all the familiar faces. “How is all this possible?”

“Your song resonated with so much power and love that it brought us here,” Eric explained. “It takes a lot of spiritual energy to bring another realm like this to Earth, but the coven is healing, and that’s the most powerful spiritual energy of all. We don’t have much time, as this kind of spell can’t be replicated. So enjoy every moment, Lucas… here, and every moment after.”

“I will,” Lucas promised, before dragging his brother back into a tight hug.

I was happy for Lucas, but I knew that if his family could come back, then so could mine. I looked around for them, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized.

Then I noticed a man and a woman approaching me. They appeared only a few years older than me, and wore clothes that were decades outdated. The woman gave me a kind smile, but only when she said my name did I recognize her voice.

“Nadine,” she said with arms spread wide.

“Grammy!?” I cried. I ran to her, then fell into her arms. All her age lines had smoothed out, and her white hair had turned to brown waves that fell to her shoulders. That kind smile, though, was exactly as I remembered it.

As I pulled her close, I could taste the savory flavor of her brisket melting in my mouth, and I inhaled the scent of jasmine that followed her wherever she went.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “You look so young.”

“Spirits in Alora are not bound by physical age,” Grammy explained. “We take on the appearance of who we feel we are internally. When witches first die, they appear as they did in death. With time, however, they can age forward or backward, but our spirits are never stagnant. And, well…”

She took the man’s hand beside her. “Nicholas makes me feel so young.”

“You’re my Grampy,” I said in astonishment. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”

“I’ve been dying to meet my granddaughter,” he joked as we embraced.

I laughed. “I see Grampy has a sense of humor.”

Grammy beamed. “I wouldn’t have married him otherwise.”

“By the Goddess, you look so much like Faith,” Grampy said.

I’d been looking around for her, but I didn’t see her anywhere. “How is Mom?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Grammy stepped aside, and I swore my heart sang so loud everyone around me could hear it.

My parents stood in the center of Alora’s town square, my father rocking a baby in his arms. Tears sprang to my eyes as they approached me. “Mom, Dad!” I cried.

I’d seen them once in a vision during my Evoking Ceremony, but it wasn’t the same as them truly being here. They’d appeared the night of my wedding to give their blessing, but they’d been there and gone in a moment. Just looking at them now was more time than I’d ever gotten with them since their death.

“Nadine,” Mom said with a bright smile.

She barely finished my name before I’d thrown my arms around her middle. She smelled of freshly baked bread, and the sweet taste of chocolate chip cookies filled my mouth. I could feel the high-frequency buzz of her Alchemy magic resonating through her.

“I’ve missed you both so much ,” I cried.

My mom drew away to push my hair behind my ears. “I know, honey. And we’ve missed you.”

Isa inched forward to smell my mother, then began rubbing her nose against my mom’s leg. My mother smiled as she bent to scoop Isa into her arms.

“I came back, though,” Mom said. “She may be only a fragment of my soul, and she’s not the mother you once knew, but know that I am her, and she is me. Our love for you is one, and equally eternal.”

“Thank you for being here, Mom,” I told her. “I’ve needed you so much, and even when you couldn’t be here the ways I wanted, you came in the ways you could. I will always love you both.”

“You don’t have to worry anymore, honey,” Dad said. “Your family is together here, and we’ll be waiting for you when your time comes.”

I gazed down at the bundle in his arms, and sobs broke from my chest when I stared down into the eyes of a child that looked strikingly similar to Marcus. He wasn’t the tiny baby I remembered, though. Dean looked several months old now, an identical copy of Marcus. He smiled up at me and reached his hand toward my cheek. Dean was growing up here in Alora, and I couldn’t imagine his spirit being placed in the care of anyone better than my parents.

“Can I hold him?” I asked.

“You’re his mother,” Dad said. “You don’t have to ask.”

Dad placed my son into my arms, and Dean stared up at me with wonder in his eyes—like he knew me on a deep soul level that no words could ever explain.

Lucas came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist. He reached over to stroke Dean’s cheek. “He looks so at peace here.”

“He’s a very happy baby,” Mom said.

As she said the word baby , I heard the soft cry of another infant. Lucas and I both looked up to see a woman in her thirties carrying a swaddled infant across the square. She was beautiful, with soft skin and a long, twisted braid down her back, but I didn’t recognize her.

Professor Warren appeared to know who she was, though, because he’d completely frozen in place as he stared shell-shocked at her.

“Roberta,” he whispered.

I realized then it was Professor Warren’s deceased wife.

“You don’t have to say anything, Jonathan,” Roberta told him gently. “I already know how you feel, and I know how hard it is to talk about.”

It occurred to me then that Professor Warren hadn’t really talked about his past. His wife seemed to understand that his silence was intentional and exactly what he needed. Everyone’s trauma was different. Even two people who experienced the same event could feel very differently about it. If our trauma was unique, that meant that we all healed in our own way, too.

Some people found comfort in talking about their experiences to find answers, while others harmed themselves by replaying it. Some people healed by mending the relationships that had hurt them, while others—like Onyx and Lucas—found their greatest healing in walking away. Everyone’s path was different, and that was beautiful. Professor Warren didn’t seem like the kind of person who had to talk about his past to face it.

“We had a wonderful life together, and I will cherish those moments forever,” Roberta continued. “You don’t remember, but our souls made an agreement before we came to Earth. We only promised each other a short time. I left this world when my spirit chose to and not a moment sooner. Don’t let this reunion hold you back from the life you have yet to live. You have a love yet to experience—the love of a father.”

Roberta placed the child into Professor Warren’s arms, and as the corner of the swaddle fell away, I noticed something in the child’s features. He wasn’t like the other spirits surrounding us, who were all slightly translucent with an ethereal glow about them. This baby was solid, as if it belonged not in Alora, but on the physical plane.

“This is Allyn?” Professor Warren asked in disbelief. “I don’t understand. He was sold to a demon and taken to another realm. How is this possible?”

“The coven killed the demon, so his contract is null and void,” Roberta explained. “Allyn never died, merely crossed realms. We were able to retrieve him from the demon’s realm so that your son could be returned to you.”

Tears streaked Professor Warren’s cheeks. “It’s been years, yet he still looks newborn.”

“Time moves differently from one realm to another,” Roberta explained. “From Allyn’s perspective, he’s only been gone a few hours. Seeing as he never truly died, he belongs with you in Octavia Falls.”

Professor Warren bowed his head and lightly pressed his lips to his baby boy’s forehead. “Thank you.”

Roberta stepped aside, and as Professor Warren lifted his gaze, his eyes went wide. We all turned to see what he was looking at, only to come face-to-face with the spirit of Headmistress Clarice Verla.

She looked around in confusion. “How did I get here?”

Lucas wore a curious expression, and he approached Verla slowly. “You aren’t like the other spirits here. I can feel energy signatures and sense which realm a soul belongs in. You haven’t crossed over yet. The choice is still up to you.”

“I should be in the Abyss, with my sister,” Verla said. “Why didn’t I go with her?”

“Because you’re your own individual,” Lucas said. “Even though you and your sister share a soul, each reincarnation is unique. You get to choose who you are without her. She’ll always be a part of you, but this version of you can move on without her, if you so desire.”

“After everything I did, I don’t deserve to return to Alora.” Verla gazed around the crowd, and her eyes flickered from one familiar face to another, lingering on the people she killed. “Hector, William, Everly… you all died at my hand, and I can never express how sorry I am for what I’ve done. I thought I’d do anything for love, but I realize now that the love I was desperately holding on to wasn’t the love I wanted. I wish I understood that then, before anyone got hurt.”

Her gaze turned to Professor Warren, then down to the child in his arms. “Nothing I can do will take back what I’ve already done, but I hope that in trying to make things right, you and our son will live a better life. I’m so sorry, Jonathan.”

“I know you would’ve loved him, if you could’ve stayed,” Professor Warren said. “I’m going to take good care of him.”

Shimmering tears streaked Verla’s ghostly cheeks as she turned to my parents. “Faith, Nathan. I know an apology cannot fix the damage I’ve caused. I took you away from your daughter, and I hurt your family beyond repair. I loved you so dearly, Faith. I wish I could change what I did, but I must acknowledge the choices I made, even if they were wrong. I thought I was protecting my sister, but I should’ve protected you.”

“I hold no ill will toward you,” Faith said gently. “I only wish I could’ve been there for you while you were grieving. I never meant to leave you behind when I fled Octavia Falls.”

“You had your own curse to bear,” Verla countered. “I never blamed you for leaving. We can sit around for the rest of eternity wondering what might’ve happened, but ultimately, it won’t change what really did. All I can do is say I’m sorry, and hope that your future is filled with peace and love, because I never meant to take that away from you.”

“You didn’t,” Mom said.

Then my mother walked forward and drew Verla into a hug. Verla hugged her back, and their magic resonated with one another, creating a bright white glow that emanated from their chests and through their entire spirits. I’d never seen forgiveness in physical form, but by the Goddess, it was the most glorious radiant light in all the universe. Verla hadn’t asked for forgiveness, and she’d even admitted she didn’t deserve it, but my mother honored her with it anyway.

As the women drew away from each other, a shadowed figure beyond them caught my eye. My heart stalled in my chest. I curled Dean’s spirit close in one arm, then grabbed Lucas’s shoulder with the other to steady myself.

A woman in a black velvet hooded cloak came forward, flanked by a tall creature with the head of a ram. She dropped her hood to reveal her pale skin and red lips. Her hair fell in dark waves around her shoulder. Gasps traveled throughout the coven, because each one of us recognized them.

It was Mother Miriam and Santos.

Mother Miriam approached Verla and took her hands in hers.

Verla drew back in confusion. “Goddess. I don’t deserve to stand in your presence.”

“I am not a Goddess who judges you,” Mother Miriam said softly. “ All my children deserve to stand in my presence. I will love and guide you, as I have done for each of my children before.”

Verla’s voice cracked. “I wish you would’ve stopped me, so I wouldn’t have hurt so many people.”

“I tried,” Mother Miriam said. “I sent friends to help you, and I gave you a child. But you were always going to make your own choices in the end. As a mother, it’s my job to let you learn your lessons through your own life experience. I do not step in to control your decisions, because whatever you decide is a lesson you must learn. I can give you options, and I can show you different paths, but the paths you choose to walk are yours.”

“I didn’t know you were there,” Verla stated sadly. “I thought I was alone.”

“I never left you, and I never will,” Mother Miriam said. “You are welcome in my home, if you are willing. I can take you with us to Alora, or Santos will take you to the Abyss. It’s up to you where you want to go.”

“I’ve always dreamed of returning home to Alora, but I’m not sure that’s where I belong anymore.” Verla hesitated. “Is this a decision I have to make on my own, or can I ask the coven to decide? They’re the ones I did wrong, so it seems only fitting that my sentence should lie in their hands.”

Mother Miriam gave a kind nod. “If that is what you wish, then you may ask them for guidance.”

Verla turned to Judge Calloway. “You have delivered many verdicts in your time as judge. What sentence do I deserve for my crimes?”

Judge Calloway shook her head, like Verla was asking the wrong question. “If I were to sentence you the way I have in the past, then the coven hasn’t learned anything. When the new Imperium Council was formed, they suggested a reform program for criminals, as they believed coven members had a chance to rectify their behavior by receiving the proper care. I see now that I judged their suggestion too soon. Perhaps our coven doesn’t act out in violence because they seek to hurt others, but because they themselves need help. I don’t think you deserve an eternity in the Abyss, Clarice, but if you are still asking the question, then I don’t think you’re ready for Alora, either.”

“I will serve my time in the Abyss, then,” Verla stated. “And when I’ve rightfully learned from my wrongdoings, I can ascend.”

“You misunderstand,” Judge Calloway said. “Those are not the only two options.”

Judge Calloway’s gaze flickered to the charred dirt where the Protection Tree once stood, and I understood what she was saying.

“Stay here with us,” I offered. “When a witch sacrifices herself for her people, her spirit can grow into a tree. Our Protection Tree is gone, and the protection spell surrounding our town has fallen. Octavia’s spirit has been freed, and we need a new guardian to protect the coven from outside threats. If you want to atone for your mistakes, then stay, and protect us the way we should’ve protected each other when this conflict began.”

Verla gazed around at the people. “Do you all really want me to stay?”

“You sacrificed yourself for us,” Miles said. “I think you deserve another chance.”

All around us, coven members nodded in agreement.

“If that is what you wish, then I will accept my role as guardian,” Verla agreed. “But if I’m to truly change, I must commit to doing things differently. I won’t ever let anyone make wands from my branches, and in protecting this coven, I will prevent anyone from summoning a demon to do what I did. No witch or warlock will ever take your power again.”

Mother Miriam held her head high. “I am proud of all my children. It is time for us to go now, but know that we are always near.”

Lucas and I kissed Dean one last time, then I placed our son back in my mother’s arms. Coven members stepped back from our ancestors, and our cats followed to circle the clearing. We joined hands once more as Verla’s spirit took her place among the charred remains of the Protection Tree.

Mother Miriam began to sing a song I’d never heard before. Or, I thought I hadn’t. Not in this lifetime at least. But when I heard her voice, it was like hearing a mother’s long forgotten lullaby that she once sang while you were sleeping. I couldn’t recall where I’d heard it—perhaps in another lifetime—but my soul knew every lyric.

Candles burn

And cauldrons rust

Broomsticks break

And turn to dust

But there’s no end

To my sacred vow

This promise that

I leave you now

Wherever you go

Whatever you do

I will eternally

love you

A harmonious chorus rang over all of Octavia Falls as coven members living and dead joined in song. Slowly, Alora began to fade around us. At the same time, Verla’s spirit glowed a bright white as the coven’s magic flowed through her. I could feel our magic swirling together as one.

Above us, the sky lit up purple and teal as our magic began to form a protective shield around the town. It started high above our heads before raining down in an arc that spanned miles. I recalled what Grammy had told me about the significance of these colors. In the Miriamic Coven, purple symbolized spiritual connection and teal symbolized peace. It seemed wholly fitting now.

The light was so magnificent that I had to turn my eyes away from its brilliance. As the radiant light faded, I looked back to see that a tall oak tree stood in the center of the clearing. It wasn’t as large as the old, twisted Protection Tree, but one day, it would grow to be even bigger. The leaves shuddered once, as if Headmistress Clarice Verla was letting out a sigh of freedom.

I looked around the forest for any signs of Alora, but all the spirits and buildings that had been here moments ago were gone. The coven was left standing amongst the remains of our desolate town, but somehow, the destruction didn’t terrify a single one of us.

We’d fought so hard to bring the coven together, but we knew now that fighting had never been the answer. We had to learn that lesson together, and now that our coven was united, our suffering was over.

That didn’t mean there wasn’t more work to do. Healing wasn’t something that happened in a singular moment, but it had started here with all of us, and there was no going back to the way things were. We were stronger than ever, and we could never be divided again.

I understood then why we’d struggled so hard in our position on the council. We’d been trying so desperately to cling to what was left of the coven and build upon a foundation that was no longer working.

I saw now that in order to rebuild the coven like we wished, it had to be completely destroyed so something new could take its place. When I looked around Octavia Falls, I didn’t see the buildings that had been crushed. I saw the people who had prevailed.

From this moment forward, none of us would ever be the same. The coven had changed. The Miriamic people witnessed the birth of a new age, in which together we’d created something we hadn’t had since the coven first formed…

Unity.