Staring out my bedroom window, I was surprised to see Derrydun didn’t look any different.
After yesterday’s commotion, I was sure there would be smoke on the horizon, but the view was the same as it had always been. Green, misty, and vibrant despite the gloomy sky.
Stepping into my boots, I donned my jacket and pulled out the beanie and gloves Boone had given me at Christmas. I had a lot to do today, and even though we’d won the war, it didn’t mean Mother Nature had turned up the heat.
On the way out, I checked in on our houseguest.
Mairead’s painting of Derrydun was propped up against the wall in the living room, surrounded by crystals and a bowl with a stick of sage before it. The room reeked, which meant Aileen had been in here obsessively cleansing. I didn’t blame her. I would probably be doing the same if she wasn’t here.
As if it sensed my presence, the painting shuddered then lay still. Still as mad as a bee in a jar, I see. I thought about shaking it but turned around and went outside.
My return to the ancient hawthorn was a great deal calmer than it had been last night. When I stepped off the path and into the clearing, I was startled to see the state of the furniture or so to speak.
Bark and branches were strewn everywhere, and the trees around the edges looked rather sad. We’d really done a number on this place, but it wouldn’t be a battlefield without a few scars. There were still a few snakes lurking around the village, but thankfully, they’d lost their spark and dropped dead once Carman was sucked into the painting. Mary Donnelly was currently spearheading a working bee back on the main road to round the stragglers up.
“It was quite the scene,” Siobhan said. “Human and witch together.”
“Don’t forget the equine and canine.”
Siobhan stood beside me, a little transparent around the edges. I wasn’t surprised to find she resembled Carman but the spitting image? That was a new one. When she’d called her sister, I imagined a few years difference between the pair, not a few minutes. She was Carman’s identical twin. That was another story for another day, it seemed.
“So, that’s what you look like,” I mused. “Two halves of a whole. I get what you meant now.”
“Disappointed?” She laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
As she turned, she aged before my eyes. Where Carman had done everything in her power to say young, Siobhan had remained in Derrydun and allowed nature to do what it willed.
I shook my head. “Not at all. You were with me this whole time… I just wondered.”
“I’m sorry that you had to face my sister,” Siobhan said. “I wish things could’ve gone differently. For you and her sons.”
I turned toward the hawthorn and gazed up at her branches. The berries were starting to fall.
“Boone…” I began with a sigh. “I assume he has his father’s heart, unlike his brothers. I never sensed anything but kindness in him.”
“Finn was kind, as is Dain, that is true. Carman was always quick to anger, and I hoped his love would teach her a different way. Bein’ the best never seemed to be enough for her. When he died, any light she had in her heart faded. Unfortunately, it never returned.”
“The world or bust,” I mused. “Power corrupts…”
Siobhan nodded. “Sometimes.”
I glanced at her, wondering what she meant.
“I can’t think of a better witch to lead the Crescents into the future,” she continued. “Skye Williams, you have our blessin’.”
“Wow. The ancestors are blessing me with their magical juju?” I laughed and shook my head. “Took them long enough.”
“Be careful,” Siobhan said with a chuckle. “Your ‘sass,’ as you call it, might get you into trouble.”
My laugh echoed around the clearing. “Oh, man, it feels good to be alive today.”
“And so, I must leave you to enjoy it.”
“It’s over now,” I murmured. “All is as it should be.”
“Thank you, Skye.” Her ghostly hand brushed against my cheek. “You had the courage to do what I could not.”
A cool breeze fluttered against my skin, and when I turned, Siobhan was gone.
**
Father O’Donegal was sweeping out his church when I emerged from the forest.
All the doors were open, and he was manning a straw broom, his blazer draped over the back of a pew, and his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A tan streak roared past the pulpit as his tabby cat pounced and played with a severed snake tail.
“Ah, Skye,” he said when he saw me. “Good mornin’ to ye.”
“Good morning, Father. The snakes didn’t make too much mess, I hope.”
“They certainly didn’t mind slitherin’ into the house of God,” he muttered, swiping the broom at a little green critter.
I chuckled and turned toward the church grounds.
“Thank you,” he said behind me. “You showed real courage yesterday.”
Glancing back, I smiled.
“He’s in the cemetery,” he added after a moment.
“Thanks.”
My boots crunched on gravel as I rounded the side of the church, the mossy lichen covered Celtic crosses and headstones standing tall in the yard. They all bore familiar family names like McKinnon, Donnelly, McKinney, and Byrne. I wondered how many were Crescents and where Siobhan’s resting place might be. Likely someplace deep in the forest.
When I stepped around the rear of St. Brigid’s, I saw him immediately. Even if my eyes were closed, I would’ve found Boone. Now his Legacy had been revealed, it was almost as familiar to me as mine. He was part of the Crescent Coven, after all. Man, my boyfriend was a thousand years old, give or take. He really was a silver fox!
He was sitting on the end of Aileen’s empty grave, overlooking two fresh mounds. His brothers. A shovel was propped up against a neighboring headstone, and I knew Boone had been out here all night.
He’d changed into his usual getup at some stage—a checkered red and black shirt, jeans, and boots. His coat was folded in a heap on the ground next to him, and his curled hair was wild and sticking up all over the place. It looked good, though. His hair. Always did.
I crossed the cemetery and stood beside him, waiting to be invited. When he shuffled over, I sat. Our legs pressed together, and it was warm and familiar. Just as it should be.
“Sean came by and helped for a while,” he murmured after a moment.
“That was good of him.”
“Aye…”
“I just returned your aunt to the hawthorn,” I said.
He grunted, scuffing his boot against the ground.
“I’m sorry about your brothers…”
He shrugged, looking exhausted. “They were corrupted a long time ago. This endin’ seemed…inevitable.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I added, “I’m sorry about your dad, too.”
“I was too young to remember him,” he replied. “Mother always said he was murdered to start a war between the witches and the fae, but Dother told me it had been a rogue Unseelie that took his life. The wrong place, and the wrong time. An accident of circumstance. It’s hard to know who to believe.”
It had certainly begun in a gray area. Carman lusted for power even before Finn had died, and her heartbreak gave her the excuse to take advantage. Boone knew it, and so did I. We didn’t need to dwell on such things. Not anymore.
“When you came to Derrydun…” I began.
“I’d broken free,” he replied. “She cursed me, but when I was able to get into Ireland, she altered the spell. Probably hoped that one day I would help her break the curse keepin’ her out. I guess she didn’t count on me fallin’ for the last Crescent.”
“Help? More like use,” I muttered.
“She was me mother, but that never meant she had me loyalty,” he said. “She locked away me memories before I could escape but couldn’t spell me into obedience.”
“You did escape,” I murmured, threading my fingers through his. “You came here.”
“I almost didn’t make it.”
I picked up his hand and threaded my fingers through his.
“There,” I said. “Proof you’re here, and we’re together.”
I felt him tense, his magic rippling through our joined hands, then he untangled himself and glanced away. Awkward.
“Are we related?” I asked, trying not to be so butthurt about it. “Is that…”
Boone lowered his head. “No. At least, I don’t think so.”
“Good. Because getting married would’ve been illegal.”
“I suppose we are distantly related.”
“Aileen said the coven was large back then,” I explained. “There wasn’t one pure bloodline. The Crescent Legacy was passed through spirit, not blood. The hawthorns are what binds it all together.”
“You have her sister’s blood, Skye.”
“Not like you think. I was the last, so Siobhan’s spirit came to me because her power was needed. That’s all. Those weird purple monkey, alligator, typewriter dreams were her spirit trying to meld with mine. It sent my powers into overdrive.” I smiled and looked out over Derrydun. “So our kids aren’t going to have two heads.”
“Our kids?”
“There’s nothing in my oven, so don’t get too excited. I don’t even know if I want to pop out any mini-humans. Thinking about pushing something that big out of my vagina isn’t exactly my idea of fun.”
“What about the coven? You and Aileen are the last…”
“Boone, the time of the Crescent Witches is over. We’ve righted the wrongs, made peace with the fae, expelled all the evil in Ireland… It’s time for the forgotten to reclaim the world. The lost fae will be able to go home, the witches can come out of hiding, and everyone will be able to let go of their fear and live the lives they’ve always wanted. I have to stand back and allow them to take back their own Legacy.”
“So we can take a break?”
“Yeah. Our work here is done.” I laughed and nodded, liking the sound of that. “Hopefully, one day, the witches will see what happened here and not hate the Crescents so much. We’ll invite them to come to Derrydun to see if we can restore their power, and go from there.” Maybe the Nightshade Witches would be able to earn their magic back, too. That was a comforting thought in light of everything that had happened.
“What about us?” he asked uncertainly. “I mean… The last time we spoke, it wasn’t very nice.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied. “I shouldn’t have pushed you away like that, but I meant what I said yesterday. I love you, Boone. I always will. Nothing will ever change that.”
He twisted to face me, his eyes wide with hope. “You still want to marry me?”
I held up my hand and showed him the ring. “I never took it off.”
He let out a whoosh of air, grasped my face, and kissed me. Wrapping my arms around his middle, I held him close, pouring all the love I felt for him into our embrace.
“We’re still on for spring, you know,” I murmured against his lips. “Mary didn’t cancel.”
“Well…I better find a suit.”
“Don’t borrow clothes from Sean McKinnon ever again, by the way. Go to Sligo where there are proper shops.”
Boone grinned and glanced up at the sky where the web protecting the village—the one Aileen and I had created—and the natural glow of the hawthorns lay dormant.
“I will,” he said with a laugh. “I’m free to go wherever I choose now, after all.”
“Well, don’t go too far. We’ve got a party to go to!”