“You wouldn’t. During our time together, your powers were bound.”
Right.But the longer I stand in her presence, the more confused I become. The magic radiating from her isn't just strong. It'sinfinite. Boundless.
It feels as if I’m standing at the edge of the ocean and just realizing it has no end.
The pieces click into place. My breath catches. "Birdie?"
She smiles, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "You always were a clever one."
The pure magic. The grotto. The way this place feels likehomein a way nothing else ever has.
I step back, my heart pounding against the inside of my rib cage. "You're not… are you?"
Birdie tilts her head, still smiling. "Yes, Poppy."
The world tilts.
Because I know the signature of her magic. I've felt it every time I've called on the ancestors. Every time I've drawn power from the standing stones.
This isn't just Wiccan magic.
This isthe source.
"You're the Goddess Mother."
Birdie's smile widens, her eyes twinkling with ancient warmth. "I've always been Birdie, but yes, I go by other names as well."
I shake my head, thoughts spinning back to Wichita. To the cramped apartment building with its creaky stairs and flickering hallway lights. To Birdie shuffling between units wearing DIY outfits, her arms full of bedraggled plants and Bingo troll dolls.
"You were her the whole time?" My voice comes out hoarse. "The whole time you were living in our building, coming to game nights, bringing us those weird cookies that tasted like lavender and regret—thatwhole time?"
"I have been me every moment of my existence, yes." She reaches out, cupping my cheek with surprising gentleness. "And they were cinnamon cookies, not lavender."
"They tasted like both." The words slip out automatically, muscle memory from our old arguments.
She laughs, the sound like bells across water.
I pull back slightly, staring at her. "Butwhy? Why would the Goddess Mother live in a crappy apartment building in Wichita, Kansas?"
"Because you were there." She says that as if it's the simplest thing in the world. "What your coven leader did was an affront to my teachings and my way. Through no fault of your own, you and your sisters were lost and the gifts I bestowed upon you mistreated. I wanted to watch over you until you found your way back to Emberwood. Back to your destiny."
The grotto spins.
"You were there just forme?" I press a hand to my chest. "I'm not… I'm just a witch who got lost."
Birdie's expression shifts, something deeper flickering in her eyes. Ancient. Knowing. "You are far more special than just a witch who got lost."
The words settle over me, heavy with a meaning I can't quite grasp.
I swallow hard. "Did you know Sebastian would come? About my mom? And my sisters?"
"Many things are always possible." She gestures to a moss-covered stone, and I sink onto it without thinking. "The threads of fate are rarely fixed, and so I watched… and perhaps I tried to ease your suffering and guide you from time to time."
"Bad day brownies." My throat tightens. "The ones you always brought… you always knew when I needed them."
"When you needed comfort, yes." She settles beside me, her presence warm and solid. "A goddess doesn't stop being a neighbor just because she wears a grander title elsewhere."
Tears prick my eyes again.
