“I sure would’ve left.” Deryn stomped in with more swagger than Seren and twirled her broom as she made her presence known.
“You did leave, Der.”
Seren smacked Deryn on the head with an empty bucket, and for a while there was bickering and attempts at retaliation. When they stopped, breathing heavily, it was Deryn who finally brought up the elephant in the burned-down room.
“Are we even going to mention what you did the other day, Rhy? Cause unless you and Ceri already talked it out, can I just say that it was fucking stupid to risk yourself that way?” Deryn dropped the bucket and sat on top of it as it overturned. Then she blew her fringe out of her face and grinned. “Pale as a sheet, barely walking, fresh from the literal death’s door, magic gone… So fucking stupid and yet so fucking badass.”
Seren laughed, and to Rhiannon’s surprise, Ceridwen joined in. Then all three of her sisters were laughing, holding their bellies, and she wondered if they had gone crazy on the cliff last night.
“Oh Goddess, Rhy, only you. Only fucking you.” Deryn fell off the bucket and just lay on the sooty floor, still shaking with an occasional giggle.
“That’s two lives you saved in one week there, champ.” Seren’s face held no traces of the earlier mirth, and Rhiannon sighed. But before she could speak, Ceridwen laid a hand on her cheek, bringing their foreheads together.
“You did save Pru, and you sure saved me. I was so close to losing it, to surrendering, and I knew Seren and Deryn would not have been able to reach me, not as far gone as I had been. And then you came, my injured cavalry from over the hill. Thank you.”
“You’re my sister, Ceri. Injured or not, I’m all the cavalry you've got.” Rhiannon attempted to brush the gratitude off, embarrassed by the emotions choking her. But Ceridwen just held her face in her hands and she tried to gulp down the lump in her throat. “I’ll always come, Ceri. And Seren and Der. I let you down once. I’ll never let you down again.”
Rhiannon felt tears threaten and forced herself to speak. She had to say this lst piece. These words had choked her for decades, and they had to come out. Her sisters had to hear them.
“I am sorry. I’m sorry I left, I’m sorry. For everything.”
Ceridwen shook her head and held out her hand, and Rhiannon took it, their powers colliding, her entire body renewed. Then Seren hugged her from behind, Deryn joining in, and she stood still, feeling her sisters’ heartbeats, their breathing, their magic, she realized she was home.
Things really did come full circle. Months ago, in this very room, with Victoria holding her arrested by her prying eyes, Rhiannon wondered if she’d ever find the door to the place where she would, for once, be happy. She questioned if anyone would ever let her in.
Well, it took a few decades, a fire, a broken circle and a few near death experiences and she found that door and that place. And that happiness? Almost.
Only one person was missing, and Rhiannon knew she would be incomplete if she didn’t throw caution to the wind one more time. This time, to her Wind.
26
PRUDENCE, LOOSE ENDS & I LOVE YOUS
PALOMA ALLENDE LEADING THE MAYOR RACE!
Paloma Allende is organizing a massive fundraiser to install state-of-the-art fire suppression equipment throughout Crow’s Nest’s oldest buildings to ensure that they are protected against fire hazards.
Impressive gestures aside, with former Mayor Fowler out, it’s Ms. Allende’s race to lose, despite the initiative groups formerly backing Fowler being in the process of nominating their new candidate to replace him.
Meanwhile, Deryn Crowhart, the famed pastry chef of London, New York, and LA, is back on the island. Our sources have stated that the youngest Crowhart has every intention of remaining on Dragons for the foreseeable future and is looking for a suitable space to open a bakery.
In other news, Rhiannon Crowhart has begun renovation of her destroyed bookstore, promising it will return better than it ever was and will honor the history of women persecuted on the island accused of witchcraft. A plaque with their names will be placed on the restored Crow & Cat.
Watch the renovation and watch the plaque. You might find some surprising names on it!
—Crow’s Caw
“So Christian saysboth old Jerome’s and Margaux’s wills are ironclad. They did not rely on marriage as an indication of their wishes. Margaux was named and so is Rhiannon in the testaments. Your father would’ve had a strong case to Crow & Cat if Rhiannon was to fail the terms of Margaux’s will, but now that he’s stepped aside, all she has to do is stay on the island till summer and voilà, everything is hers. The auction house, the money, and Crow & Cat.”
Lachlan bit with gusto into his croissant and pushed Pru’s mug closer to her. The evening was creeping into the streets of the Crow’s Nest, and Pru found herself at loose ends with her store closed and Rhiannon busy with Victoria and Ceridwen. Lachlan grabbing her and dragging her to Seren’s coffeehouse seemed her best option. Only now that he started going down that “what will Rhiannon do” rabbit hole, she regretted accepting his invitation. She stirred the nonexistent sugar in her tea and tried unsuccessfully to tune him out.
“If you ask me, his plan was very flawed. A subpar airport paperback full of plot holes. He didn’t want anyone to know about his bigamy, but was all ready to assume property once he sent Rhiannon packing prematurely? Weird. I think something else or someone else is involved, and we just aren’t seeing it yet. I mean, who knows? We’re on the island till summer, and this being Dragons and things constantly being set on fire…something nefarious might still come up.”
Pru listened with half an ear. She had reached the same conclusions during the past few weeks. Things were not adding up. She wrapped her cardigan around herself tighter, took a sip, and made a face at the tepid concoction. Lachlan did not notice.
“Also, seems the picture might’ve been Lisa after all, but she’s off the island and the sheriff can’t locate her to figure out how she even found out about Margaux or gotten her hands on a photograph from family archives. You can’t google that one. And sheriff said he can’t ascertain who it was that ratted Lisa to Headmistress Nox and got her fired. The info checks out and Headmistress McHot obviously was right in her actions, but there’s no trail there. So, like, we have a lot of loose ends to trim in the coming months. Things to look into, secrets to unravel.”
Lachlan made a passable imitation of a spooky noise then dipped the rest of his pastry in his mug.
