The pendant pulsed once against my skin, and my gaze dropped to the moonstone, and for a moment, I thought I saw pale wings flicker beneath its surface.
Maybe it was Grandma Elira from the cottage, or a memory…or hope.
In Stonewick, those things tended to entangle.
“We need one more thing,” Ardetia said.
I looked up. “What?”
“A tether.”
My scar chilled beneath the pendant, the first sensation I’d felt since putting it on.
Nova nodded. “She’s right. It's the only way to ensure no one loses their way back.”
That wasn't something I wanted to think about.
“Fantastic.” I let out a shaky breath. “And here I thought this plan needed more terror.”
Stella reached into the pocket of her shawl and pulled out a length of thin silver thread. It shimmered as if moonlight had been spun by someone deeply annoyed and very talented.
“That's from Luna.” My brows lifted.
“I wondered when this would be useful.” She held it out. “Vampire widow-thread. Don’t ask. But Luna has a whole spool of it.”
Twobble opened his mouth.
Stella pointed at him. “I said, do not ask.”
He closed his mouth.
Ardetia took the thread carefully as I lifted the pendant away from my chest, and Ardetia looped the thread carefully around the chain. The moment the silver touched the moonstone, a soft glow filled the room, pale and gentle, completely at odds with the dread in my stomach.
Stella whispered something under her breath that sounded very old and impolite.
“What?” I asked, touching the butterfly pendant.
Nova stared at the jewelry. “The moonstone isn’t only blocking the shadows.”
Ardetia’s face had gone pale. “It is recognizing the path.”
My pulse stumbled. “What path? What are we talking about?”
The glow funneled itself like a beam of light bolting out the window.
Toward the Priestess, my mother, and whatever waited hungry at the center.
Twobble slowly lowered his crouton. “Well, that’s not unsettling at all.”
My father stepped close and rested his hand on my shoulder.
I looked around at all of them. My dad with his loyalty. Stella, with her ancient eyes and shawl. Nova steady as fate. Bella ready to pounce. Ardetia calculating but ready anyway. Caleb watching every exit. Twobble and Skonk pretending crumbs could armor their hearts.
This was my family…my strange, magical, and impossible family.
“The Priestess thinks impatience gives her power,” I said quietly. “Let’s show the Priestess what happens when she messes with a Hedge Witch.”
The floors crumbled beneath me.
