I folded my arms and popped my hip, ready to spit out another knife-sharp retort, when I realized I was standing exactly like Astrid.
“Fuck!” I growled as I threw my arms up. I didn’t want to be like Astrid. I just wanted my mom to hear me for once. “I don’t hate Dad,” I gritted out. “And he could’ve met us at the gates too, if he wanted. This place is warded against all non-witches, as you know, not humans specifically.”
“They would’ve made your father’s life miserable if we stayed,” Mom said with a shake of her head.
“There are lots of humans living in town now,” I countered. “You don’t know that it would’ve been so bad if you’d given it a chance.”
“Oh, I do.” She nodded. “I read your letter. You’ve met Astrid, hmm?”
“Ugh, yes. She’s awful.”
“Her mother and I were best friends, practically sisters, and you can imagine how she felt about me falling for a human. She told me she’d never talk to me again if I continued to see him.Sheended our friendship, not me.”
I fisted my hands to my side. “But you left right away. Like, she might’ve come around, might’ve apologized.”
Mom scoffed. “I highly doubt it.”
“You never even gave her a chance to try!” I shouted, and other families hastily moved their reunions farther away from us. “You cut everyone off. You left without even fighting for it.” My words constricted, and I knew then I wasn’t just talking about her. Sabine had just left without even trying too.
“There was nothing to fight for,” Mom said.
My mouth fell open, angry tears burning down my cheeks. “This coven, this community, this magic is not worth fighting for?”
“That’s not what I meant,” she grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look, I just wanted to protect your father. I know it doesn’t make sense right now, but when you love someone, you never want them to be hurt, especially not because of you. And you know your father. He’s . . .”
I could understand it, actually, and I hated that. Dad was a sweet, sensitive guy. He never raised his voice, never lost his temper, and he’d married a fiery witch of a woman who had an equally fiery daughter who would raze an entire city to the ground if people were so much as rude to him.
I knew that kind of love, that kind of loyalty. I’d found it here, of all places—the place my mother had tried to keep me from.
“I think it’s time for you to try again,” I said.
“Gwen—”
“Mom,” I countered in the exact same tone. “It’s been over twenty years since you left. It’s time for you to visit your hometown again. It’s time for you to make amends with the people you once loved.”
“Honey, I don’t think I can do that,” she lamented. “Why don’t we talk about this on the drive home?”
I blinked at her. She really didn’t get it, did she? She’d trotted me from city to city to chase her own dreams, to build her own life, and I’d always gone along and had never complained. But now, I was putting my foot down. I was making my own life, not trying to find one that fit around her incessant wanderlust. Funny how the one place she vowed never to return to was the one place I wanted to go.
I shouldered my duffel and shook my head. “If you want to talk to me, come find me in Maple Hollow.”
Mom’s eyes saddened. “You know I can’t.”
“One day you’ll be brave enough to,” I replied. “Until then—” I wrapped her up in a tight hug as more tears spilled down my cheeks. “I love you. Give Dad a hug for me.”
Mom sniffed, holding me just as tightly, her arms the most familiar place in the world. Still, I released her and walked back across the field to find Faith. Mom’s eyes were rimmed with red when I looked back one last time.
It was the first time I’d seen her be truly vulnerable. She’d always been stalwart, my protector. This was the first time I’d truly seen that she was a whole human being, not just a figurehead and mentor in my life. She made mistakes, she was afraid, and she was proud and stubborn and flawed.
It was almost a relief. The person who had held me up for my entire life, who had pushed me to do uncomfortable things, who had encouraged me to do what was right, might need me to be the one who encouraged her this time.
As Faith slung her arm around my shoulders and we wandered down the road, I had no doubt that Mom would make it to Maple Hollow. It was only a matter of time.
35
Sabine
Ihuffed and puffed my way up the five-floor walk-up, refusing to question whether I was making a huge mistake.
