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I did not notice the signs at first—honestly, I have not been feeling well for a while now. I am in a constant state of hunger and thirst and fatigue. But then this morning, shortly after I had some blackberries, I became suddenly ill. At first, I thought the berries I picked were bad, but then I thought of the women who sometimes came to me describing nausea in the mornings. I realized then it had been a while since I last bled—I cannot remember when exactly. The past is all a blur. And I never took any protections after Nikola and I lay together. My mind was too preoccupied with the Evil Eye.

And I suppose, deep down, I didn’t want to. Nikola was different. I did not want to think of erasing what we shared. It may have been careless of me, but now I realize it was the smartest decision I’ve ever made.

For now I have proof that our love was not a lie. Majko, I am with child. His child. This will be just the thing to stir him from his grief. Amidst all this death, there is life.

There is love.

I must go to Nikola at once. I know he will make a wonderful father. It will lift the cloud of darkness hanging over him. He will remember all the good times we had. The passion we shared. Then together, we can make his father see reason. I am not some mora who enchanted Nikola, or sapped Ana’s soul.

No more hiding, no more shame, no more accusations. The island will finally see the truth—that Nikola loves me. That he chose me.

We will have to marry, as is only proper. Lavender House will become my home, as it was meant to be.

Thank You, God, for granting me this gift. I should never have doubted You.

I’ve washed in the sea and cleaned the bunja. I feel better than I have in a long time—maybe ever. I will be a mother. Nikola and I will be together again. Hope has been restored.

I’ve decided to wear your wedding crown. I want to look my best. It will be a reminder for Nikola of our last night together—perhaps the night our child was conceived.

All that remains is to bury this diary. I no longer need it. I want to leave the past behind, along with all the pain I’ve endured. I’m ready to step into the future, free from the burden of being the scorned herbalist, the witch’s daughter. Now I will be a new woman.

Not Magdalena Derokov, but Magdalena Klarin.

Goodbye, Majko. I’ll still speak to you, in my thoughts. Perhaps one day, I will buy a new diary, a more beautiful one to match my beautiful new life.

Goodbye, old self, and all that you have suffered.

Tonight, I return to Lavender House.

Tonight, I go home.

Twenty-Six

Petra

July 2026

I lay in bed long after waking, Magdalena’s diary beside me. Even though I had finished at some point in the night, I’d hardly slept. Her final words still echo in my mind.

Tonight, I go home.

That can’t be the end. Yet there were no more entries.

I ease myself upright, skimming back through the book. Sunlight spills in through the balcony doors, and my skin is damp with sweat. I don’t care though; my focus is all on Magdalena.

Was she able to speak to Nikola? What about their child?

As I reread the final pages, I remember my nightmare of Luka’s death. How I was chased and cornered on the pier. The same thing happened to Magdalena. Marko had spurred the hunt, turning the island against her.

He had murder in his eyes.

A splash of red unfurls across my vision like a plume of smoke. The blood across the mora’s white blouse. In my vision in the bunja, Magdalena was wearing the same one. Just before she left for Lavender House. I thought the blood was only another grotesque element of her appearance, but now I wonder if it’s a sign of something even more sinister.

Open your eyes. Is this what the mora wanted me to see?

But it couldn’t have been Marko. Even if he treated her unkindly, he could have learned to look past his prejudices, for the sake of his unborn grandchild. Nikola would have protected her. It was his child, after all.

Someone else could have harmed her. I’ve seen myself how quickly the community can turn on someone else. And then another hope springs—even if Magdalena eventually died, she could have given birth before. Could she be my family?