This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart #2)(83)

Nyx huffed. “You? Fragile? I don’t care what transformation you’ve undergone. Nothing could take away that spark. Try to remember that.”

The door to Marie’s sedan popped open, and Alec climbed out. He wrung his hands together in front of himself as he approached Marie.

“Welcome home,” he said.

Marie studied his face. “Were you crying?”

He dabbed at his eyes. “Absolutely not.”

“Liar,” Marie said.

He reached for her, and she pulled him into a tight embrace. Alec closed his eyes as he rested his head on her shoulder.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too, old man,” said Marie. “Please don’t get your snot bubbles on me.”

We all piled into the car and made the drive to Rhinebeck. I thought the ride would be relaxing, a relief to be so close to home, but the anticipation was palpable. I couldn’t wait to get to Mo, but I also couldn’t put the thoughts of Karter and his new life with Hermes aside. I suddenly remembered that I still had the note he’d slipped me in my back pocket. I pulled it out and read it.

I’m sorry, Bri. I’m so sorry. You deserve so much, and I let you down. You don’t have any reason to forgive me, and I don’t even think I should ask you to do that. Please just know that if you ever need me, I’ll be here.

Karter

P.S. Also, if I turn up missing, Hermes did it, because this man is on some other shit.

“What are you grinning about?” Marie asked gently.

I handed her the paper and she smiled, too. “I hope Hermes two-pieces him with that staff of his. He deserves it.”

As we pulled into the driveway, Mom was out of the car before it came to a full stop and Mo was pulling open the front door as the tangle of vines that had encapsulated the entire outer facade broke open.

Mom rushed forward and Mo caught her around the waist and pulled her close. Relief and joy poured out of them both like water from a broken dam and it spilled out over all of us. Marie began to weep and Nyx embraced her as I made a break for Mom and Mo.

Mo caught me up and pulled me between them. As they clung to me, I caught a glimpse of Circe. She hung back, dabbing at her eyes. I stuck my hand out and motioned for her to join us. She hesitated, and then Mom and Mo both reached for her, bringing her in close.

The tendrils of vines that had encircled the house snaked across the ground and wound themselves around my ankles. Circe laughed and kissed me gently on the top of my head. I leaned my head on her shoulder as hundreds of pale yellow peonies burst to life around us.

It was the reality I never knew I wanted, but that Mom and Mo had somehow been able to prepare me for, a blending of the past, the present, and the future. Not a choice between any of them but the combined joys and sorrows of each in their own way. I was the seed set in the soil, nurtured by the love of my family, and allowed to grow, to stretch, to reach for the sun.





CHAPTER 24

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Ma’am, we don’t do that here,” Marie said into the phone. She clicked her freshly painted nails on the counter and hung up without another word. “I’m real sick of people asking us if we do readings. That’s Mama Lucille’s business and they know that.”

“Give people a little bit of a break,” Mom said, patting Marie on the shoulder, as she grabbed her keys and picked up her bag.

“You know Marie has zero customer service skills,” I said. “She told Dr. Grant’s dad to put some baby powder on the top of his head.”

Mom whipped her head around and looked at Marie.

Marie grimaced. “Hold on. Every time he comes in here the light bounces right off the top of his dome, and last time it caught me right in the eye and I couldn’t see for several minutes.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “You’re off phone duty, but you can stock up the glass and stoppers for the tinctures. Bri and Circe got a batch of something brewin’.”

“It’ll be ready soon,” I said.

Circe came into the apothecary carrying a basket full of honeysuckle. “You leaving?”

Mom gave her a quick hug and readjusted her bag. “Yeah. I’ll be home by three. The painters finished up last night, so today, I’m measuring for the new coolers.”

“Exciting!” Circe said, beaming.

The revenue from the apothecary was enough to hire on some folks for the shop back in Brooklyn and open a new one right here in Rhinebeck on Market Street. Mom was having way too much fun picking paint colors and ordering new supplies.

Circe was still technically dead, and while rumors swirled that another of the Colchis women had returned to the area, she was fine leaving it up to conjecture. Anyone who knew the truth—Mama Lucille, Dr. Grant, Isaac, Alec—was fine with allowing the gossip to fade away.

Other things were not as easy to let go of. Sometimes I’d find Circe standing outside the door at the back of the Poison Garden, palming the key. She thought it would be easy to let her lifelong job of guarding the Heart go, but it turned out to be more of a challenge than she’d anticipated. She went her whole life believing that the protection of the Heart was the most important thing in her life. I couldn’t blame her as she struggled to put that burden down. To help, we filled the underground chamber where the Absyrtus Heart had been housed with rocks and dirt and sealed the door shut. I offered to get rid of the key, but she insisted on hanging on to it a little while longer.