“I do enjoy having my coven family around,” Miss Sophia says. “And I also enjoy my alone time with you. Both of you. How are you holding up with everything going on?”
“I think we’re frustrated and worried,” I reply honestly. “At least, I am. But I also feel stronger and more prepared than I’ve ever been.”
“As you should,” she replies. “Now that you’re joined again, you’re incredibly strong. Certainly, a force to be reckoned with. I have two reasons for bringing you here today. The first is, I want to discuss Ruth with you, Millie.”
I tilt my head. “My mom? Is she okay? I haven’t heard from the hospital.”
“She’s doing wonderfully,” Miss Sophia assures me. “That’s not it at all. In fact, I’ve been visiting her almost every day.”
I immediately feel guilty for not doing the same. “I should have been going to check on her after we banished the spirit from her, as well.”
“You’ve been a little preoccupied,” Miss Sophia says. “And your mother knows that. I’ve been visiting because Ruth mentioned a few weeks ago, when you were here with her, that she’d like to start practicing the craft again. So, I go, and we cast protection spells together. Nothing difficult, but as we all know, practice and consistency is key.”
“She’s casting spells?” Lucien asks.
“Absolutely. And her Power and strength is coming back beautifully. I still feel horrible that I didn’t know for all of those years that she was a prisoner, and that I didn’t help her sooner. This is the least I can do. And, Millie, your mom is flourishing more every day.”
“Well, that’s wonderful.”
“I’d like to invite her to the ceremony tomorrow night.”
I sit back and stare at Miss Sophia. “You want to take her out of the hospital? Do you think she’s strong enough for that?”
“I do. You’ll know when you see her. She’s not the woman you saw even two weeks ago. She’s certainly healthy enough to join us in the circle.”
“Well, if you think it’s okay, I’m for it,” I agree, surprising even myself. “Brielle, Cash, and Daphne are coming, as well.”
“Oh, how wonderful,” Miss Sophia says. “That will strengthen your bond, and that will only increase your chances of winning this next battle. I think that’s a great idea.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I admit and turn to Lucien. “Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, don’t I feel silly?”
“You shouldn’t,” he assures me. “You have a lot on your mind, a stór mo chroí.”
“I love hearing that term of endearment.” Miss Sophia gives us a sappy smile. “Now that we have Ruth settled, there’s another reason I asked you to come. I hope that when you hear this story, you won’t be angry with me for not telling you sooner. I just didn’t feel that the time was right.”
“What is it?” Lucien asks.
“As you know, Lucien, I come from a long line of witches. They predate record, as far as I know. So, the craft is engrained in me. Was since the day I was born. My sister was the same, goddess rest her soul. She died because of her gifts years ago. Because we were taught to use what we were given. To use it for good.”
“That’s one of the things I admire about you,” I admit.
“Millie, you mentioned that you’re beginning to remember bits and pieces from your previous time here. Can you tell me about it?”
“Lucien and I were married and lived in New Orleans, in the home we live in now in the Garden District. He worked at the hospital. I don’t know if I worked.” I frown as I think about it. “I don’t think so. Everything I’ve seen is from after we had the baby. Sabrina.”
Miss Sophia looks at Lucien. “Is that how you remember it?”
“Of course.”
She nods. “Good. You were part of the coven, even back then. And as you know, it’s a small community. So, I’d heard your names mentioned throughout the years.”
“Your family knew ours?” I ask. “This is fascinating.”
“Oh, it’s about to get even more interesting,” Miss Sophia replies. “It’s not just that my family knew yours. It’s that—”
“That you were ours,” Lucien finishes for her.
“What?”
“Sabrina was my grandmother,” Miss Sophia says gently.
I sit back in the chair and stare at the woman I’ve come to love so deeply in the past decade. All this time, I was working with my great-granddaughter?
“I—”
“It’s okay,” Miss Sophia says and covers my hand with hers. She reaches for Lucien’s hand, as well. “I know this is surprising and confusing.
“Lucien, Gwyneth and Aiden, your parents, and their parents before them, have also been a part of the coven for as long as I can remember, and for as long as we have records.”
“How could they have known when I was born, who I am?” he asks.
“They didn’t,” she says. “They loved the name Lucien and gave it to you. And then you began to grow, and the things you knew…well, let’s just say that’s not a coincidence. And then I met Millie as a young girl, and I knew what was happening. Millie, when you came to me as a teenager, so eager to learn, I was very happy because I knew then that destiny had been set into motion. No one thought you’d return so soon. But your bond was—is—incredibly strong. Your love, unshakable. When Lucien died, Millicent was distraught, just a shell of who she once was. And Lucien’s family was happy to take Sabrina, to raise her in the coven and teach her. To ensure that she knew how much her parents cherished her.”
“That’s what I said in the letter,” I whisper.
“There’s a letter?” Miss Sophia asks.
I nod and reach for my bag. “I’ve been carrying it with me. I know I shouldn’t, in case it gets ruined, but I just haven’t been able to put it away.”
I pass her the old paper, and Lucien and I watch as she reads it.
Miss Sophia is our grandchild.
I grasp onto his hand at the sound of his words in my head. This is incredible.
“Well,” she says as she tenderly folds the letter. “Isn’t that lovely?”
“We also have the handfasting cord from then, and are wearing the original wedding bands.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “What a gift.”
“I have Sabrina’s baby shoes at home,” I inform her. “And you’re welcome to see them. But, Miss Sophia, can you tell us about her? When I realized I’d been here before, and that I’d had children in other lifetimes, I didn’t really stop to wonder what’d happened to those children. Until Sabrina.”
“It would make sense,” she says. “You’re living in the house that she was born in. And you’re living in a time not far from the one in which you lived with her. In the grand scheme of things, it’s as if it happened last week.”
“Yes.” I nod and wipe a tear from my cheek. “That’s how it feels.”
“She was a wonderful woman,” Miss Sophia adds. “I was very close to her. She was funny and happy. Much like you, Millie.”
I press my hand to my mouth and let the tears fall.
“She was the most talented witch I’ve ever known, even to this day. She just knew. She always had the answers.”
I smile up at Lucien. “You just said that about your own great-grandmother this morning.”
Miss Sophia’s eyes sharpen. “Which one?”
“Well, it would have been Sabrina’s great-great-grandmother.”
“Esther?” Miss Sophia asks.
“That’s right.”
“Oh, I’d heard stories,” she says with a small laugh. “To talk about people long dead with you is so refreshing. It’s as if they’re still here. Nanna, that’s what I called Sabrina, often spoke of Esther’s grimoire and wondered where it was.”
Lucien and I exchange a look of surprise, and then he reaches into his briefcase and pulls the book out, setting it on the table as he smiles.
“I found it just thi
s morning.”
Miss Sophia gasps in shock and covers her mouth with her hands. “You’re kidding.”
I reach over and open the front cover. “It’s two hundred years old.”
“Oh my goddess,” she whispers, lovingly running her hands over it. “This is my four-times-great-grandmother’s grimoire.”
“I suddenly feel really old,” I say with a laugh.
“You’re not,” she replies. “You’re a thirty-year-old woman. Our DNA won’t match. Nothing links us biologically. It’s all spiritual.”
“It’s fascinating,” Lucien adds. “I can tell you that I don’t think anything like this has happened in any of my other lifetimes.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she says. “Your Power has grown stronger as time passed. Your link to each other became more powerful. From what I was told, your death was sudden and had nothing to do with Horace, but that evil was escalating, and you feared that he’d get to Millie. You needn’t worry, because he did not.”
“Thank the goddess,” Lucien whispers.
“And now, here you are, back to live out your destiny again. May I keep this book to read through and study?”
“Of course,” Lucien agrees. “It’s why I brought it today. I spent some time with it this morning. There are some fun things in there. Esther was pretty funny.”
“I can’t wait to read it,” she says. “Now, back to Sabrina. She married at twenty years old. A fine, upstanding gentleman from New Orleans named Charles Patterson. They had three children. Their youngest baby died at birth from a defect. That would have been around 1945 or so. I’m the eldest child of her eldest child. My mother’s name was Millicent.”
I shake my head, completely overwhelmed.
“I’m so happy we came here today,” I whisper, and then my eyes snap to Miss Sophia’s. “Do you have photos of her?”
“Of course.” She grins and reaches over to the counter and passes us a photo album full of black and white pictures. “She was beautiful. She had red hair, and deep brown eyes.”
I look to Lucien. We’d talked about this. Everything I remember is true.
Of course, it is.
I brush my finger over Sabrina’s face and wish I’d lived long enough in that lifetime to know my daughter.
“Don’t do that,” Miss Sophia says. “Don’t wish for it to be different. Because if it was, you wouldn’t be here now with your man. If you’d lived longer without him, you most likely wouldn’t have been reborn in this time, and none of this would be happening.”
“It’s hard not to wish for it,” I admit. “But you’re right. I’m so happy that she was happy. That she was loved and had a beautiful family.”
“She did have those things,” Miss Sophia agrees. “Her Charlie was devoted to her until his dying day. She lived a long, full life.”
I nod and smile at the photo of Sabrina on her wedding day. “Good. That’s good.”
“Okay, I’m obsessed with this house,” Brielle says as she walks inside ahead of Daphne. “This place is gorgeous.”
“Thank you. I made you guys spaghetti tonight. I hope that’s okay. Lucien and I were gone most of the day.”
Learning about our long-lost daughter.
Talk about a weird day.
I was sad earlier, but now I feel at peace knowing that Sabrina led a happy life. It’s still weird to know that Miss Sophia is my great-granddaughter, and it’s something I have to chew on for a while.
I’m not ready to share it with my sisters. Not quite yet.
“I’m so hungry,” Daphne whines. “I’ll eat anything you’ve got. And I brought dirty martinis.”
“I love me a dirty martini,” Brielle says. “Where’s Lucien?”
“He went into the lab for a while. He said he’d give us some alone time. He’ll be back later to give you guys a ride home.”
“Good, because Cash dropped us off.” Brielle steals a piece of garlic bread. “Let’s eat first, and then we need the full tour.”
“You got it.”
Dinner is quiet as we all shove the pasta and red sauce into our mouths, eating like we haven’t had a meal in a week.
“I guess we were hungry,” I say as I stare at our empty plates.
“Yeah, I’m gonna have a second helping after the tour.” Daphne pours vodka into a shaker and gives it a shake. “Let’s take our martinis with us.”
“Good plan,” I say, then clink my glass to my sister’s. “To new beginnings.”
“And to sisters,” Brielle toasts. “Okay, let’s do this.”
I show them around the first floor. They both about swallow their tongues when they see the library.
“Yeah, that was my reaction, too.”
“It looks like the library from Beauty and the Beast,” Brielle says. “I want to be Belle.”
“Later, you can climb up there and I’ll push you along, and you can sing the song,” I assure her with a laugh. “Now, let’s keep going.”
I take them upstairs and show them the guest suites. “We’re going to furnish all of these. Not that I ever have anyone visit, let alone five at once. But it’ll be nice to have them. It seems silly to leave them empty.”
“You can make one an office,” Brielle suggests. “And maybe one can be a spell room or something. They don’t all have to be guest rooms.”
“That’s true,” I say, thinking it over. “I’ll have to do some research.”
“We need to go up here.” Daphne lays her hand on the knob of the door that leads to the attic. “This is important.”
“What do you see?”
“I don’t know yet.” She opens the door, flips on the light, and leads us up the stairs. “It’s empty.”
“Yeah. Over there is the hole where I hid our things.”
I turn on my phone’s flashlight and shine the light into the hole.
“Nothing in there now,” Brielle murmurs. We sit in a circle on the floor and set our empty glasses aside.
Daphne reaches out and touches the hiding hole. “Oh. Oh, Mill. It’s so sad.”
“What is?” Brielle asks.
“She was devastated when Lucien died. She pined for him. Wrote a letter to him, and hid everything in here.”
I don’t think I told them about the letter.
“Did you read it?” Daphne asks.
“Yeah. It’s sad. Like, really sad.”
Daphne grins. “But there’s a lot of happiness in this house, too. You and Lucien had a lot of fun here. And still are.”
“For sure.” I turn to Brielle. “Do you see any shadows here?”
“I don’t want to tell you,” she admits. “I just want you to be happy here.”
I narrow my eyes. “I’ll be happy if I know the truth. Come on, B, I don’t want to lower my shields and look. You know it’s too dangerous.”
She blows out a breath. “That’s not fair.”
“Please, tell me.”
She glances around the attic. “I don’t see anyone up here. There was an old woman downstairs who kept following us around. Not in a creepy way; more in a nosy way. Like, what are you doing in my house kind of thing.”
“Oh, great. I have a nosy old-lady ghost.”
“She didn’t follow us up here. I also heard a baby crying but that’s stopped.”
“Huh. That’s weird. But I guess babies were probably born in this house at some point. It’s almost two hundred years old.”
“Probably,” Daphne agrees. “I don’t sense a baby.”
“It could just be an echo,” I suggest. “Not a conscious spirit, just an energetic moment in time that repeats.”
“Absolutely,” Brielle agrees. “And that’s likely in this case. The only thing I’ve seen is the old-lady shadow. Which, honestly, isn’t bad for a house this old.”
“True. I guess I shouldn’t complain. I’m glad you guys are here. And I’m really glad you’re coming to the ceremony tomorrow.”
“Cash thinks he has to dance naked,”
Brielle says, laughing behind her hand. “I haven’t corrected him. Does that make me a bad wife?”
“No, that’s hilarious.” Daphne laughs. “Maybe I’ll mention it in the car on the way there. That I’m nervous about being naked in front of all those people.”
“Poor Cash,” I say, shaking my head. “He married into a family of tormentors.”
“Eh, he loves it.” Brielle shrugs. “And he gives as good as he gets.”
“You have a point.” I grin at my sister. “Do you think we can actually get him naked before he discovers it’s all a hoax?”
“We can certainly try.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Millie
The air is cool in our bedroom this morning. The day is finally here, my favorite day of the year.
All Hallows’ Eve.
When the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest.
And this year is particularly special, with not just a full moon, but a full blue hunter’s moon.
It’s as sacred as it gets, and I get to spend it with the man my soul is linked to, along with my sisters, the brother of my heart, and my coven.
I’m so dang excited, I can hardly contain myself.
But I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm and centered. It’s early morning, and Lucien is still sleeping beside me. Which is unusual. The man hardly sleeps. I’m constantly waking to find him either gone or lying awake beside me.
And now that I think about it, it’s usually me who has trouble sleeping. Plagued with dreams, I never slept much.
Until Lucien came back into my life.
Is it because he brings such tranquility to my life that I’m able to relax and sleep peacefully? And is he not sleeping well because he’s taking that on himself, the way he does my headaches with just the sweep of his thumb over my forehead?
I don’t know, but I have a hunch that all of that is true.
This morning, he’s resting peacefully. His dark lashes fall against his cheek, and his breathing is even and slow.
I’ve been worried about him. He mentioned the other day—yesterday?—that he’s frightened. Lucien doesn’t show fear often. He’s so confident, so sure of himself. So hearing that he’s afraid was startling.
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