and colorings, but they all wore the same long white gowns that weren’t much different than the ones we had on. They all stood there like statues, just watching us. Not that I could blame them. The entire Coven just showed up on their doorstep. That had to be alarming. I scanned their faces, looking for the one. Instead, I spotted Evaline. I hadn’t known her well, but I was pleasantly surprised to find she was alive – I’d feared she’d passed when I saw her Mark on Jackson. A smile started to pull at my lips but then Evaline stepped aside…
And I saw her.
I had not seen her face in over two hundred years yet I knew her in an instant.
I knew the long black hair braided on each side of her head.
I knew the deep tan color of her skin.
I knew the shape of her eyes and the curve of her mouth.
Her silver eyes filled with tears that shimmered like glass.
“Mother.” A violent tremor ripped up my spine and tears burst from my eyes. And then I was running toward her. “MOM!”
Chapter Thirty-One
Tegan
“Mother.” A strangled, raw cry left Saffie and tears burst from her eyes. “MOM!”
And then she was running. Sprinting.
Myrtle stood fifty feet ahead…just staring with tears pooling in her eyes. I saw the disbelief and shock. I saw the pain she’d been holding in and hiding. I saw the relief and happiness as she watched her daughter run for her.
Saffie’s bright red hair flew behind her like a cape. Her wings made of glitter fluttered behind her back as she dug her heels into the sand and ran as fast as she could.
My breath hitched. My pulse fluttered. Tennessee’s arm was wrapped tight around my waist and I felt his fingers digging into my hip as he held on. I reached out and fisted his shirt in both my hands. I wanted to portal Saffie closer to Myrtle so they’d get to each other sooner but I was terrified something would somehow mess it up, and I was not going to interfere with this reunion. I couldn’t even take my eyes off of them.
“Saraphina…” Myrtle whispered and her voice broke. She staggered back like she was going to fall over but Evaline caught her. She pressed one hand to her chest, then took a huge step forward and threw her arms wide. “Saffie…”
They were so close.
Almost there.
Saffie took one last step then lunged just as Myrtle leapt forward.
They crashed together, their arms wrapping around each other in an instant. Saffie’s body trembled. Myrtle’s knuckles were white from how hard she held on. Their broken sobs carried through the wind. Saffie cried out but her words were lost to her sobbing. Myrtle’s face scrunched up, her eyes squeezed shut as tears rained down her face.
A hot lump formed in my throat and my eyes burned.
Myrtle’s legs gave out and she dropped to her knees in the sand but Saffie didn’t even flinch, she just went down with her. Both of them kneeled in hot sand still holding on to each other for dear life.
Behind them, Evaline cried while holding her hand over her mouth. Her girlfriend held her tight but was crying just as hard. I glanced left and right and found each and every Crone weeping with wobbly smiles on their faces.
My pulse quickened in a weird pattern, except it wasn’t mine, it was Tenn’s. I looked up at my own soulmate and found his mouth smashed into a firm line, his mismatched eyes brimming with unshed tears. His grip on me tightened, so I squeezed back. It felt like I’d just solved world peace. Relief filled my heart. For us it’d only been a couple months, but for them it’d been over two centuries since they’d seen each other. I couldn’t imagine what this was like for them.
But he does. Over Tenn’s shoulder my gaze landed on Riah. He stood barefoot in the sand in the white sheath gown that always magically appeared on anyone who visited Crone Island – yet he seemed to not even notice. His long blond hair swayed in the breeze, twisting and knotting without his attention. His hands were in fists at his sides, the muscles in his arms tight and flexed.
His gold eyes shined bright even with the tears threatening to pour out.
Someone sniffled behind me so I glanced back and found Gigi crying, her tears smudging her black eyeliner. The ocean breeze blew her ombre curls into her