Page 65 of Poison Nights & Twilight Alchemy

A few of the melancholic creatures still lingered in branches, their curious gazes on the humans below them.The bloody sky slowly darkened to black once more, a crescent moon illuminating a circle of clouds, countless stars twinkling like tiny diamonds in the gloom.

“Look,” Reed whispered. “He’s not dead.”

Dulce turned to Marguerite and studied the small child in the witch’s arms. The boy’s eyes, the same sapphire blue as his mother’s, were no longer closed butopen.

“Marguerite!” she gasped. “Your son is alive!”

The witch’s breath hitched, and she drew back to peer down at her son. Percy wasn’t turning back into the monstrous creature of nightmares but remained rather a young child of two, innocent and pure. With the sorcerer’s death, the young boy was free of his curse and would no longer suffer.

Marguerite cupped Percy’s cheeks, and this time joyous sobs escaped her as she kissed her son’s forehead. “My dear, beautiful boy.”

Reed nudged his shoulder into Dulce’s and grinned. “See? You saved everyone.”

“We, Mr. Hawthorne,” she clarified with a smile. “We.”

“Mama,” the boy croaked, his voice barely audible.

“Shh, you’re safe now, Percy,” Marguerite assured him. “Sleep.” Although her shoulders were relaxed and happiness lingered in her expression, her eyes remained haunted.

The witch stood, cradling her sleeping son to her chest as her gaze settled on Dulce. “You saved my son. You, a woman who I didn’t know was the daughter of my only friend, a woman who almost died because I lured her beau to infatuation. I know I have no right to ask it, butcan you ever forgive me?”

Dulce shrugged. “I readily forgive you for Cornelius. In fact, I should thank you for showing me his true character.” She could still taste the bitter poison planted in her tea, the way it felt to be trapped below ground in an enclosed coffin, certain that death would soon take her.

A line settled between Marguerite’s brows. “For all the rest though… I understand. My actions remain unforgivable.”

Dulce twisted her ring around her finger. “You have goodness in you, just as my mother did. None of us are unforgivable. Every heart has the capacity to change.”

“I can name a few missing that capacity, starting that list with the Leper,” Reed pointed out.

Dulce rolled her eyes. “Perhaps you’re right, but still.Mostdo.”

Marguerite glanced down at her son, then met Dulce’s gaze. “I will never regret what I did. Because that would mean Percy wouldn’t exist. However, I accept responsibility to heal the land from its curse.” She flicked her wrist, and a bridge made of pearls unfolded like a royal carpet across the water.

The witch led them through the castle courtyard, where guards’ armor and uniforms lay sprinkled about, dark sand spilling from their shells.

“Where are the guards now?” Reed asked.

“They were made from Aldrich’s sorcery. With him dead, so are they.” Marguerite halted before the great Tree of Life, its white branches of stone encircling the castle like some tentacled beast, its wide doors carved out of its prominent trunk. She pressed a palm to it, keepingPercy close in her other arm. Shutting her eyes, Marguerite spoke words in an unknown language, and as she did, a soft glow of light flowed from her chest and into the tree. After a few more moments, she took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped back. “The devouring spell is relinquished from the land. Every tree and animal will be free, returned to thriving life, as they were.” Her gaze shifted between the pair. “And now, you wish to return home, yes?”

“Yes,” Reed answered quickly, rubbing his hands together in the growing cold without his overcoat.

“Is there a faster way than we came?” Dulce asked hopefully. Walking home, while it would be nice to spend days upon days in Reed’s company, the mere thought alone made her feet ache.

“It so happens there is.” Marguerite smiled. “I’ll return you both to Moonglade by airship before I journey back to my castle. It’s the least I can do.”

“Airship?” Reed arched a skeptical brow.

Dulce had never heard of such a thing. “What is that?”

“Just as it sounds.” Marguerite angled her head to the side. “A ship that sails through the air. Its magic makes it perfectly safe—I assure you. The airship was how Aldrich sailed through worlds and across the sea when I needed to gather hard-to-find ingredients for spells.”

“Sounds much more preferable to a horse.” Reed smirked.

Dulce had never been on a ship, let alone one that could fly through the air like a bird, but it certainly sounded faster than trudging along the land, even if they did manage to find their horses again.

“Follow me.” Marguerite motioned them forward.

“Why did Aldrich have the creatures in floating cages as prisoners? Where are they from?” Dulce asked as they wandered through the garden.

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