After their initial arrests, it didn’t take long before Benton’s parents were officially charged with Dad’s murder, and the news iseverywhere. Fresh whispers start up at school, and though this time the air is eager and willing to bring the gossip close enough to hear, I let it go. I try to focus on classes, even though I’m on edge waiting for updates about Keating.
The following Saturday, Archer stops by the house to visit Mom and me. He’s Detective Archer to us again, not Archer or Ryan. Without his memory, he’s no longer a Council agent. It’s strange to see him, to talk to him and wonder how the potion has changed his understanding of our relationship. I wonder how the potion altered his perception of all the time we spent together this fall, all the hours of preparation to recruit Alice and David. How does he think he got the injuries on his hands?
I wish he’d let us remind him of the magic he lost, but Momis helping me accept that this is the life he chose for himself. Even if I don’t fully understand, I have to respect that.
“Is everything okay, Miss Walsh?” Detective Archer looks up from his little notebook.
His caring tugs at my heart, and I press the heels of my hands against my eyes to push back the tears. “I’m fine,” I say finally. Mom slipped away to get us drinks, and I glance toward the kitchen. “You said you had updates?”
“I do. Mr. Hall—the younger one, Benton—struck a deal with DA Flores as part of his agreement to testify against his parents.” Archer flips back a page in his notebook, and I can’t tell whether he’s afraid of my reaction or simply wants to get his facts exactly right. “He’ll plead guilty to aggravated assault and spend the next five years in prison.”
A few weeks ago, learning that Benton wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life behind bars would have sent me spiraling into despair. But now? With the threat of the Hunters gone and Benton’s only reason to hate me erased from his memory? I can live with five years.
“Miss Walsh?”
“I’m okay,” I say quickly. “Did he ever say why he did it?”
Detective Archer closes his notebook and pockets it. “He says his parents made him do it, but he hasn’t been able to explain how.”
I nod. Benton isn’t entirely wrong. His parents raised him to hate us. They raised him to expect violence for his failures. And though I’ll never forget what he did to me, maybe someday... Maybe someday I could forgive him.
But today is not that day.
Mom appears in the doorway, a cup of tea in each hand. “I’msorry to rush you out, Detective, but I just heard from my mother-in-law. We have a family thing to take care of this evening.” She shoots me a meaningful look, and my heart skips a beat.
Elder Keating.
They must have finally found her.
“Of course, Mrs. Walsh. I’m finished.” He stands and pulls a card from his wallet. “If you or Hannah ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.”
We wait for Archer to leave, and as soon as his taillights have disappeared, I turn to Mom. “Where is she?”
Mom grabs her coat and keys. “They’re bringing her to Lady Ariana’s house. The other Elders will be there.”
I zip my sweater and slip into my shoes. “Let’s go.”
Elder Keating is a witch of great power.
But now, she stands alone.
Without the support of her Clan, and without the power of the Council, it didn’t take long for the agents she betrayed to find her. It seemed only fitting that they dragged her back to Salem to stand trial for her crimes.
The entire coven is here, even the youngest children, and there’s this hush in the air. Mom and I pause at the altar, adding our magic to the Middle Sister’s flame, before continuing toward the gathered witnesses. Morgan and her parents are here, too. Though her injuries have fully healed, I catch Morgan tracing her thumb over the spot where Keating’s knife pierced her chest. Where it narrowly missed her heart.
“You okay?” I ask when we reach where they’re standing.
Morgan drops her hand and smiles. “I guess so.” She reaches out and threads her warm fingers through my freezing ones. “She looks so different now.”
I follow her gaze and examine the fallen Elder.
Keating stands alone, her arms secured tight behind her back with a binding cord that severs the connection to her power. One of the Elementals—Lady Ariana or perhaps Elder Hudson—coaxed the earth into holding her still, the ground rising up to her knees to pin her in place. Her mascara runs in streaks down her face, with small flecks of black on her muddy shirt. Even her hair looks different, more white than blonde now.
Morgan leans her head against my shoulder. “I still can’t believe Riley got to go home like he did nothing wrong.”
After our final mission, the police questioned everyone outside Hall Pharmaceuticals. One of the Hunters, overcome with guilt, confessed to shooting David O’Connell in Ithaca, but when the fire marshal ruled the building’s demise accidental, no one else besides Benton’s parents was arrested. According to Riley’s social media feed, he’s been back in Minnesota for a few days now. The only consolation—besides the gunshot wound I like to imagine still hurts—is that he missed so many classes that they kicked him out for the semester.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more.” I rest my head on top of hers.
