Then they called the day done. Right before Molly fell asleep, she whispered, “I love my life.”

The house seemed to be listening, because it gave a sigh and settled around her like a worn, much-loved jacket.

Molly kept delivering herbs, simples, and unguents to people in the surrounding area, and Sarah began to teach her how to create uncomplicated medicines.

At first Molly didn’t understand why certain medicines were better as a “simple”—which included tinctures—as opposed to an unguent, which was a thicker substance like an ointment or lotion that could be used for lubrication, because they weren’t categorized in a way that she could recognize.

“Magic is an entirely different ecosystem from what we’ve created through science,” Sarah told her. “Just because Tylenol and ibuprofen need to be taken orally, that doesn’t mean the magical equivalent for a headache medicine will be the same. Certain spells are only effective in combination with certain herbs. And some of those herbs can only be taken orally, and others can only be absorbed through the skin. In a modern drugstore you can find pills to take for an upset stomach. In magic, you can rub a tincture on your abdomen and the magic is absorbed through your skin. Different systems mean different ways of delivering relief for the same ailment.”

Once Molly understood that, her lessons on healing went much faster. She loved those, because they called out a nurturing side in her that blossomed and grew—but she studied offensive magic with the same single-mindedness that she had practiced back in Atlanta, as if her life depended on it, because one day it very well might.

Just as every witch had a positive and a negative, they also had a greater affinity for certain elements than others. Molly’s two strongest affinities were to the moon and the ocean. At Sarah’s direction, she went down to the beach to gather fresh, foaming ocean water under the light of the full moon, whispering over the jars until they glowed with Power.

There were defensive and offensive spells she could memorize. The most Powerful spells would be ones she created for herself. Most of those took at least a few minutes to cast, so if she became embroiled in an actual battle, her two main weapons were the telekinetic blasts and her Power whip that came out of her left palm.

She practiced spellcasting on the lawn with Delphine, who smiled with sharp-eyed pleasure as their combined Powers called in thunder and lightning while below the cliff, the ocean surf roared.

For practice with the telekinesis and the whip, she spent countless hours with Lauren, one of the Everwood coven witches who owned a yoga studio in town. Lauren looked like she had come into her Power around menopause, but her body was in immaculate condition, and she could spin and kick like a ninja.