“Because of her heart,” Poppy says, tapping her chest. “As a child she was as big-hearted as they come, and she was always trying to care for everyone. Unfortunately, it’s the big-hearted ones who tend to have the greatest risk for heartache. They give it their all, and then the world lets them down in a million tiny ways. Then they build walls. That’s why she ran from Salem. She couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Is that from that heartbreak guidebook you wrote?” Marigold asks Poppy. “When are you writing an updated version, by the way?”

They launch into a new discussion that I can’t focus on because my head is spinning. The person they’re talking about can’t be the same as the one I know. My mom is not vulnerable. “What about Sage? What was her curse?”

Violet sighs. “She had a recklessness. Especially when she was young. Oh, she was a wild thing. Rosemary was always the one looking out for her. Your mother and aunt Sage were as close as two girls could be.”

“Those two chickadees were like s’mores and campfires. Avocados and toast. Like cream and coffee,” Marigold adds.

“Like two turtledoves,” Poppy says. “Wherever one was, the other followed.”

The aunts all nod in agreement, then Violet turns to me. “And you, Willow. How has the curse affected you?”

Her gaze is piercing, which sends my heart into a gallop. I’m not cursed. “I don’t—it doesn’t…”

“Think, dear,” Poppy says. “Take your time.”

It doesn’t take long. One glance at the flickering candles and my curse rises to view, sending pools of loneliness washing up over me. It’s me as an island, caught between two places. Never quite fitting into either, never quite feeling at home. My curse is that I don’t fit.

I open my mouth to explain it, but I can’t. It’s too painful.

“It’s okay,” Marigold says. “We all have pain. And that’s why you’re here. To reverse this.”

They must be joking. Only… they’re not. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Breathe, dear,” Poppy says. “You read the curse story in the Book of Shadows, correct? Well, Sage began to suspect that there was more to it than that. All you have to do is follow Sage’s trail of letters, and the rest will be clear. You can do that, can’t you? Because we certainly believe in you.”

They all stare at me, owllike. Incredulousness is swirling through me. Not only do they believe in me, they clearly believe in the curse. I swallow. “Sage left letters?”

“Yes, dear. Starting with the one you found in the Book of Shadows,” Poppy says. “Follow the clues at the bottom of the letters and you’ll learn the truth of the curse.”

“And once you learn the truth, the truth shall set you free!” Violet booms. “Corny but true.”