He stares off in the distance for a beat as if lost in a memory. And then he sighs deeply and seems to come back to himself.

“If you need anything—anything at all—please don’t hesitate to ask. Your mother was extraordinary. Everyone who knew Della cared deeply for her.”

I’ve heard Latham lie many times. In many realities. I’ve experienced some of his lies again and again as I explored the path on Gran’s healed bone. I know the exact timbre of his voice when he’s being deceitful, the precise look on his face. And that’s how I’m sure he’s telling the truth. He’s sincere in his admiration for my mother. His sadness is real.

A sudden realization pierces my heart—a pinprick that lets enough light in to chase away the darkness. I did succeed in killing Latham. The man who murdered my mother was unmade. Swept from existence. And I didn’t let a quest for vengeance destroy my life.

I didn’t get revenge, but I got something better.

I became the woman my mother raised me to be.

Midwood is in full bloom.

Cherry blossoms dust the cobbles in the town square like sugar on a pastry. The leaves in the Forest of the Dead are thick and green again after a long winter.

I stand at our family tree and marvel at how much has changed.

At how much hasn’t.

I trace my mother’s name—carved in Oskar’s hand now instead of Bram’s. Changing the past didn’t bring her back from the dead, but it did return her bones to me. I found them safe and sound at the bone house in Midwood. And Gran’s too. If I ever have a child, their kenning will be rich with the wisdom of the women who came before.

I sit at the base of the tree and rest my back against the trunk. Tip my head toward the sky. Run my fingers through the blades of cool grass.

“I miss you,” I say aloud.

Ever since Master Kyra assigned me to do a reading of my own past, I can’t help but wonder if my mother saw me in the future more than once. If, perhaps, she saw me over and over again. The possibility—however remote—has opened a well-spring of hope inside me that makes me feel as if she’s been returned to me in some small way. As if we’ve been returned to each other.

And so, I talk.

I tell her everything. How I’ve mastered all three Sights. How our team won the last bone game, so we all chose assignments in towns close to one another.

How she was right about Bram all along.

“He’s perfect for me, Mama. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”