Chapter Twenty

At the Tate Liverpool, Mika waits while Jamie goes in to see his mother. Ian’s texts distract her until she senses nearby magic and literally bumps into Hilda, a fellow Society witch, and Hilda’s fiancée, Kira. After a flustered introduction and a hasty cover story, Mika and Hilda agree that Primrose must not find out they’ve met.

Hilda confesses she hasn’t told Kira she is a witch, fearing both Primrose’s reaction and Kira’s possible rejection. Mika urges Hilda to trust their relationship and tell the truth, calling acceptance “the Holy Grail.” Buoyed, Hilda rushes back inside to Kira and their wedding planning.

Jamie returns smiling, carrying his late father’s worn journals. He explains that seeing his mother gave both of them needed closure; his brothers, once looming in his mind, now feel like mere “cobwebs.” He credits the friends at Nowhere House for helping him start healing earlier, and thanks Mika for steadying him on the drive.

They leave Liverpool, and Mika casts a speed spell. Jamie wonders if magic’s “nudges”—including Mika’s arrival at Nowhere House and meeting Hilda—are signs the Rules are wrong about isolation. He suggests change can happen in small steps and that Mika deserves more than loneliness.

Pressed by hope and fear, Mika admits she dreads failure and rejection, shaped by nannies who were erased and never loved her, leaving her afraid she leaves no trace on anyone’s life. After a long silence, Jamie quietly tells her it’s already too late—she has left a mark on him.