Ellie smiled. She tucked the lavender into her journal, pulled on her boots—scuffed, comfortable, hers—and walked out the door. The world wasn’t different. But she was. And that, she realized, was the only magic that had ever mattered.

A folded note lay beneath.

Day Five: Heart.

Outside, the sun was rising. And for the first time in a long time, Ellie Carter was ready to meet it.