"I think it might have been even better if I magically enhanced real fireworks. Like with gunpowder," she says, taking utter joy in creating situations that remind Marcus just how chaotically inclined his child is. Does she think the reminders are necessary?

Not in the slightest. They're just fun.

She smiles down at her bare feet, already half-buried in the sand, and then up at Marcus, tipping her head so she rests her cheek on the back of his hand. "You're welcome. I'm just really happy that you're happy. I know you didn't always think it would be this way, which, I have to tell you, as a witch, the powers that be heard you and just laughed. And now look."