The Honey Witch

Months pass. Marigold writes home about Althea’s passing. Mr. Benny helps keep customers away, so Marigold has time to grieve and experiment. Mr. Benny also helps her rearrange the cottage to her liking. Marigold writes to Aster to tell about her work and to ask if their mother is still upset.

Marigold wishes August would visit again, but he’s been away with work. Marigold wonders about Lottie and Edmund, whose company she’d welcome as well if they were easier to befriend. Marigold appreciates the company of the old cat, Cindershine, but she wishes she had someone her own age to speak with. She asks the landvættir if they can talk, but they cannot.

Across the lake, Marigold spots the flickering light again. Her intuition tells her something is wrong, but she reminds herself that Althea wasn’t worried about it.

Aster writes back, informing Marigold of what’s going on in Bardshire. Aster is being courted by a painter, Mr. Woodrake. Frankie seems uninterested in courtship, though he longs for love. Aster encourages Marigold to write to their mother, who has moped since Marigold left.

Althea’s lip color customer, June, returns. She and her gentleman are now married, and she wants the Honey Witch’s help with having a baby. June is sad to hear about Althea’s passing and skeptical that Marigold can perform the fertility spell. Marigold prepares the spell and sends the couple on their way, feeling lonely as she watches them leave.

Marigold misses August. When she went to see him off on his business trip, Edmund was melodramatic and Lottie was standoffish. There was a moment when Marigold brushed against Lottie, and Lottie reacted with violent disgust. Marigold wonders what she did to Lottie to cause such a drastic reaction.

Marigold looks up a spell to cure loneliness, but it requires moonflower honey. Moonflowers are rare, only blooming in the full moon. Marigold creates a spell to lead her to moonflowers, but it leads her to the shoreline. Odessa, the swan landvættir of the lake, swims at Marigold’s feet, indicating Marigold should not cross the lake. Marigold spots the flicker again deep in the forest, stronger now. Marigold feels uneasy and returns inside to strengthen her protection spells.

As summer approaches, Marigold spends time working with the bees and studying the contents of the grimoire. August arrives for a visit. August and Edmund have broken up. Marigold and August talk about heartbreak. Marigold tells August about George Tennyson. Marigold believes not all heartbreak is bad, as it can steer you in the right direction. August agrees that he’d rather have loved and lost than to never have had love at all. Marigold feels her curse when August says this.

Marigold concocts a potion to help August with his broken heart. They reminisce about old times and their families being close. August says Althea helped his parents with fertility so they could have him. In return for the heartbreak spell, Marigold insists August visit more often. August promises to return in better spirits.

August returns four days later, bringing Lottie with him. Marigold loses her train of thought when she answers the door because she finds Lottie so intimidating. Marigold’s spell worked wonders on August, and he’s brought Lottie to the isle because she doesn’t believe in magic. He wants to convince her that the Honey Witch’s spells are real. Lottie calls Marigold’s work mythcraft. She thinks Marigold is a fraud. Marigold is losing hope that Lottie is a kind person under her prickly exterior.

August asks about Marigold’s other spells. Marigold tells him about the soulmate potion. August asks why everyone isn’t after that spell, and Marigold responds that not everyone is seeking true love. August believes everyone is meant to have true love. Marigold doesn’t want to talk about her curse in front of Lottie, so she drops the subject. August wants the soulmate spell, but Lottie remains skeptical. August pulls Lottie outside to talk. Marigold eavesdrops. She hears Lottie refer to her as “beautiful” but doesn’t hear the rest of the comment. Lottie agrees to remain supportive of August even if she refuses to believe in Marigold’s magic.

When August and Lottie return, Marigold has a proposal for them. She will need time to gather moon water for the soulmate spell, and the moon won’t be full for another week. Marigold invites August and Lottie to stay with her until the spell is complete. She wants to hear Lottie admit magic is real in exchange for August’s soulmate spell. Marigold gets the sense that people do not challenge Lottie often. August badly wants Lottie to agree. Lottie is reluctant but agrees that they have nothing better to do with their time. Marigold is happy to have their company.

Marigold is happy to have friends her age keeping her company, even if Lottie isn’t exactly a friend. Marigold plans to show them everything she does as a Honey Witch. She feels proving Lottie wrong will heal her own insecurities.

Lottie takes a moment to speak with Marigold privately. Lottie will play along with Marigold’s game, but if she doesn’t believe in magic by the end of the week, she wants Marigold to give the soulmate potion to August anyway. Lottie only cares about August’s happiness. Marigold still feels she can change Lottie’s mind about magic. She lectures Lottie about undermining the important work she does as a Honey Witch and leaves the room, angry.

August calms Marigold down and reassures her that Lottie is a good person, she just doesn’t trust very easily. August wants Marigold to be patient. Marigold agrees to give Lottie time to warm up.

Marigold begins to cook dinner, but she gets distracted trying to finish writing a letter to her mother. Marigold’s letter expresses sorrow about how things ended the last time they saw each other, and it reassures her mother that Marigold has made the right decision for herself.

Lottie interrupts Marigold to alert her that the pot is boiling over in the kitchen. Embarrassed, Marigold rushes to remove the pot from the flame and burns her hands in the process. Lottie acts quickly, taking Marigold by the wrists and leading her to the lake to soak her hands in the cold water. Marigold feels sparks at Lottie’s touch. Lottie offers to make a healing balm for Marigold. Marigold accepts the offer, hoping for a rare chance to get close to Lottie.

Lottie’s balm is so soothing that Marigold jokes about Lottie being a witch herself. Lottie becomes angry at the remark. Marigold finishes bandaging her burns alone, worried about how easy it is to scare Lottie away and the feelings she felt when Lottie touched her.

Over dinner, Marigold tells August and Lottie all about her past in Bardshire. Lottie recognizes Marigold’s father’s artwork—Lord Claude is Lottie’s favorite artist. Marigold talks about growing up feeling untalented, surrounded by the talents of her family. August reminds Marigold of her magical talent. Marigold considers how much she loves her magic, despite the loneliness that creeps in.

Marigold asks about Lottie’s family. August chimes in that his family adopted Lottie. Marigold notices that Lottie is empathetic and affectionate with August. They get onto the topic of love and loss. Marigold thinks about how much she misses Althea. Marigold would never sacrifice the time she had with Althea to be rid of the grief that plagues her now.

Lottie excuses herself to bed. Marigold thanks Lottie for helping with her burns earlier. Marigold and August talk about Lottie. August and Lottie are more like siblings and have no romantic interest in one another. Lottie is also only romantically interested in women. August tells Marigold that Lottie isn’t courting anyone. He says love is worth the risk of heartbreak.

That night, one of the landvættir, a cat named Chesha, leads Marigold to Lottie’s door. Chesha is uneasy about the door and screeches loudly when Marigold threatens to open it. Lottie comes to the door, startling Chesha away. Lottie explains she was awoken by the cat’s screeching. Marigold wonders how Lottie could hear the landvættir.

Days go by, and despite Marigold’s happy customers, Lottie still refuses to believe in magic. August has been gushing about his potential soulmate, making Marigold daydream about having a soulmate of her own despite her curse.

Marigold receives a letter from Frankie, who confides in her that he is feeling lonely. Frankie says their mother has tried writing Marigold but keeps throwing away the drafts. He’s included the most complete draft, which he fished from the garbage. Frankie urges Marigold to visit soon. The letter from Raina has many crossed-out parts. Raina expresses remorse that she thought she was keeping Marigold safe all this time, happiness that Marigold has found her niche, and desire for Marigold to visit. Marigold worries about leaving the isle, but she wants to be there for Frankie and see the rest of her family.

Marigold tells August about her letter from home. She thinks August and Frankie would get along. August apologizes again for Lottie’s behavior. It is Lottie’s birthday. August doesn’t want Marigold to acknowledge it because he knows it will make Lottie upset, but Marigold insists on doing something nice for Lottie. Lottie does not remember her real birthday, and when August’s family adopted her, they chose an arbitrary day to celebrate. Lottie became upset at this and has been upset by it since. Marigold still insists they do something, so August informs her that Lottie loves bitter, dark chocolate.

Marigold and August take a reluctant Lottie on a picnic with promises of chocolate cake. They call it Lottie Day instead of Lottie’s birthday. Marigold sees Lottie smile genuinely for the first time and compliments her. Lottie stiffens at the compliment, seemingly in pain. She rushes inside, saying she doesn’t feel well and needs to lie down. Marigold doesn’t understand what went wrong, but August is just happy Lottie joined them at all.

Marigold wakes up the next morning to find Lottie in the garden with a sketchbook. Marigold asks if she can see Lottie’s work, but Lottie refuses, because her sketches are incomplete. Lottie thanks Marigold for the little celebration yesterday. Marigold asks about Lottie’s life before August. Lottie’s parents died when she was young. She lived on the streets before being taken in by an orphanage. Lottie is thankful for August and smiles when she talks about him. Lottie’s smile sparks feelings in Marigold.

Over breakfast, Marigold tells August and Lottie about all the different kinds of honey she uses and how Ash Witches are the opposite of Honey Witches. Lottie says it’s all mythcraft. Marigold takes them on a tour of the apiary to show them how her magic works with the bees. Lottie worries they will sting her, but Marigold says they won’t because she tells them not to. When Lottie takes August’s hand for comfort, Marigold feels envy.

Marigold explains how she uses each kind of honey. She removes a piece of honeycomb and offers her friends a taste. August is too scared to dip his hand in, so Marigold feeds him some from her fingers. Lottie remains skeptical. Marigold challenges her to taste the honey as well. Lottie lingers as she sucks the honey from Marigold’s fingers. Lottie once again calls Marigold’s work mythcraft. Marigold is so frustrated that she momentarily wishes Lottie would get stung.

Although Marigold takes the feeling back quickly, a bee stings Lottie on the lip. Marigold tends to Lottie’s sting. Marigold admits to being frustrated, but she didn’t mean to have a bee sting Lottie. Marigold is sad a bee died for this. She attempts to revive the bee with magic, but she is unable. Marigold feels great sorrow that she did this. Lottie mocks Marigold, so Marigold excuses herself.

As they leave the apiary, Marigold hears Lottie warn August about a snake, but the only snake Marigold saw was Talaya, the landvættir that guards the apiary. Marigold wonders if Lottie can see the landvættir.

It’s the night of the full moon. Marigold leads August and Lottie to the moon pool, a small oasis in the center of the isle. Marigold fills her vessel with water from the oasis and leaves it in the moonlight.

Marigold invites August and Lottie to swim with her in the moon pool. August enthusiastically accepts, but Lottie is reluctant. She eventually reveals that her arms are covered in burns from the fire that killed her parents. To reclaim her skin, Lottie learned to tattoo and covered her scar tissue in ink. It is taboo for anyone but sailors to have tattoos, and it is certainly unheard-of for a woman to have tattoos. Lottie had to learn to do it to herself, and the artistry it required awakened her life’s passion. Marigold thinks Lottie is beautiful. She compliments Lottie, who is receptive at first but then recoils as though she’s in pain.

Marigold offers to jump in with Lottie, who accepts. They leap in and sink below the surface together. Lottie pulls Marigold close for a moment underwater. The three friends swim until they are exhausted.

On the way back in, Lottie takes a detour to the shore and screams as loud as she can, having always wanted to do so. August and Marigold join her. While encouraging Marigold to let go and scream, Lottie admits that she’s been impossible and unkind to Marigold. Marigold releases all her anger, sadness, and frustration surrounding her family, her curse, her loneliness, and her grandmother. She also thinks about her confusing, growing feelings for Lottie. Marigold collapses, and Lottie holds her. Marigold wishes she could kiss Lottie but knows she cannot.

As they leave the lake, a scream echoes from the other side, calling Marigold’s name. August cannot hear it, but Marigold and Lottie can. They go inside, with Marigold feeling uneasy.

Marigold thinks about Lottie and how they can never be together, even though her heart wants Lottie. The friends settle in with some mead. August is happy to see Lottie letting loose. August tries to leave the two women alone, but Marigold asks him to stay, worried about being alone with Lottie.

They play a game called Truth or Drink, where one must answer a question truthfully or take a drink. During some joking around, Marigold’s hand touches Lottie’s, and Lottie recoils with a headache for a moment. August asks Lottie why she refuses to believe in magic. Lottie chooses to drink rather than answer, but August pressures her to talk about it. Lottie reveals that her mother believed in magic, but it did not save her. Marigold understands and validates Lottie’s feelings. They talk about grief and fear. Lottie says her mother once told her that they had bad blood, and her mother feared her family. Marigold and August comfort Lottie.

Lottie asks Marigold why she’s alone. Marigold eventually admits to the curse that plagues her family. Lottie is skeptical. August is concerned and asks if Marigold can break the curse. Marigold explains that she’s accepted her life as a Honey Witch, destined to be alone. Lottie intertwines her fingers with Marigold’s. Marigold knows Lottie doesn’t believe her and asks that they drop the topic.

August goes to bed. When Lottie and Marigold are alone, they nearly kiss again, but Lottie’s head hurts suddenly. She’s never had headaches like this before, and they are usually only brief. They agree it’s probably from drinking, and that nothing was going to happen between them besides talking anyway.

Marigold has a nightmare that Versa has set her cottage on fire. She screams herself awake and hears noises from outside. She goes to investigate and finds Lottie sleepwalking. Lottie also dreamt of fire. Her hand is smeared with honey, but she does not remember anything. Lottie and Marigold are both afraid to return to sleep alone, but when they agree to share a room, Lottie suddenly feels sick and changes her mind.

The next morning, Marigold finds Yliza the koi landvættir in a poisoned and angry state, having morphed into a monstrous version of herself. Marigold returns her to her normal state, but she wonders how this happened. Other landvættir across the isle have had similar transformations. Marigold heals each of them with honey. Marigold wonders what’s happening to the landvættir, but the only place to find answers is the massive, unorganized grimoire. She plans to sort through it after brewing August’s soulmate spell.

Marigold wants the soulmate spell to be perfect, as it’s her last chance to change Lottie’s opinion of magic. Marigold invites August and Lottie to watch her brew the spell. She creates the spell diligently, putting intention and care in every step. When she is done, she fills a vial with the honey-based spell and ties it onto a cord for August to wear. Lottie is skeptical and sour again, so Marigold uses the leftover spell to create a second vial necklace for Lottie. Marigold insists Lottie is just jealous and says that Lottie can now find her own soulmate and give them all some peace.

Marigold immediately apologizes, realizing what she said was cruel, but Lottie admits that she is just jealous and scared of losing August. Lottie and August share a tender moment. Lottie is more accepting of the soulmate spell, even if she is skeptical. Marigold is sad that her friends will find their soulmates, but she will not.

A local man, Mr. O’Connell, seeks Marigold’s help. His whole garden burned to ash overnight. Marigold worries this fire is related to the dreams she and Lottie had the previous night. When Marigold investigates the garden plot, she has a vision of Versa. The ash from the fire is gone—Versa has replenished herself with it. Marigold draws a rune of protection in the garden and uses the rest of her energy to bring the garden back to life. Mr. O’Connell helps an unconscious Marigold get home safely.

The following morning, Marigold receives a letter from Aster, who has accepted Mr. Woodrake’s marriage proposal. She will be wed at the end of the month and requests Marigold’s presence as her maid of honor. Marigold must leave as soon as possible to arrive in time for all the important wedding events. Marigold is sad she missed the proposal. She plans to leave for Bardshire that evening, but she is not looking forward to parting with August and Lottie.

Marigold tells her guests about her hasty plans to leave for Bardshire. Lottie notices Marigold does not seem happy to leave, and Marigold confesses that she isn’t—she doesn’t want her time with August and Lottie to end. August interjects to say he’s feeling something from the soulmate potion telling him to travel to Bardshire with Marigold. Marigold is excited to hear it’s working, though Lottie remains unconvinced. The three friends agree to travel to Bardshire together.