Fern, Zinnia, and Holly wait for the bookmobile and go last, hoping to avoid a confrontation. Miss Parcae seems calm at first, accepts returned books, and implies it is her final visit. As the girls turn to leave, Miss Parcae pointedly asks about the missing rain, signaling she knows they tried and failed to raise the storm again.

Fern admits they tried and then admits they no longer have Groovy Witch, finally blurting that Hagar burned it. Miss Parcae erupts in fury, then abruptly shifts when pain and weakness hit, revealing her illness is worse than she claimed. She tells Fern she now “truly” needs her: because of Fern’s vow, Miss Parcae intends to pass her “fire” to Fern and make Fern the next in Hecate’s line—placing the minds/souls of the witches inside Fern. Fern panics at the idea of losing herself and refuses.

Miss Parcae insists the bargain has a price and says Fern can be forced to honor the vow, warning that this is what happened to “Mags,” who is now broken. Zinnia pushes back, arguing they owe Miss Parcae nothing, but Miss Parcae declares Fern will pay “willingly or no.” The girls flee the bookmobile and run back into the Home, shaken and terrified.

In their room, Fern explains everything she knows: Miss Parcae has liver cancer; a line of witches resides in Miss Parcae’s mind; the book was a test; and now Miss Parcae wants to take Fern as the next vessel. Holly asks if Fern cannot do it “for me,” and Fern is overwhelmed with shame, but Zinnia concludes Miss Parcae has targeted Fern from the beginning and is lying to survive indefinitely. Zinnia decides they must tell Hagar.

After dinner, the girls tell Hagar in the kitchen. Hagar, with Miriam’s help, decides Miss Parcae must be locked out until she gives up. They bury sixteen pieces of silverware—four at each corner of the front and backyards—to form a boundary, then nail horseshoes above the doors to repel witches with raw iron.

That night, the wind rises and Fern and Holly see skyclad figures clinging to treetops: witches surrounding the Home. Decima emerges from the woods, sniffs at the edge of the grass, and sits staring at the house, but does not cross the silver line.