Chapter 6

Six

The beach was beautiful, the sand soft underneath my bare feet. I stood there alone, my sneakers discarded to the side because I'd wanted to just feel something when I came out here. I'd wanted to try to connect with nature, with the Isle, to get guidance. To gather courage.

I got neither, but the sand did feel soft. It was golden and smooth and so unlike anything I thought I'd find here in the Whispering Woods, but now that the curse was gone, everything had changed.

Nature had indeed come alive—the sky so blue and the sun so bright and the trees so green, but the people were still restless. I'd seen only a handful as I'd passed by the town to get to the other side. To get to the closest beach to the castle, as per that map that Grey had drawn. It was still early, I guessed—a little past eight a.m.—but all the people that I saw in town looked pale. Looked tired. Looked afraid as they went about their business of opening shops and dusting off the cobbles of the streets.

Nobody really paid me any attention, and I was thankful for it. Last night, after the meeting with the sirens, I'd gone back to the closet, and exhaustion had left me no choice but to sleep. But when I woke up, I knew exactly what I had to do, even if I hated it.

While waiting for the sirens to arrive yesterday, I'd thought about everything, and there was one simple truth to the matter: I alone could not do anything against Syra. I doubted I could even make it onto the grounds of the Eighth Isle at all.

If I really wanted to put my best efforts into saving Grey, I needed to go ask for help. Even though I knew I wouldn't find it, and I knew I'd come back empty-handed, I needed to put my pride aside and go ask for help.

I didn't tell anyone that I was leaving—why would I, anyway, when the spell was no more? Everything that had made the Seven Isles what they were—from the darkness, to the magic, to the rituals, to the offerings and the choosing of the brides—all of it made no sense at all anymore. Like it had never been that way. Like we'd always lived here like this, under the sunlight, free to leave at any given time.

Like I'd always been a part of Ennaris and never of the human world. Like I'd belonged here my whole life.

Such a silly thought.

I looked back at the forest behind me that shielded the town and the castle and the mountains—the entire Whispering Woods—from my view. There were boats docked near me, left there unattended, to serve the people who were never bound to this Isle before, and they were all small and empty. A couple of them were almost identical to the one Mama Si had used to bring me to the Whispering Woods.

Maybe that's why I chose one of them.

I put on my socks and sneakers, and I didn't even mind the sand sticking to my skin. I tricked myself into thinking that there was a point to this, and I got on that tiny boat made of light-colored wood, with only a bench in the middle, and two rowers resting against it. I'd searched for something similar in Mama Si's boat that morning, such a long time ago, but now I smiled at the memory because I had no more use for them. Now, I just stepped onto the boat and pulled it free of the thick rope tied to the pillar on the beach, and I went all the way to the front of it, just like Mama Si had done.

Then I ordered my magic to push me forward—exactly like Mama Si had done.

Such a strange feeling to be moving in perfect silence, floating over the water rather than sailing, and all I had to do was keep my hand raised as a way for my magic to leave my body, and my intention clear— I needed to get to Witches' Wing as fast as possible, as safely as this boat allowed.

The Isle was to the east of the Whispering Woods, the only one with a large structure shaped like a witch's hat right in the middle of it. Impossible to miss, like a giant skyscraper in the middle of a town full of houses. I kept my eyes on it, though I could only see the silhouette, and I didn't allow myself to think about anything else. Just that Isle, and just the boat I was on, and just my magic.

For a long time, I sailed smoothly.

Boats around me, but they were far away, and if the people in them found it odd that I was there, they made no attempt to approach or call out to me. I kept going and my magic was steady, coming off me in waves, taking me forward fast enough so that I arrived not an hour in.

I arrived at Witches' Wing for the first time, and there were plenty of them on shore, waiting for me, as if they'd known I was coming all along.

Pulling my hands into fists, I stopped the magic from propelling the boat forward, just so I could assess my surroundings when I was still about half a mile away. It wasn't fear that I was feeling exactly, just…unease. Discomfort. Guilt over wasting time here when I knew I wasn't going to find what I was looking for.

Yet I still had to try.

Taking in a deep breath, I raised my head and forced my magic out of me once more. I was here now. Might as well look into Reeva Lorein's eyes while she told me to fuck off with her own words—and then I could move on.

I'd seen Witches' Wing through the mirror in the mirror room before. It was the smallest of all the Isles, full of trees and bushes and flowers, and the cutest little wooden houses spread around the center of one huge town, with the giant witch hat right in the middle of it.

The boat moved forward slowly this time, headed toward the rocky beach where seven witches wearing long black dresses waited for me with their hands folded in front of them. Some had witch hats on, some didn't. I had no idea how they'd heard that I was coming or if they saw me approaching just now, but I was thankful I didn't have to go about an unfamiliar Isle and try to find the ruler of the witches all by myself. If these women had a problem with me seeing Reeva, they would say so, and less time would be wasted. If they didn't, they'd take me to her themselves.

"Autumn Hayes, welcome to Witches' Wing," said one of the witches wearing a gorgeous velvet hat over her rich chocolate brown waves that looked satin smooth. I recognized her—she'd been at Reeva's table at the party.

"Hello," I said with a nod, remaining on my boat still. "And thank you. I'm sorry to come here unannounced. I'm not sure if you have phones—or if we do."

The woman smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She—and the others by her side—looked just as gloomy and sad as the people in the Woods.

"Nonsense—we don't need an announcement. You are welcome to our Isle at any time. Please, approach," she said, waving for me to come closer, and the boat moved on its own. I didn't release magic at all, but I felt the heat of it in the air—it was coming from her. She guided my boat toward the shore until the edge of it touched the small grey rocks.

As soon as I jumped off, I said, "I need to see Reeva, if she's available."

Again, the woman smiled like she was afraid I would say exactly that. She was a bit taller than me from so close up, and that hat on her head made her look so dark—but she wasn't. It was just the shadows falling on her beautiful face.

"Of course," she said. "You might find her a bit…distracted, though."

I narrowed my brows. "Distracted?"

She pursed her lips. "Come, Autumn Hayes. It's not a long walk." She waved her hand toward the thick green trees, while the other witches moved to the sides at the same time, like they were in a choreographed dance.

"Please—Fall is fine," I said and followed, nodding and smiling at the others as politely as I could muster. After all, it wasn't any of their faults about my misfortunes. Of all the other Isles, they had been the kindest to me at the party. That was the reason why I was here in the first place.

"Of course, Fall. I am Amika Lorein. We've met before, if you remember."

"I do, actually. At the party."

"Indeed," she said. "Glad you're still alive."

Laughter burst out of me—it was so unexpected. "To be honest, that still shocks me." After the way my life had looked the past few months, it was a damn miracle I was still breathing.

Amika joined me, her laughter heartfelt, though short.

The pine forest she took me through was so open, and the smell was heavenly. The trees were big and far apart, so plenty of the morning sunlight streamed through the branches, and the way the dust floated around wherever the sun rays reached to touch the ground made it look so magical. I'd never seen anything like it before.

"What did you mean about Reeva?" I asked Amika when we began to see the houses on the other side of the trees, less than ten minutes later. "You said I'd find her distracted."

"Just this whole thing with Syra awakening and the spell unraveling," she said, waving her hands around, even more uncomfortable than me.

"I see." I nodded, surprised all over again by the vibe of the witch town beyond those trees.

So lively. So many witches all around me coming and going, most wearing witch hats, all wearing dresses—except the men. They wore black trousers and plain shirts, and there were very few of them around. The brides said that witches only bore females, and that they married other Enchanted males to be able to procreate. As crazy as that had sounded to me, it was true by the looks of it.

"I mean, it would get to anyone, to be honest. The people are…" Amika flinched, her voice trailing off.

"Afraid," I finished for her. As they should be. For someone like Syra to be alive and able and so fucking powerful was the biggest threat to the world since the last time she was awake.

"Yes, that," Amika said. "So, please, don't push her too hard."

That certainly surprised me. "I won't. Of course not."

Reeva Lorein had been so nice to me, and she'd even gifted me the very necklace that had made it possible for me to find Grey. Without it, I'd have never ended up in the mirror room that day. Without it, I'd have never found Grey on the Eighth Isle, not before it was too late.

So, if she really was as distracted as Amika said, I wouldn't bother her, but it did make me even more curious to know what she meant.

The witch hat structure was even more massive than I'd realized, and it was entirely made of a single aluminum sheet painted black, with no lines and no screws and no nothing on the shiny surface—like it was fabric. Every inch of it was smooth and the paint fresh, not a single speck of dust anywhere on it. Flowers, big and bright and colorful, surrounded the edges of it, and the grass was freshly cut, so perfectly it looked like a carpet.

The houses of the witches were bigger than they'd seemed from the mirror room as well. So immaculately clean. Everything was in its place—the stone blocks that marked the pathways and the lamps and torches every few feet, and that heavenly smell coming from the open doors of a bakery on the other side of the witch hat. My mouth watered and I realize I hadn't eaten a thing since Valentine brought me back to the Whispering Woods.

Luckily, I didn't need to think about food for long.

Young witches, most teenagers, were suddenly in front of me, their witch hats small compared to those of the women who were accompanying me. Their eyes were wide and sparkling with excitement and curiosity as they looked at me, analyzed me openly, but not in a bad way. They were just so terribly curious that I almost smiled.

"Step aside, girls. Now's not the time," said Amika, but the girls only had eyes for me, all seven of them.

"Is it true?" the one with the dark hair said, clutching a notebook to her chest with both hands.

"Are you really Fall Hayes?" said her friend.

"I—yes, I—" I tried to say, but they wouldn't let me speak.

"Is it true that Syra is awake?" asked another.

"Ye—"

"What's she like?" said the first one again. "They say you saw her—what's she like?"

A heartbeat, and all of them looked at me expectantly. It didn't seem like they planned to interrupt me again, so I said, "She is…hurt." That's the first word that came to my mind at the thought of Syra. "She's delusional. Very powerful." So powerful she'd killed Sedelis within seconds. "She's beautiful."

The girls held their breath for a long moment after, until… "She's real," said the one with the dark hair, her knuckles white from how tightly she was holding that notebook.

"She is." So real her face was permanently imprinted on the back of my lids.

"That's enough, girls. Please, carry on," Amika said, waving them away as she grabbed my arm gently and led me forward.

The girls moved to the side this time, but their eyes had turned dull, like they had finally believed that the stories were true. No more curiosity burned in them—they just looked afraid now. They looked disappointed.

I felt sorry for them. For all of them—every Enchanted who lived in the Seven Isles.

"I'm sorry about that—they're just curious," Amika said.

"Don't be. It's absolutely fine." I just wished I'd had something better to tell those girls, something to ignite their hope, not ruin it the way I had.

Maybe I should have lied…

What would have been the point, though?

Amika led me around the witch hat and to the other side, through a low wooden gate and up stairs made of uneven rocks. They led to a sort of a cliff surrounded by grass and flowers, with a single one-story house at the very top, looking out at the ocean on one side, and at the town on the other.

It was breathtaking—the low fence surrounding the house painted black, and the white rabbits with red eyes jumping and flying over it, the black rooftop that looked like a witch hat, too, and the three rocking chairs on the raised porch in front of the round door.

On one of them sat Reeva Lorein all by herself, wearing a black dress, no witch hat on. She held a glass of lemonade in her hand as she slowly rocked back and forth and looked out at the ocean, vast and uninterrupted.

My God, she looked bad. She looked sick. Her hair was a frizzy mess and her eyes a bit bloodshot and the bags under them purple like she hadn't slept in days.

"Go ahead. She'll speak to you when she sees you, I'm sure," Amika said, and for some reason she was whispering.

For some reason, her whisper panicked me a little bit.

"Is she not feeling well? Because I can come back another time," I said—whispering, too. And though we were only ten feet away from where Reeva sat, she still hadn't even turned her head toward us.

"No, no—she's only distracted. A little company might do her well. Please, continue," Amika said, shaking her head, trying her best to smile genuinely at me, but she failed.

I went ahead anyway. "Thank you, Amika."

With my head up, I reminded myself who Reeva was. We were practically friends, even if we only saw each other once. She wasn't going to freak out because I came to see her unannounced.

Even so, when I stepped on the wooden porch, I slammed my feet against it on purpose, just in case she didn't hear me still.

She did.

Her head turned and our eyes locked, and I could have sworn I was looking at a completely different person from the woman she had been at that party. Where her eyes had been a light amber, now they were dark, a mousy brown, not a spark in them. Even her cheeks were hollow.

Reeva looked completely spent.

"You came," she said, then turned her head toward the ocean again.

For a moment I stayed there, frozen in place, waiting for her to say something else—to either invite me to sit with her, or to tell me to get lost.

She did neither.

"I did. How are you, Reeva?" I said and forced myself to move closer.

"How do I look to you?" she said, not a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Not very well," I admitted, attempting a smile. "May I?"

"Yes, sure. Help yourself," she said, waving a hand to the rocking chair at her side, so I sat down, hoping we'd both feel more comfortable that way. Amika and the others were gone, and I could barely see the rooftops of the other houses in town from here, but the view of the sky and the ocean was indeed breathtaking.

"Wow," I whispered, taking it all in with a new eye as my chair rocked slightly on its own.

"Quite a view, huh," Reeva said, taking a small sip of her lemonade.

"It really is beautiful here." More so than in Faeries' Aerie.

"Which is a shame, don't you think?" When she turned to look at me, she noticed the necklace around my neck right away. "You kept it."

"I did," I said, taking it off. Such a beautiful piece of gold, and that crystal inside it trapped between the vines. "This helped me a great deal, Reeva. Thank you." I put it on the small table between us. "And this. Forgot to return it at the party."

The napkin that fixed your makeup for you had remained with me that night, though I'd meant to give it back. But I'd been too distraught by Mama Si to remember.

"Keep it. Keep them both. I have no need for them anymore, and neither will you," she said with a wave of her hand, her voice bitter.

My stomach twisted instantly. Just the way she said those words. They didn't set well with me at all.

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

"Exactly what I said," she whispered, turning toward me with her whole body, eyes locked on mine. "Why are you here, young one? Why have you come to me?"

"I think you know," I said reluctantly. "I think you know I've come to ask for your help."

The words weighed so heavy on my chest. The beautiful view around me, the ocean and the sky and the pleasant rocking of the chair were already forgotten.

"Help," Reeva repeated, sipping her lemonade.

"To get Grey back from the Eighth Isle." And I knew what she'd read from my words— impossible. I had no doubt in my mind about it, but I liked to think that she also knew that I had to come here and ask.

A deep sigh left her dry lips. "That cannot be done, young one," she said, and despite having told myself that I had no hope at all, my heart still fell all the way to my heels. "And even if it could, it wouldn't matter."

I shook my head, sinking my nails into my palms once more. "Of course, it matters," I choked. "He's being kept there against his will. He's?—"

"With Syra ," she cut me off. "The same siren who's done this to our lands." And she waved her lemonade ahead at the ocean.

"She's not invincible," I said through gritted teeth, the anger making the blood in my veins rush.

"But very, very close," said Reeva. "Let it go, Autumn. It's not worth it."

I laughed. "It is to me—she has Grey." Had she no idea what he meant to me?

But, of course, she didn't—nobody did. They were all content to let Syra force Grey to stay with her so long as they were safe. So long as the evil siren didn't come for their heads or take away someone they loved.

I stood up. "I knew you were going to say this, Reeva, and it's fine. I still had to try," I said, offering her a smile. Not because I liked this, but because I couldn't blame her for not choosing certain death to help me, a nobody. A stranger she was once kind to.

"But that's just it—it's useless . It doesn't matter whether you try or don't, young one. It's all over anyway," she said, so matter-of-factly it took me by surprise.

I stopped in front of her. "What do you mean, it's all over? What's over?"

She was laughing now, shoulders shaking and eyes mad as they glistened with unshed tears. "Everything."

The word echoed in my head a million times before it settled and began to make sense.

That bad feeling in my gut intensified as if by a press of a button. "I don't…I don't understand."

What the hell is going on?!

But then Reeva put her glass down on the table and stood up. She was shorter than me only by a couple of inches, and barefoot, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Follow me, Autumn Hayes. I'll show you, but…" She raised her finger and waved it at my face. "You're going to wish you didn't know. Don't say I didn't warn ya!"

Laughing that awful sound again, Reeva jumped off the porch and onto the grass, suddenly full of energy, and she waved for me to follow.