Chapter 2 #3
Silas led me down Main Street, pointing out different shops as we went. Each one was fascinating, so fascinating I needed to be dragged on to the next, and the next, and the next. A tea shop that boasted magical teas. A spellbook shop. A market, a library, a café.
“Silas! You don’t have a wish yet.” Poppy, the blood-intolerant vampire who was a cousin of Lily’s, greeted us with a big, bubbly smile. She shoved a vial into his hands, then turned to me. “Have you seen Lily around?”
I pointed Poppy in the direction in which Lily had disappeared, and Silas and I kept walking.
Chuck saluted me from where he was still camped out in front of the food stand.
Irina stopped in front of me, dressed in a light blue gown that perfectly matched the overalls on her tiny new baby, Henry.
The baby I’d helped deliver on one of my first days here.
“You look beautiful, Alessia,” Irina said. “Are you enjoying the night?”
“So far.” I reached out, tickled Henry’s toes. “How’s this little one?”
“Growing like a weed. Sleeping like a”—Irina winced—“newborn.”
“I’m happy to come watch him for a few hours during the day so you can get a nap,” I said. “I had a lot of training in pediatrics back in New—back on the mainland.”
“That would be amazing,” Irina said. “But I’m sure you’re busy, so I can’t take time away from you right now to hold a fussy baby.”
“Ah, there’s nothing better than newborn snuggles. It’s the best medicine.”
“In that case, tomorrow at ten?” Irina gave me a teasing wink. “Enjoy the night, you two.”
“See?” Silas said as we continued on. “You know people. Everyone who gives you a chance loves you. You help people.”
“It is nice to be liked,” I admitted. “It’s much better than being hated.”
Silas gave a laugh. “It’s hard not to like you. The people who don’t just haven’t given you a chance. Come on, it’s almost time for the wish ceremony.”
Dusk was well and truly underway by this point.
Stars were peeking out above us, and the moon cast a beautiful bright glow down on the village.
Throngs of people started to gather at the edge of the river.
Side by side, the islanders took up a good length of the riverbank stretching between the Lower Bridge and the formerly-standing Upper Bridge.
The wish vials each began to glow. They gave off glimmering light that radiated outward, making the surface of the water sparkle like it was alive. Each person had a different-colored vial, like maybe the vial reflected the individual’s wish.
As the islanders stood side by side on the edge of the rocky bank, a tall, willowy woman who I recognized to be Elle—the closest thing to a Fae descendent on this island, until me—stepped to the edge of the water. Her hair caught the moonlight as she raised her hands.
“Tonight, we gather to release our darkness and welcome light,” Elle announced, her voice ringing clear across the water. “Tonight, we honor hope. You may now make your wish, and then release it.”
As my mind flicked through wish after wish, I glanced down the line of people standing beside me, and I watched their faces.
I saw a mix of hope, uncertainty, and sorrow.
An eclectic mix of individuals, all different species and backgrounds and beliefs, coming together to wish for a better future—individually and collectively. Anticipation trembled between us.
I still hadn’t decided on my wish. The weight of choosing something worthy felt enormous. What does a newly discovered Fae Queen wish for when her entire world has changed in the blink of an eye?
Silas leaned close, his breath warm against my ear. “You good?”
“Not yet,” I said. “But I’ll figure it out.”
As if on cue, a hush fell over the crowd.
At some unseen signal, the islanders began kneeling before the water.
As each person made their wish, they uncorked their vial and poured the magic inside the vial into the island’s central river.
Magic snaked into the water, slithering through the darkness like enchanted creatures.
The entire river sparked as if it had been set alight with fireworks. As I made my own wish, I knelt, releasing mine, seeing a stream of pale, sunny yellow rushing from my vial. It sparkled as it burst into the water, joining the hundreds of other wishes being set free tonight.
I felt Silas’s hand on my lower back as I straightened.
His wish was a royal blue. I didn’t ask what he wished for, and he didn’t ask my wish either.
As the islanders stood and watched the glowing, flowing river, there was a lightness in my chest. As I glanced up and down the riverbank, I saw the same lightness reflected on other faces too.
“It’s a really beautiful ceremony.” I rested my head on Silas’s shoulder. “So much hope.”
“It is a fantastic sight.”
“Everyone coming together like this,” I said. “Not just the wishes themselves, which are definitely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” I looked up, staring into my mate’s eyes as fireworks and moonlight filled his gaze. “This island is something special.”
“Yeah,” Silas whispered. “Yeah, it really is.”
We stood there for a long moment. I wondered if I’d ever truly feel a part of this. Like I’d earned my place here, beside everyone else who made this unique culture what it was.
“You already belong,” Silas murmured. “The rest will come.”
The ceremony concluded with soft music filling the air. People began to disperse, some heading toward the food stalls giving off heavenly smells of fried dough, others heading for refills on the honeyed mead that was so fizzily intoxicating.
“Hungry?” Silas asked. “Or if you’ve had enough for the night, I can take you home.”
But I stood there, frozen against Silas’s side, feeling a prickling sensation down my back. It wasn’t anything downright terrifying, just an annoyance, like I’d put on an itchy sweater that just didn’t fit right.
I moved restlessly against Silas. “I just need a minute.”
“Everything okay?” Silas straightened, glancing warily at the crowds. “Did you see something?”
“No, it’s just this feeling...” My body gave an involuntary shiver. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
But Silas didn’t seem to think it was nothing. His back had gone ramrod straight. His expression had gone stony, blocking the lingering moonlight out of his dark eyes. Those golden flecks were gone now, and all that was left was a swirling darkness as he scanned the crowds.
“It’s not someone,” I managed. “Nobody’s done anything wrong.”
“Can you describe—”
I didn’t need to describe. Silas’s gaze flicked across the riverbank. We saw it at the same time. Red eyes. Body of a beast. Hidden in shadow.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Impossible. It looks like a crimson lycanthrope,” Silas said. “But they were banished from The Isle forever ago, due to their tendency to serve dark magic.”
“How did it get here?” I asked. “Is it because the wards are down?”
“We’ll figure that out later,” Silas said gruffly. “For now, I need to take care of it—whatever it is.”
“I’ll help you.”
But Silas had already caught the eye of someone behind me. “Millie. Get Alessia out of here. Take her home, invoke the protections I told you about earlier.”
Millie’s eyes widened, but she didn’t argue. She reached for my arm, but I slipped out of her grasp.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I argued. “I’m staying here to help.”
“We can’t risk your safety,” Silas said. “Crimson lycanthrope are unpredictable and dangerous.”
“Yeah,” I said dryly. “So are curses and Furies, and look how that turned out.”
At this point, the lycanthrope howled, drawing attention from a few islanders still on the riverbank. Not everyone heard the noise, as there was so much music and commotion, and lots of honeyed mead flowing. But those who saw it stumbled back. Pointed. Panicked.
Ranger X and Lily were at our sides minutes later.
“That’s not what I think it is,” Ranger X muttered. “Is it? A crimson lycanthrope?”
Silas gave a nod. “That’s what I thought.”
“The Rangers aren’t trained for lycanthrope,” X said warily. “These creatures have been banished for so long, and the wards have been so good at keeping them out, it’s not part of our routine. It’s a death sentence to send my Rangers in there.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Silas said. “You stay here, get your Rangers to do crowd control. Keep people away from the riverbank.”
The beast crept forward, red eyes glowing like hot coals. The beast was giant but moved with great agility. I had a feeling it was fast and powerful, and probably very accurate with those bone-white teeth sticking out of its mouth.
“I’m coming with you,” I told Silas. “Don’t argue.”
Silas looked at me, very ready to argue, but then he did a double take. He stared at me. I couldn’t figure out why until I realized that Lily and Ranger X and Millie were all staring at me too.
When I finally looked down, I realized my body was glowing. Like a halo of silver light around my form, particularly concentrated around my hands. My magic was leaking out of me again.
Silas’s gaze flicked to Ranger X. “Best if she comes with me.”
We split off without further discussion. Silas and I hurried to the Lower Bridge. I tailed closely behind him, the fabric of my red dress cinched in one hand as I kicked off my shoes and ran barefoot to keep up with him.
We crept up the riverbank, keeping the beast within our sights.
Across the water, Ranger X and his team were quietly ordering everyone back from the riverbank.
I could see Lily uncapping the vials she’d been carrying, muttering enchantments as she set up protective spells around the crowds of festival goers.
“Have you ever fought a lycanthrope before?” I asked. “Do you know their weaknesses?”
“Yes,” Silas said curtly.