Chapter 18 Ethan
Ethan
The last time the Witches and Warlocks Council called an emergency meeting, my entire world tilted on its axis. Now, as I stand beside Dad in the heavily warded council building tucked away beyond the residents’ area, the same sense of foreboding crawls up my spine.
The air crackles with tension as Dean takes his place at the head of the gathering. Most of Magnolia Cove’s magical adult residents are here, their worried whispers filling the concave room like agitated bees. I scan the crowd, noting the concerned faces of people I’ve known for years.
“Rihanna Wilder,” Dean’s voice cuts through the murmurs. “Step forward, please.”
Rihanna, her usual cheery demeanor subdued, moves to the center of the room. “Alexandra Sinclair has been asking questions about Magnolia Cove’s history,” she reports, her voice tight. “She’s been digging into areas we… haven’t made accessible.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of Alex’s name. I think of her curious eyes, the determined set of her jaw when she’s onto something. Of course, she’s been digging. It’s who she is.
“She seems really nice, though,” Rihanna adds, glancing at Zoe, who stands beside me.
Zoe is glaring, her lips pinched—not at Rihanna, but at the situation.
They’re close, always in sync, but right now, Zoe is standing firm.
She’s on my side, and she doesn’t like that Rihanna is pushing this up the chain.
I want to thank her for protecting Alex for my sake.
I want to apologize for dragging her into my trouble.
But I already know she’d roll her eyes at that.
Nods and concerned mutters ripple through the crowd. Marcus speaks up next. “She’s been nosing around the bookstore too, looking for old records.”
“And she’s peppered my customers with questions,” Hazel chimes in, her usually warm, Southern drawl tinged with worry.
Zoe steps closer to me, and Mia moves in right behind her. “She’s just curious about Ethan,” Zoe says. “He should have a right to share his own truth with her. I don’t think she wants to harm anyone here. She’s a food writer, not a detective.”
Warmth spreads through my chest, a feeling I almost didn’t think I’d ever experience again.
When the Council first sentenced me to ten years in Magnolia Cove, it felt like a life sentence.
Most residents come and go as they please, free to live as they want.
But not me. I was placed here under Dean Markham’s watch—one last shot to prove I could keep my magic under control.
It was a gilded cage wrapped in charm, but a cage all the same.
At first, I was heartbroken, resigned. I trudged to the island, given a taste of normal life but never allowed the freedom to truly live it.
But time has changed things. I’ve made friends, like Zoe—people who have my back when the pressure rises, when it feels like the ground beneath me is about to collapse.
Dad stands by my side now, arms crossed, his familiar presence solid and unyielding.
He’s been here before—standing tall before the council, chin raised, daring them to challenge his son.
It didn’t matter if I was in the wrong. I was his son, and nothing could change that.
His steady support comforts me now, just like it did back then.
“I like the girl,” Grammie Rae says, leaning casually against a marble half-wall like it’s a vegetable stand, her voice soft but certain. “The magic likes her.”
Councilwoman Frome’s frown deepens from her seat. “She is not magic-born and doesn’t belong here. Every additional day she remains on our island, she threatens to harm us.”
Their fear of exposure has always been there, simmering just beneath the surface.
It’s why we live behind wards, why magical communities like this exist—to stay hidden, to be free without the outside world knowing what we are.
Because when humans discover magic, it never ends well.
It always leaks. And when it does, it’s witches and warlocks left to pick up the pieces—erasing memories, fixing the damage, deleting any trace before it spreads too far.
Magic stirs in me, my claws itching to appear.
I take a deep breath, willing myself to stay in control.
I’ve gotten so much better at managing my abilities; I’ve even spent a night with Alex around the full moon without incident.
The memory of her sends a pang into my heart.
She’d begged off my offer for a nighttime walk on the beach last night, claiming work, but now I wonder if there was more to it.
Dean’s voice pulls me back to the present. “I agree. Alexandra Sinclair poses a grave danger to our community,” he declares, his eyes sweeping over everyone. “Our safety must be the paramount concern. If absolutely necessary, we can wipe her memory of everything related to Magnolia Cove and—”
“No.” The word tears from my throat, rough and primal. My body fights against giving in to my magic, every muscle taut with the effort of resisting. “You can’t steal her memories.”
I want her to keep the memories of me, yes, but more than that, memory magic isn’t a perfect science. People have ended up damaged from the effects before. I won’t allow Alex to face that risk.
Dean’s gaze locks onto me, hard as flint. “We need to be certain she leaves soon, without dangerous information, and with no intention of returning or turning her pen in our direction.”
This is my responsibility. She walked into this town because of me. That means it’s on me to make sure she walks out of it—whole.
I square my shoulders. “I can make sure that happens.”
My heart breaks as the words leave me. Jas’ mom gives me a sympathetic look, and it makes me feel ashamed.
Ashamed that she still sees good in me, sees me as her son’s mentor rather than the man that’s put him in danger.
Sees my heartache as something worth sympathizing with rather than the monster others in the room are glaring at.
“See that you do.” Dean’s voice is crisp. “Or we will handle it ourselves. And you, Ethan, will be relocated to a more… secure community.”
Dad takes a step forward, but I grab his arm to stop whatever he’s about to say or do.
The threat hangs in the air, heavy and suffocating. My mind races. I stand to lose everything—my friendships, my father, the Whisk, Zoe, any connections to the outside world. And Alex. I’m going to lose her, but maybe, just maybe, I can do it in a way that keeps her from getting hurt.
As the meeting disperses, and we walk back out toward the dark sea, Dad claps my shoulder.
He says nothing, but I know what goes unspoken.
He’s at my side no matter what. I clench his fingers and turn down the path.
Zoe catches up, Mia with her, and hisses in a whisper at my side. “They can’t do this.”
“They can and they will, Zo.”
“No, we’re residents here too. We have a right. We have—”
“No right to hurt others for the sake of me following my heart.” I stop walking and look down at Zoe and Mia, the happiest couple I know. The people who have what I’ve always wanted but will never get to have. “I’ve done it before, and I won’t do it again.”
“But you love her, Ethan,” Zoe whispers.
She’s so serious that, in another context, it would almost be comical. But instead, it only makes my chest ache more, especially as it’s emphasized by Mia’s sad, wide eyes glistening with tears.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say finally. The salty, sweet scent of Magnolia Cove fills my lungs.
It’s the scent of home, of the place I’ve come to know and love.
Now it’s tinged with bitterness and loss, but I can’t selfishly harm everyone for my desires.
I can’t allow Alex to get caught up in my troubles, harm her as I’ve done to another in the past. She’s too good for Ethan Hart, was from the moment she stepped her designer shoes on this island.
If I tell her the truth about me and she doesn’t accept it, they’d have to wipe her memories. I can’t risk her harm for my sake.
“What will you do, Ethan?” Mia asks.
I take another deep breath, then let it rush out on the wind. “You heard what Dean said. We need Alex to leave and never want to come back. I’m going to have to break her heart.”
Zoe fists her hands and parts her lips, but I shake my head. We all know it’s what needs to happen. She grimaces. “What about the Whisk? She might write an article destroying it.”
I’ve had worse dreams die than my renown in the food world. For the longest time, it seemed like my greatest desire, but now everything has changed. I’d give up the Whisk to have Alex. But that’s impossible.
“It’s not like we’ll lose customers over it,” I say sadly, turning away from my friends.
A scathing review won’t hurt business—if anything, it might drive more people to visit. The only one it would hurt is me.
There’s a whispered argument behind me. From what I can catch of their words, Zoe wants to follow me, but Mia says I need space.
That’s probably what I need—to get away from the town proper, where I can give in to my magic fully.
To get away from the place I’ve poured my heart and dreams into, where I’ve found purpose and joy, only for it to destroy me in the end, regardless.
I clench my jaw and set myself to my task.
Tomorrow, I’ll have to shatter dreams I just realized I had.