“I’m glad there’s one universal truth between our two worlds.” I stood and took a fortifying sip of coffee before following Millie. “Where are we going?”
“I’d like to introduce you to The Isle.” Millie smiled at me, a faintly nostalgic smile, a hopeful smile, a sad smile. A smile packed with a lot of emotion.
As I watched, Millie reached for me, then muttered something under her breath. As she touched her fingertips to the cup in my hands, it transformed in front of my eyes from a dainty little teacup into a travel mug, complete with a lid and sturdy handle. The glimmer of magic left my fingers tingling.
“I’m starting to have a really hard time denying the possibility of enchantments and curses.” Mystified, I took a sip from my cup. Same coffee, different cup.
“It’s service magic,” Millie said again hurriedly, as if I might tattle to her to some unknown higher power. “Please don’t say anything.”
“Millie,” I told her bluntly, “I’m not a snitch. You can do as much magic as you want. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Millie considered this for a moment, then gave me a pleasant, grateful smile. “You make for a good friend, Ms. Alessia.”
“Friends don’t call each other ‘Ms.’,” I pointed out.
“How about Doctor?” she asked. “Maybe just Doc?”
“Alessia is fine.”
“Okay, Doc.” Millie seemed unable to drop some version of a formal name. “Have you considered how easy it would be if you just accepted it?”
“That magic is real?”
“Yes. Try it on, like a new pair of shoes. If it works out for you, that’s just lovely.”
“And if not?” I asked. “Return to sender? Just ship me back to New York?”
“I’m pretty sure these shoes will fit,” Millie said. “It’s kind of a one-size fits all situation.”
I gave a snort of disbelief, but she had a point. I was already here. I hadn’t technically been kidnapped, even if it’d felt like I’d been mildly coerced. Though I did wonder what would happen if I asked to go home. Would Silas keep me here against my will, or would he allow me to return to my old life?
“Silas isn’t a bad man,” Millie said, watching my face.
“Would he let me return to Manhattan if I wanted?”
Millie licked her lips, and when she spoke, it was a whisper. “I don’t know the answer to that.”
“But—”
“It’s complicated,” she said, her words clipped and acutely defensive of Silas. “Give him a chance.”
“He believes I’m someone...” I tripped over the word. “Special.”
I fumbled my fingers over the thick cardstock in my pocket. I’d found a perfectly fitted, easy white summer dress—with luxurious pockets—that I’d paired with sandals. I hadn’t been a dress person before; I’d been more of a scrubs or New-York-Business-Black sort of person.
Here, it felt wrong to wear a Wall Street power suit on a sugar-sand beach. When I’d gotten dressed, I’d broughtthe card with me. Slipped it into that pocket like a little reminder that I wasn’t daydreaming.
“Welcome to your new home.” Millie blatantly ignored my statement. “You’re on The Isle. A magnificent little magical oasis tucked in the waters of Lake Superior.”
“Lake Superior?” I blinked. “You’re kidding me. It feels like we’re in the tropics. And why does the air smell salty, like ocean water?”
“Centuries ago, this island was warded with powerful enchantments. The wards keep The Isle safe.”
“From humans?”
“From everyone,” Millie said. “It does keep our location off mortal maps, to be sure. The wards are secured to a set of salt crystals around the perimeter of the island, anchored deep in the waters of the lake.”
“Salt crystals—that’s what gives off the salt air smell, even though there’s no ocean around?”
