But they also fought for those lives harder.
Life and death, good and evil. The forces on this island felt stronger, more concentrated than anything I’d experienced in New York. While it seemed irresponsible, a part of me greatly appreciated the intensity of it all. It made me feel alive.
I’d felt more needed and wanted and accepted in my short time here than I’d ever felt before. It didn’t make sense on the outside, but it made sense on the inside.
“You have family here, darling,” Hettie said. “Whether it’s blood relations or not, it doesn’t matter. We need you as much as you need us. I know it might feel like Silas has only found you and relocated you here to help with a curse, but that man will lay his life down for those who are dear to him.”
“Yes, but—”
“You matter to him,” Hettie insisted. “Greatly. You may not understand how or why, but things will become clear in time. Give him a chance, and you’ll grow to seehow much he cares for you. Not to mention, he’s sort of a stubborn bastard, so he might be slow to show it. Don’t discount him if he’s resistant to opening up and trusting. He’s been through a lot.”
“You didn’t tell mewhatI am.”
“I don’t know what you are.” Hettie’s eyes sparkled in the moonlight, full of intelligence and strength. “I have my suspicions, but I am not going to get my own hopes up. Because if you’re not...”
I licked my lips. “Please, Hettie.”
“Here we are,” she said, bursting free from The Twist.
All of a sudden, I could see starlight again. Endless blue water. White sand shores. Perched on the beach not ten paces ahead sat an adorable bungalow with pink and purple shutters, a little lopsided, warmly inviting. The lights glowed, despite the late hour.
“She’ll be in there, waiting up for you,” Hettie said. “Lily has a sense about these things. Plus, she’s working a little overtime right now to prepare.”
“To prepare for the curse?” I asked.
“Among other things,” Hettie said cryptically.
The old woman reached for my hand and grasped it with more force than I could’ve imagined considering her age. In that moment, I had my doubts that I’d had the upper hand in The Twist at all. I tended to think maybe Hettie was right all along, and she was the one who had let me live, not the other way around.
“You will be loved here by many,” Hettie whispered, the words feeling heavy against my ears, like she was plunking them out on a keyboard one at a time. “You may be our salvation.”
Hettie was long gone by the time I realized I’d never told her my name.
“Hey, Doc!” Lily’s cheery voice rang down from the front porch of the cottage. “I’m glad you stopped by. I was up late working on a few things. Come on in, it’s no imposition, I swear. I’d love the company. My husband is out on patrol tonight, so I’m alone for a few more hours.”
“I’m sorry to swing by so late,” I said. “I wasn’t planning on interrupting you. I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk and ended up here.”
“Right where you’re supposed to be.”
Lily brushed into the bungalow and presumably resumed right where she’d left off. She bent to study a vial that was hovering in mid-air over an emerald flame. She eyed it, added a splash from a vial that made it spark, then brushed her hands on an apron around her waist. She straightened and looked my way.
I took a beat to study my surroundings, and what magical surroundings they were. The bungalow was a warm, inviting space—richly furnished with an overstuffed couch before a fireplace and a worn mahogany table with a set of mismatched chairs.
Behind her was the truly eye-catching masterpiece.
Shelves and shelves laden with vials. Short vials, tall vials, wide vials, skinny vials. Filled with powders and mist and crawly things and dead things. The rows and shelves felt like they went on forever, stuffed with everything one could dream of, and a whole lot more.
“This is my storeroom.” Lily waved a hand. “I have an assistant, Gus, who helps take care of this place but he’s off with Mimsey now—Poppy’s mother. They’re a thing.”
“Oh.”
“I know, the family trees here are overwhelming,” she said. “Don’t worry. Pretty soon this will all be second nature to you too. I literally stood in your shoes—or your lack of shoes—not all that long ago. Before you know it, you’ll barely remember what life was like before The Isle.”
“So they say.” I sounded mystified to my own ears. “I met your grandmother tonight.”
“Hettie.” The word sounded like a loving eye roll and a tight embrace all at once. “She’s something.”
“Something, all right,” I said. “I’m pretty sure she could’ve killed me.”
