“Sure.”
I shook my head. None of this was making any sense. “I’m telling you that I don’t want to go back. I’ve already made that choice. If you want me to make an announcement that you didn’t kidnap me, I’m happy to put up a bulletin. Do a public speech. Send carrier pigeons.”
A shadow of a smile curved Silas’s lips. “It’s not that simple.”
“How is it not simple?” I asked. “If I ever decide I’ve had enough of this enchanted island business, you just do that little time-and-space-yank thing that defies all laws of gravity and physics and science and—”
“Magic.”
“Magic,” I confirmed. “Yes, you do magic. Plop me right back in Manhattan.”
Silas gave a hesitant shake of his head. “I don’t think it’s going to play out that way for you.”
My heart thumped. “You think I’m going to die.”
“No,no.” Fear arced through Silas’s eyes. “That’s not what I meant. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive. Chances are if you die, I’ll be dead too.”
“How very Romeo of you.”
A soft snort from him. “It’s my belief that if we break this curse, you will find yourself tied here forever. In a tangle of bindings that will be impossible to shed.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You need to go back to New York and your old life one final time. If you choose to live your life with Simon—” Silas visibly recoiled. “Or even just live out your life as a mortal, it’s not too late. We can wipe this from your memory, and you can go on. You can practice as a doctor, have your children, live in your house.”
A few days ago, this very thought sounded quite pleasant to me. Not thrilling, but expected and welcome. Now, it gave me hives.
“You’d wipe my mind?”
“Not all of it,” Silas said. “Just anything with magic.”
“Including you?”
“Yes.” He didn’t look into my eyes.
“No,” I whispered. It was all I could manage.
“We need to go back regardless,” Silas finally said. “We need to get medication for Eloise. While we’re back, you will be placed into your former life. I’ve already spoken to MAGIC, Inc. about it. If at the end of twelve hours you choose to stay, they will perform a painlessmemory wipe, and you will be transported back to your wedding day. You will have the chance to do it all over, to resume where you left off without ever knowing this place existed.” He paused. “And me.”
I was already shaking my head. It wasn’t what I wanted, and he had to know that.
“It’s incredibly complex magic to turn back time, which is why I needed approval first,” Silas said. “They’re only allowing it because I’m cashing in a big favor.”
“What if I choose not to stay?”
“If you choose to return to The Isle, you will forfeit any chance of returning to normal human life. No turning back time, no do-overs with Simon, no magically reappearing into your old life some six months later when you get bored here.”
“I don’t think I could get bored here.”
“If you return to us, it could be dangerous and deadly. We will work to break the curse, and I will stop at nothing until that is done—with you by my side, if you agree willingly.”
I bit down on my lower lip. “Til death do us part?”
“Something like that,” Silas said gruffly.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.
He ran a hand over his forehead. “I brought you here the first time because I saw you as a tool to break the curse. I wasn’t considering...you. The actual person behind the power. I was wrong to do that,and I’m sorry.”
