I took a deep breath and focused on the difference between the two opposing sides. My bare feet could feel the subtle vibrations coursing beneath the green, vibrant grass. Across the barrier, on the scorched earth, I could feel the remnants of something similar through my fingertips. But the thrum of life was so thoroughly diminished it was no wonder the islanders hadthought these lands permanently dead. Theywereon death’s doorstep. But they weren’t gone yet.
I focused harder. I focused on bridging the gap between the two lands. I basked in the vibrations of magic, willing my body to tug the bits of life up the damaged earth. I funneled those bits of healthy magic through my very own body, then funneled it back out of me into the dead lands. The skin of my forearms tingled as I felt the magic coursing through me into the earth.
I was under no illusion that this wasmymagic at work. It wasn’t my magic at all; I was merely the conduit for the magic of The Isle. I was replenishing the land with its own life force—the magic that kept this place running, the magic that fueled the wards, the magic that made this entire island different than anywhere else on earth.
I held on for as long as I physically could. When my arms felt like they were about to rattle out of their sockets, I sat back on my heels, then collapsed to a seated position. As my eyes flew open, I saw it—the small radius of land that had been a sooty black, now bursting in a shade of emerald green.
I’d done it.I had healed a tiny plot of land. A small section, a square foot or two at most. Doing this on a larger scale for all the charred land on The Isle wouldn’t be possible, but this was something—a start.
“I knew you could do it.” The little girl’s voice startled me.
I turned to find Liza perched about twenty feet high in a banana tree that did not seem to grow bananas, but instead these huge flowers the size of umbrellas in a shade of blue that matched the sky.
Liza swung down a few branches, then nimbly leapt to the ground. “I heard you coming from a mile away. I knew you’d be back. I knew you could do it.”
“It’s not much.”
“What do you mean? It’s everything! Now that you’ve done it once, you can prove to all the naysayers that you have Fae Queen magic.” Liza’s eyes looked up at me. “Icertainly can’t do anything of the sort; I’ve tried. It’s Fae magic. You’ve set the wards, so you can help heal the injured parts of our land.”
“I’m going to do my best, but Liza, I’ll be honest—I don’t know how to do it on a larger scale. This”—I gestured to the tiniest patch of green—“I’m thrilled, but it’s not enough. It took a lot out of me. There’s no way I can do it for acres and acres.”
“Not yet, but someday soon. Once you get ahold of your powers. Fae powers are really cool,” Liza said. “Like, the best you can have. Don’t underestimate yourself.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence. Not a lot of people on this island believe in me. There are some, but certainly not everyone.”
“You don’t need anyone else to believe in you.” Liza shrugged, like it really was that simple. “Just believe in yourself, and you’ll prove everyone else wrong. Then they’ll have to believe in you, and they’ll all feel like idiots.”
Isn’t that almost exactly what Atlas told me yesterday, in slightly different terms?
The perspective came from two completely different people—Olympus’s golden boy and a scrappy little Forest Dweller, but the universal truth between them was similar.
It was hard not to care what others thought, especially after I’d spent my life trying to please other people. My parents, my friends, my advisors. The hospital staff. High society. It was turning out to be more difficult than I’d ever imagined to unlearn those people-pleasing tendencies.
I reached out, gave the little girl a squeeze to my chest. “You are too smart for your own good. But thank you. This means a lot to me.”
“Of course. You’re my queen. I’d do anything for you, just like any other loyal member of your court.”
As I released Liza from my hug, my eyes smarted with tears. I didn’t care about the title or the castle. I didn’t care about status or fame.
Ididcare about the people on this island. I cared that this brilliant, lovely little girl had so wholeheartedly put her trust in me. It was such a relief to feel wanted here, like I’d finally been given water to drink after spending days in the desert.
Then Liza bowed and disappeared from sight. Before I could thank her again, or even call after her, she was gone. I glanced down, feeling a bubble of pride in my chest at the minuscule patch of greenery on the ground.
I could do it. However long it took, I’d learn to use my magic. I’d heal this island.
My next stop was Lily’s bungalow on the West side of The Isle. Both a home and the Mixologist’s storeroom, the bungalow was exactly what it sounded like: a beachfront paradise with pink shutters and a creaky front porch, a hammock out front drifting lazily in the breeze.
Sand the color of sugar lined the beach just steps in front of Lily’s home. It led to aquamarine waters only a stone’s throw from her front door. It was still fairly early in the morning, but I could already see Gus working in the small shop connected to the bungalow, slinging coffee drinks for a few guests.
I knocked on the front door, entering upon Lily’s call, “It’s open!”
Lily’s back was to me as I entered the storeroom. She was obviously mid-organization of several vials, balancing a fewdelicately on one arm while she shifted others around on the precariously tall shelf in front of her. I never ceased to marvel at how Lily could find anything in here, but it seemed like she had things sorted in a way that made sense to only her and Gus.
The bottles and vials glistened like a cave of precious gems. All shades of royal blue and blood red, emerald green and crystal clear. Tall, short, wide, narrow. There were several locked cases with warning labels on the front not to touch. I wasn’t sure I wanted to even imagine the terrors locked inside those containers.
“Oh, hey!” Lily craned a look over her shoulder, then lowered onto her feet as she blew dust off a pretty purple vial. “What brings you to this side of the island?”
Atap-tap-tapdrew attention from Lily. The insistent sound was coming from the opposite end of the table where I hadn’t noticed Chuck was sitting, apparently waiting for service from the Mixologist.
