“Of course.”
“You can come tonight if you want,” Chuck said. “We allow visitors.”
I glanced at Lily. She gave me a subtle shake of her head, a quiet warning.
Despite Lily’s suggestion to turn Chuck down, I found myself saying, “I’d love to come.”
“Really?” Chuck said, just as Lily echoed, “Really?”
“I’m trying to learn about different types of magic and culture that exist on The Isle. It sounds like this full moon ceremonyis incredibly important in gnomish culture, so I’d like to experience it at least once.”
Lily’s eyebrows lifted, but she tilted her head in understanding.
“Well, that’s great,” Chuck said. “We’ll see you in the Grove of Gnomes tonight when the moon starts to rise. Come by any time—it lasts until dawn.”
Lily broke off a piece of her aloe plant and dipped it into the vial bubbling on the flame. After a few seconds, she slipped on an oven mitt, took the vial off the flame, and added something that looked like cocoa powder. Then she capped it and handed it to Chuck. He accepted the vial with a wide grin and tucked it into his pocket.
“You watch out for her tonight,” Lily instructed Chuck, her tone sharp. “Do you hear me? Or no more of these potions for you.”
“I hear you,” Chuck grumbled. “But she’s coming voluntarily. She’s notreallymy responsibility.”
Lily didn’t reply. She just watched the gnome as he left.
“Should I be worried?” I asked Lily once we were alone.
“Is there ever a time not to be worried on this island?”
Lily tried to sound lighthearted, but she kind of had a point. In my short time here, I’d been through one difficult experience after another. I wasn’t sure going out after dark was the best idea, especially not with a group of gnomes I’d never met before. And especially not when sacrifices were apparently happening.
“Are you going to tell Silas?” Lily asked. “He’ll want to know, and I can’t imagine he’ll be thrilled.”
“I’ll tell him. I don’t want to lie to him, and we’ve already had a talk about how I need him to trust me. Silas wants to protect me, which is so sweet and thoughtful, but at some point, I need to live my life too.”
“Trust me, I get it.” Lily moved to clean up the small mess she’d made while preparing Chuck’s potion. “When you’re married to the head of the Ranger program, it’s kind of a constant battle, feeling like you’re being protected and feeling like it’s too much.”
“How do you do it? It seems like Ranger X really respects you and lets you have a healthy amount of space, even though he must worry about you.”
“He does. He always has,” Lily said. “But we’ve had to work through our own hurdles. There’s a push and pull, and you’ll both make mistakes. Just be honest with each other, communicate as much as possible—and it helps if you have some intimacy to tie things together.”
My head snapped up.
Lily grinned at me. “Speaking of, how’s that going for you?”
“We haven’t... I mean, we’re not there yet. We’ve only known each other for a short time.”
“True. But you’re both adults, and apparently, you’re fated to be together.”
“Apparently. But it still feels like a new relationship, even though I care deeply for him. It’s complicated.”
“Of course. I’m just teasing you. But it does help to have intimacy, whatever that looks like for you. Even if it’s just spending time together after a long day. Sitting on the couch, reading, lounging...” She gave a playful shrug. “Making out.”
“I’ll keep your advice in mind,” I said with a grin. “I appreciate it. I really admire the two of you as a couple, so your words of wisdom mean a lot to me.”
“We’re not perfect, but we love each other. You and Silas will find your happy place too. You might already be well on your way to falling in love, even if you’re not ready to admit it.”
I nodded, thanked Lily again, and headed out to Magic & Mixology, the bar where Gus was working. Behind me, Lilywhistled cheerfully to herself as she reshelved the vials she’d pulled out to help Chuck. It had been such a simple interaction, my brief conversation with her, but it struck me as so lovely that I didn’t want to forget it.
I’d never had a friendship like this before. I’d never been the kind of person who could just pop into someone’s home without a pre-scheduled meeting and shoot the breeze. It probably sounded so banal of a thing to most people, but to me, it meant everything.
