I slipped on the floor-length dress. The top sat just off my shoulders, the long, gauzy sleeves moving with each slight breeze. When I looked in the mirror, itlookedlike I was going to a celebration. I only hoped that it would feel like a celebration, and that I wouldn’t be ruining the moment by simply showing my face at the Wish Festival.
“Perfect.” Millie stood in the doorway studying me. “You’re stunning.”
Millie was dressed for the festival too, in a bright yellow dress—a simple smock that seemed patched together with magic and honey. It brought out her bright hair in a way that didn’t make sense, but also made perfect sense. Millie’s freckles danced across her cheeks, and laughter was written into every feature of her face.
“You look beautiful!” I told her. “I love that dress on you.”
Millie blushed, shaking off the compliment. “Let’s go. Silas is out front.”
When I made my way out of Wisteria Cottage, I found Silas dressed in black slacks and a soft gray T-shirt. He looked casually delicious. Like a warm cinnamon roll on a cold morning, but in Greek god form.
Silas opened his mouth to say something when I walked out, but it seemed like he forgot exactly what it was he wanted to say. He snapped his mouth shut and just watched as I walked down the path.
“Wow,” he murmured in my ear, as he drew me against his body. “You look ravishing. Red is your color.”
“I don’t know about that.” I kissed his cheek. “But it seems right for tonight.”
Silas bit down on his lower lip, like he disagreed. The next moment, our hands touched and electricity crackled between us. It felt like someone had put the last piece of the puzzle into my life now that he was with me.
Millie joined us for the walk into town. There was something light and breezy in the air that reminded me of the first warm spring days in New York—the evenings when people would linger over cocktails on the patio or drag themselves away from the parks as night began to fall.
We eventually came to the main village on the eastern side of the island. A wide dirt path wound through the market with shops flanking it on either side. Chuck, the gnome, stood in conversation at a food stand. A group of Elven-looking folks stood around a jewelry stand admiring pieces of glittering gold. Several toy-sized broomsticks zoomed through the air in front of a witchery shop, children playfully darting beneath them, trying to catch the enchanted marvels. It felt like a real-life version of a Renaissance Faire.
As we entered town, I admired the gowns on the women around me. Bright oranges and pinks, deep blues and greens, rich reds and golds—all of the items adorned with splashes of sparkle. It felt like an expression of jubilance and hope. A beautiful thing to come out of a period of darkness.
Millie excitedly grabbed us three glasses off a barrel-table of an amber liquid that looked like beer but smelled like elderflower.
“Careful with that,” Silas said to me, eyeing Millie with suspicion. “It’s strong stuff.”
I took a sip, and Millie winked at me as she took a big gulp. “Let your hair down, Alessia. Enjoy tonight. You’ve earned it. That’s what we’re all here for.”
Silas rolled his eyes, then tossed his drink in the trash as he walked on, giving me the idea he thought one of us should have our head on straight. A slightly sobering thought. But I wasn’t going to let fear ruin my night.
I took another sip, enjoying the way the drink dulled my fears and enhanced the buoyancy in my chest. It was the first time I’d had the time and space to feel happy. In quite a long, long time.
“There you are! I’m glad you guys made it.” Lily Locke and Ranger X—a notable power couple of The Isle—stopped in front of us. Lily smiled, playing with the edge of my curled hair briefly. “You look beautiful, sweetie.”
Lily leaned in then and gave me an air-kiss on the cheek. I hugged her back, one hand on my drink, the other wrapped around my friend. Lily and Ranger X were the kindest, most generous people I’d met on The Isle. They had both welcomed me with open arms. Lily’s story about also having been a mainlander transplant to The Isle gave me hope. That maybe, someday, I’d belong here like she did.
“How have things been going”—Lily paused—“since everything?”
“There have been ups and downs,” Silas said quickly. His eyes flicked toward Ranger X. “Though Alessia’s been mostly resting. I do have a few security concerns I’d like to discuss with you, X.”
“Great.” Lily hooked her arm through mine. “Because I have other more important things to discuss with you.”
Ranger X and Silas took off down the road, their faces serious and businesslike. Lily, however, was a puff of pink and sparkles. She gave off Glinda vibes in her beautiful dress, just less poofy. She managed to look like a fairy princess, flitting around between islanders as we slowly strolled, greeting everyone by name. The few times she tried to speak to me, she was interrupted by someone coming up to start a conversation with her.
“You girls go on,” Millie said outside of the tea shop. “I need to pop inside and stock up on a few herbs. They just got some rare ones in stock.”
Once Millie was gone, and Lily had concluded her conversation with another acquaintance, she pulled me off to a darkened corner outside a small pub.
“Okay, now dish.” Lily looked me directly in the eyes. “How have things really been going?”
Lily’s simple question felt like she’d melted me from the inside out. In my New York life, I’d longed for a true female friendship. The sort of friend I’d read about in books or watched on television. I’d longed for it so much, I’d eventually come to the conclusion that maybe something was wrong with me, and that was why I could never hold on to a friend.
But standing before Lily, I felt like I was friends with the most popular girl in school—and she genuinely liked me. The way Lily looked at me, the way she spoke to me like I mattered, made me think that maybe I wasn’t quite so broken as I’d thought. Maybe it hadn’t been all my fault.
“I’m overwhelmed,” I confessed. “I’m coming to understand that a lot of people are unhappy with the fact I’m being called the queen.”
