“People here are protective and slow to warm up.” Lily gave a sympathetic cluck of her tongue. “When I came to The Isle, my own assistant didn’t even want me here.”
“Gus?” I considered the somewhat crotchety old man who helped Lily in her bungalow. I’d never seen anything from him except radiating adoration toward Lily, like an adoring grandfather. “Really?”
“It was a long battle,” Lily said. “We understand one another now, but it wasn’t instant.”
“I’ve gotten death threats.”
“Join the club!” Lily patted me on the back. “You must be a Very Important Person if you’re getting death threats.”
“Have you gotten them?”
“I’ve got a list as long as my arm. And you should see the stuff my husband gets.” At this, Lily gave a big eye roll. “As the head Ranger, he gets a lot of nasty notes.”
“I guess I’m in good company, then. Should that make me feel better?”
“People will come around,” Lily assured me. “You’re doing the right thing. Existing as you normally would. Showing your face around town. Keeping that pretty chin held high.”
“It’s all I know how to do, really.”
“Then keep right on doing it. You have a lot of support, too, and don’t you ever forget that. We love you, Alessia.”
I nodded, unable to say thank you, for fear my throat might squeeze too tight around the words, and I’d choke on them. Lily just smiled, like she understood.
“What about Silas?” Lily asked. “Are you two...”
I updated her on the fated-mates situation.
Lily sucked in a breath when I’d finished getting her up to speed. “That does complicate things. Do you feel like it’s accurate? That he could be your other half?”
“I do. But I don’t know if it’s my head or my heart saying it.”
“Does it matter?” Lily asked. “I don’t know that you need to dissect your feelings so much. Does it matter what brings anyone together? The real battle is staying together. Even whentwo people love each other, relationships can be hard. You’re two strong, independent people, coming together in a new and unsure way. There will be bumps in the road. Fate might bring you together, but what will keep you together is old-fashioned hard work and love.”
“I...” I paused. “It’s too soon for love, but I’m open to it. I’m just taking things one day at a time for now.”
“That seems like the best plan.” Lily nodded toward a vendor at the side of the road. “Have you gotten your vial yet?”
I shook my head. “Vial of what?”
“For your wish. Do you know what wish you’ll make tonight?”
“No. Do you?”
“Yes,” Lily said quickly, too quickly. “Something I’ve wanted for a while. You shouldn’t share your wish, though, with anyone.”
“I thought that was a human superstition.”
“It stems from a magical superstition, which is not actually a superstition.” Lily grinned, then accepted two vials from the gentleman selling them behind the stand. She handed me one. “You’ll need this later. In the meantime, give some thought to your wish. Make it count.”
Once we had secured our vials, Lily tucking hers into her small travel belt filled with other vials, we rejoined Ranger X and Silas. Ranger X and Lily split off in a different direction, so I took Silas’s hand in the first moment we’d had to ourselves all night.
Silas led me down Main Street, pointing out different shops as we went. Each one was fascinating, so fascinating I needed to be dragged on to the next, and the next, and the next. A tea shop that boasted magical teas. A spellbook shop. A market, a library, a café.
“Silas! You don’t have a wish yet.” Poppy, the blood-intolerant vampire who was a cousin of Lily’s, greeted us with a big, bubblysmile. She shoved a vial into his hands, then turned to me. “Have you seen Lily around?”
I pointed Poppy in the direction in which Lily had disappeared, and Silas and I kept walking. Chuck saluted me from where he was still camped out in front of the food stand. Irina stopped in front of me, dressed in a light blue gown that perfectly matched the overalls on her tiny new baby, Henry. The baby I’d helped deliver on one of my first days here.
“You look beautiful, Alessia,” Irina said. “Are you enjoying the night?”
