Page 145 of Mama Si's Paradise

“Thanks for that.” I touched his cheek. “You’re pretty okay for a bloodsucking vampire.”

This time, he was the one laughing. “Why, thank you, Sunshine. I don’t think I’ve ever received a more humbling compliment,” he said, shaking his head. “But you have to get going. There’s no time.”

Time.

The word rang in my ears.

The room we were in came into focus again, as if I’dforgotten all about it. The mirrors. The other Isles. Valentine’s promise that I could actually feel sunlight on my skin again.

“Until nightfall,” I whispered, looking at the blue skies in the mirrors in wonder.

“Yes, just today. Until nightfall,” Valentine confirmed.

I could be free until nightfall, but that wasn’t what was making my stomach twist and turn so violently, though. It was the ring around my finger that suddenly weighed a million pounds.

“Valentine, if they find out?—”

“Nobody’s going to find out,” he cut me off.

“And if they do?” I insisted.

“They won’t,” he said again. “Don’t worry about that part, Sunshine. Just pick an Isle and go.”

“But…but…” Confusion made a mess out of my insides. It was so chaotic in my mind I had no clue what I was even thinking.

“You only have so many hours,” Valentine said. “Won’t you rather spend them out there?” And he looked at me with so much hope, likehewished he could be the one spending his hours away from here.

“Can’t you come with me?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“I can’t get through the mirrors if I tried. I’m tied to the Whispering Woods.” He then leaned down to grab the shawl that had fallen off me and I hadn’t even noticed.

“When should I be back?” I asked, my voice small, barely a whisper, as other ideas,brightideas developed in my mind at an incredible rate.

“Before midnight would be ideal. I’ll be waiting,” Valentine said. “Be careful out there, Sunshine. Don’t tell anyone your name or where you come from, okay?”

“They won’t be able to tell?” Because I was pretty sure Istood out like a sore thumb among everyone around here, including the brides.

“I don’t think so. A lot of people visit different Isles all the time. Have you picked one yet?” said Valentine, turning to the mirrors again.

And I realized, this wasreal.I was really doing this.

My eyes searched the mirrors one by one.

Witches’ Wing. Dragons’ Den. Skinwalker Soil… “Faeries’ Aerie,” I said almost reluctantly. The Blood Burrow was out of the question—I would not come face-to-face with Mama Si again, knowing what she could do. How easily she could manipulate me without batting an eye and feeling no remorse whatsoever. The other Isles all looked good, but the faeries intrigued me the most. They had wings. They had colorful hair. They weremagic,and I wanted to see them from closer up so badly.

“Good,” Valentine said. “Boats come to Faeries’ Aerie all the time with travelers from the other Isles. They sell the best spices and the most powerful magical herbs. You can pretend to be searching for something in their market.” He pointed at the large rock upon which the town of the faeries was built. “Yes, Faeries’ Aerie will do,” he concluded, talking to himself more than me.

“Are you sure about this, Valentine?” I asked, as one of those bright ideas forced me to stop and look at him again. Really look at him.

Forget that we were friends or that we’d just shared a kiss—did I really trust this guy? Was he going to throw me under the bus? Mama Si had and I hadn’t suspected a thing. Was he trying to play some kind of game that I was too naive to recognize?

“I’m sure that you need it,” Valentine said, grabbing my hand in his, running the pad of his thumb over the purple amethyst of Genevieve’s ring.

That same ring that apparently made meinvisibleto magic, even to the curse that tied me to the Isles.

“I’m sure it wasn’t fair that you ended up here and even less so that youhaveto stay.”

The look in his darkened eyes said so much to me in that moment. It was almost like he knew. He knew exactly what the ring could do, and I almost told him what Genevieve said. The words were right there, at the tip of my tongue.

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