Page 68 of Mama Si's Paradise

“They’re here.”

I focused on the boats—two of them, and each carried two people.

“The other Isles?” I whispered, as a voice in my head insisted that I was not ready for this. Not even fucking close.

“Yes. That is from Dragons’ Den, and the second is from Skinwalker Soil. Faeries’ Aerie will be here soon—and look!” She pointed to the other side, toward the Isle with the witch hat on it, and sure enough another boat was sailing right in front of us to get to the other two. “That’s from Witches’ Wing. Siren’s Lair is right beyond.”

And the Blood Burrow was behind us.

“The Seven Isles,” I whispered, my mind chaotic as my eyes roamed around the impossible view in front of me—dragons flying around a mountain, spitting fire, and islands with witch hats on them, and a place calledFaeries’ Aerie?

“Ennaris,” Mama Si said, then flinched. “At least what isleft of it.”

“My God, Mama Si,” I said, in awe and terrified at the same time to see more of the people on those boats. “This is…this is too much. I am not ready for this.”

“Of course, you are, Fall Doll,” Mama Si said with such ease, like she knew it for a fact. “You’re young so you don’t understand your body’s reactions properly yet, and you don’t know the first thing about managing your emotions—but you’re just overwhelmed. Excitement and fear are a dangerous combination, the reason why people avoid change and never go after what they want.” She turned to me with an easy smile on those red lips. “You take away its power when you recognize it. Then it becomes simply a feeling—and feelings always fade away if you give them time.”

I shook my head—how could she expect me tomanage my feelingswhen she’d brought me to this place?!

“Those aredragons,” I reminded her. “And that’s…that’s…” My hand rose, finger pointed forward, at the fourth boat that we could make out clearly now that we were closer, the one she said would be from Faeries’ Aerie. It had a person on it withwingson her back. Bright pink butterfly wings, the edges of them torn apart like someone had run fucking claws all over them.

“A faerie, Fall Doll. Pay attention,” Mama Si said. “That over there is a Skinwalker, and that’s a dragon rider. That’s a witch.”

“Exactly,” I choked. This is what she was telling me—and she expected me to manage my emotions on top of that?

“You’ll get used to it. No big deal. Really, it’s like meeting someone from Europe. Relax,” Mama Si said, and nervous laughter suddenly burst out of me.

“I’ve never met anyone from Europe before.”

“Well, consider this your first time,” she said with a sneaky grin. “Because we’re already here."

And wewere.

Mama Si raised a hand, and the boat stopped moving so abruptly I almost fell headfirst into the ocean.

We’d stopped about a mile outside the darkness of the Whispering Woods, just like the other boats, with Witches’ Wing between us and Dragons’ Den and the rest.

“What about…what about sirens?” I whispered.

Mama Si arched a brow. “They don’t make offerings, and they don’t need boats, doll. This istheirterritory.”

Ice-cold chills rushed down my back as I looked at the water of the ocean again, and I began to make out a dark shape that must have been right under the surface and I hadn’t even noticed it.

Two big blue eyes were staring at me through it.

My legs shook.

I am so screwed.

Nineteen

“There’s…there’s…th-th-the—”

I couldn’t fucking speak. My jaws were locked, and Mama Si’s gloved hand was in mine, and she was squeezing me tightly, telling me, “Calm down. It’s just a siren. Calm down, Fall Doll.”

Andjust-a-sirenbroke the surface of the water and popped her head out like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

A damn miracle I didn’t pass out, but I was too shocked by the sight of those blue eyes, that smile, her dark hair that was flat against her head where the water didn’t touch her but floated like black snakes around her on the surface of the ocean.

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