Page 74 of Mama Si's Paradise

“You…you lied to me.”

And I meantabout who you are.She obviously wasn’t thesweet, loving woman she’d pretended to be since I met her. She’d changed so suddenly just now.

But I was not prepared in the least for thewholetruth, for the story she told me as she laughed, leaning her head back on the edge of the boat.

“You know, I wasn’t going to have an offering this year at all. The one I chose and groomed for six whole months went andfellin loveright under my nose.” She suddenly sounded disgusted. “Naturally, I had to get rid of her, and I thought another year goes by, another year the Burrow doesn’t get endorsed by the Evernights. Tough pill to swallow, I’ll admit. I was having difficulty controlling my own emotions.” She flashed me a wicked grin. “And then you showed up, just like that.”

I shook my head. “I don’t…I don’t understand.”

“What’s not to understand? Everything you’ve thought about since setting foot in my Paradise, everything you’ve seen, everything that has been whispered in your ear wasmydoing, Fall Doll. I had to get you ready in a month—imagine the pressure! So much to reveal to you all at once. I was afraid you’d run away screaming, which was why I had to be careful. Why I had to spare no expense in setting the stage exactly as you needed it.”

What the fuck?“Are you serious?”

“Of course, I am. And I did a good job, didn’t I? You came here and you gave yourself to the Court willingly. Averygood job, indeed.” Again, she laughed.

I turned around to look at the Whispering Woods, to look at the other girls, all of them still in the water.

This couldn’t be real. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I needed to get out of there. I needed to leave before it was too late—and to do that, I needed a boat.

What were the odds that I could flip this one over and throw Mama Siin the water?

And even if I somehow managed that,howwas I going to make this boat move and take me back?

“Don’t look so panicked, Fall Doll,” Mama Si said.

No,I couldn’t make this boat move and take me back. I was fucking stuck here in the middle of the ocean surrounded by lands and creatures that were supposed to be part of someone’s fantasy, not the real world.

“Oh, cheer up, will you?! You wanted to be part of Ennaris! You wanted to be part of themagic—didn’t you? Well, if they choose you, then you will be.”

Tears in my eyes, but I was no longer afraid—what would be the point when it was all as good as done, anyway? I wasn’t even panicked, just angry. So fucking angry I saw red.

“I trusted you,” I spit, despite knowing that it would make no difference whatsoever.

“And that was your number one mistake,” Mama Si said. “Ididn’t trust you at first. So perfect. Way too good to be true. No ties to the outside world, nobody who cares about you and would go asking questions, nobodyyoucared about that could change your mind—and that face. Doll, with that face of yours you could have conquered the fucking world if you only had the necessary brain cells.”

She actually had the audacity to lookdisappointed.

“So, yes—I didn’t trust you at first.” Her eyes closed slowly, and she smiled as if to say,now comes the best part.“And then I saw that look on your face at the party.” Another sigh. “A piano.”

My heart tripped all over itself because everything became so crystal clear.

The missing glass in the triangle room.

The animals in the forest. The piano in the clearing.

“The Burrow and I are one and the same…"

It had been her. It had been Mama Si all along. Nothinghad been a coincidence. I hadn’t made any kind of discovery—how ridiculous it all seemed to me now.

“It was you.” And I’d fallen prey to her lies so easily.

Just like Hannah warned me.

“Yes,” Mama Si said, and it was painfully obvious how proud of herself she was. “Yes, it was. Adam and Marissa and Amber and Mr. Archer—” Another laugh. “Rather genius, don’t you think?”

I tried to dig my fingernails into the wood of the boat, but all I managed to do was hurt myself, and it felt good. The physical pain felt mighty good compared to the one inside my chest.

“Butwhy?” I asked, feeling smaller by the second. What the hell had I gotten myself into?!

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