Page 123 of The Eighth Isle

“Yes—which is why we’re turning to the witches,” said Mama Si.

My mind raced and I tried to come up with reasons why thiswouldn’twork, just because it felt wrong. To lie and manipulate people—it felt wrong because it was.

“But we also don’t know how the end will happen, do we? For all we know, the sirens won’t be the ones to cause it at all. Someone else could.” Reeva never said that the stars specified who did what; we only assumed based on who had the most power.

“Of course, it’s the sirens—who else could possibly be capable?” Mama Si said.

“That’s what we thought about Syra,” I reminded her. “We all assumed that it would be Syra, didn’t we? Then she died.” And it just confused me even more because it had made sense, didn’t it? It made perfect sense thatshewould do it—she’d done it once before. Almost destroyed Ennaris completely.

“We don’t know, but nobody else has the power,” Grey said, and he was deep in thought, too, as he stared at the table but didn’t really see anything.

He was seriously considering this.

“Can’t we just tell her the truth and ask her to help?” Wouldn’t that be for the best all around?

“Oh, doll.” Mama Si laughed like I’d said the funniest thing. “You can only manipulate people by giving them what they want. By waving it at their faces, giving them a piece of it.”

“Yes, yes, you’ve told me this before, Mama Si. Youdidthis to me before.” She had—she’d baited me with the promise of magic and glamour and freedom. All of it truths, but handpicked truths that had hidden so much beneath their surface. An entire fucking world—literally.

“Precisely,” said Mama Si, and she smiled like she was proud of herself.

“But you’re not listening to me—what if Idon’twantto manipulate anyone?” I shook my head with a sigh. “I just want to tell Reeva the truth.” Was that so much to ask?

“Of course, you can always dothat,” Mama Si said, wrinkling her nose like that thought tasted awful to her. “But what if she says no?” I flinched. “And we may be lying, but we’ll be giving her so much in return, too! We’ll be giving herhope, Fall Doll. That is priceless, especially to Reeva, who has lost all of it. Hope—so when we all die, at least she’ll have been happier in her last days, not the mess she’s become. So, technically speaking, we’ll be doing her a favor.”

I blinked and blinked and then burst out laughing.

My God, I saw it. I saw exactly how she manipulated even herself! I saw how she got herself to do the craziest things—she genuinely convinced herself like this.

“She’s right,” Grey said, and that shocked me more than anything.

“Are you serious?”Hewas telling me Mama Si was right when he hated two-faced, manipulative people more than me?

But Grey shrugged his shoulders. “It’s either that or I force her.”

“Grey!”

He wasn’t fazed in the least. “I’m sorry, baby, but you come first. I frankly don’t care what they hope or believe in—if there really is a way to undo what Syra did, I will lie and manipulate and kill to make sure you’re okay.”

“But that’s wrong.” And he knew it. It was plain wrong!

“It is,” Grey said with a nod, then grabbed my hand in his and kissed my knuckles. “So is everything you’ve had to go through, starting with her”—he nodded his head toward Mama Si—“but here we are.”

“Sound logic. I like it,” Mama Si said with a grin. “And I, for one, would rather give Reeva something to look forward to—seriously, didn’t you see her? She’s lost it. We’ll be savingher if we tell her that there’s a way out. We’ll besavingher, Fall Doll.”

We wouldn’t. Lies never save anyone, but giving Reeva hope did sound like a good idea, anyway. Giving Reeva hope did sound like therightthing to do—one hundred percent. I’d seen her face, her lifeless eyes, how she’d given up.

“Let me do the talking, doll. I’ll go meet with her. I’ll bring her over. All you have to do is sit tight and wait for me,” Mama Si said. “Don’t you want to know if what Syra did to you can be undone?” Again, she put her hand over mine, and though her skin was warm, she didn’t unleash her magic on me at all. She knew better than to do that now. “Don’t you want the sirens off your back? Don’t you want to befree?!”

Ultimately, the promise of freedom was what made up my mind—whatalwaysmade up my mind.

So, in the end, I said yes.

“It’s arranged,”Mama Si said as she came back to the dining area. She’d left right away to speak to Reeva and set up a meeting at Witches’ Wing, and I thought she wouldn’t be back at all. I thought Grey and I would eat our food and go back to the room—because now I really did want to sleep. I needed to escape my own conscience, just for a little bit.

“I leave in thirty minutes.” Mama Si rested her hip against the edge of the table. “Meanwhile do try to stay in your room, doll. My shields become weaker when the Burrow is separated from me.”

It still struck me how she spoke of the Burrow—like it was her lover or something. A person—not an Isle.

---