Page 130 of The Eighth Isle

“Hard to say, but most magics can be taken back. You saw it yourself even with the spell of the curse. It was unraveled layer by layer—but until we understand exactly what Syra did, it will be impossible to say for sure.”

“When can we do that?” I asked with barely any voice, avoiding Mama Si’s eyes at all costs because I couldn’t stand that smug smile on her lips.

“Hopefully by midnight,” said Reeva, turning to Mama Si. “Assuming I have a working space and Mamayka’s help, I think I can prepare everything for a very thorough test by midnight.”

“Of course, my dear friend,” said Mama Si, and her polite voice was so fake there was no way Reeva didn’t notice. “You’ll have all the space and all the help you need.”

“Good, then. It is settled. Tonight at midnight,” Grey said, squeezing my shoulder.

“Tonight at midnight,” I repeated.

And despite the lies and the situation we were in, a tiny bit of hope sparked to life inside me.

Midnight took forever to arrive,but when it did, I was terrified.

I slept again—restless sleep, tossing and turning while Grey kept his hands on me to give me comfort, to let me know that he was right there on the bed with me. Mama Si had indeed spiked our coffees this morning—Did you enjoy my gift?she asked before she took Reeva to where they were going to prepare for midnight.

And when my cheeks turned bright pink, she winked and said,you’re welcome, Fall Doll.

Grey let me sleep until after eleven p.m., and I was thankful for it. I didn’t want to be up and thinking about what was coming for all those hours. I would rather be half asleep and not really aware of what was going on in the real world.

But in the time it took me to get dressed and follow Assa to wherever Mama Si and Reeva were, I became so scared my hands were shaking. Grey walked beside me, his arm never moving from around my shoulders, telling me that it was okay, that we were going to be just fine. He knew I was afraid, and he was nervous, too—I could tell by his rigid muscles, but at least he wasn’t thinking about running away from here on all fours.

He probably wasn’t thinking aboutwhat if they’re tricking me instead, and they’re going to do something else to me? What if Mama Si is lying to me—again, which would be no surprise—and Reeva is working with the sirens to get to me?It really wouldn’t come as a shock—she said it herself, she’d do anything for a chance to save the Seven Isles, and if the sirens promised her to lay low if she handed me over to them…

Bile rose up my throat.

Assa took us down too many sets of stairs—I didn’t even bother to count. By the looks of it, we were in a basement somewhere, no windows in the walls but plenty of fancy lampsand thick carpets and engraved doors around the narrow corridor.

She led us to the very end, completely at ease, and Grey didn’t seem bothered, either.What if they hurt me? a voice in my head insisted, and…what if they hurt the baby?

Part of me had yet to believe that I was pregnant. Really—it made no sense.Me,Fall Hayes, about to become a mother?

There’s just no way in hell.

“Grey,” I whispered when Assa finally reached the double doors at the end of the corridor and pushed them both open before she turned to us.

“Baby, if you want to go back, we will. Right now,” he said, stepping in front of me. I closed my eyes and shook my head, so fucking confused. “But I want you to know that I’ll be there for everything. I’m not leaving your side. If anything happens?—”

“Let me guess, you’ll carry me away with your big strong wings,” I said, hoping a joke might lighten this weight on my shoulders. Hoping it would improve my mood.

“Exactly. And I’ll kill all of them in the process,” he simply said.

“You’re so comfortablewith the idea of killing,” I said, shaking my head. “Not okay, Mister Evernight.”

But all that did was make him grin widely. “I am comfortable with killing the whole world if it tries to harm you, baby. It’s okay if that’s not okay.” He leaned in to kiss me.

“Impossible,” I muttered because he was. Yet somehow, going in that room didn’t feel like such a terrible thing anymore. “But fine—I’ll go. I’m still scared shitless, but I’ll go.”

“Don’t be,” Grey said, kissing my nose, too, before he let me go and took my hand in his. “Let’s just see what they have there first, okay?”

Since I was feeling a bit better already—must have been that Grey magic—we did.

Mama Si and Reeva Lorein looked like real-life dolls from the doorway, and for a moment there, I thought they might be statues. They were sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed, eyes closed, chins up and hands over their knees, and neither was moving a single inch. I couldn’t even tell if they were breathing, but there was something in between them—a big, clear crystal the size of a basketball hovering in the air just a few inches off the ground.

The room itself was pretty simple—oval with a fireplace taking up most of the left wall. The fireplace was shaped like a flower that was spitting fire from the flowerbed, but strangely no heat came off those bright red flames dancing on a big log. Dancing—but they didn’t look like they were even burning it. The log hadn’t even blackened around the edges.

A big table a few feet away was full of books and scrolls, and at the edge were glass dishes with colorful liquids in them as well. Liquid that glowed neon blue and green and pink. Reeva’s suitcases were both open and on the floor near the table, and they, too, were full of those books, and pieces of paper, and strange looking objects I couldn’t even identify, some made of wood, most made of metal.

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