Page 51 of Whisked Away
The air crackles with tension as Dean takes his place at the head of the gathering. Most of Magnolia Cove’s magical adult residents are here, their worried whispers filling the concave room like agitated bees. I scan the crowd, noting the concerned faces of people I’ve known for years.
“Rihanna Wilder,” Dean’s voice cuts through the murmurs. “Step forward, please.”
Rihanna, her usual cheery demeanor subdued, moves to the center of the room. “Alexandra Sinclair has been asking questions about Magnolia Cove’s history,” she reports, her voice tight. “She’s been digging into areas we… haven’t made accessible.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of Alex’s name. I think of her curious eyes, the determined set of her jaw whenshe’s onto something. Of course, she’s been digging. It’s who she is.
“She seems really nice, though,” Rihanna adds, glancing at Zoe, who stands beside me. Zoe is glaring, her lips pinched—not at Rihanna, but at the situation. They’re close, always in sync, but right now, Zoe is standing firm. She’s on my side, and she doesn’t like that Rihanna is pushing this up the chain. I want to thank her for protecting Alex for my sake. I want to apologize for dragging her into my trouble. But I already know she’d roll her eyes at that.
Nods and concerned mutters ripple through the crowd. Marcus speaks up next. “She’s been nosing around the bookstore too, looking for old records.”
“And she’s peppered my customers with questions,” Hazel chimes in, her usually warm, Southern drawl tinged with worry.
Zoe steps closer to me, and Mia moves in right behind her. “She’s just curious about Ethan,” Zoe says. “He should have a right to share his own truth with her. I don’t think she wants to harm anyone here. She’s a food writer, not a detective.”
Warmth spreads through my chest, a feeling I almost didn’t think I’d ever experience again. When the Council first sentenced me to ten years in Magnolia Cove, it felt like a life sentence. Most residents come and go as they please, free to live as they want. But not me. I was placed here under Dean Markham’s watch—one last shot to prove I could keep my magic under control. It was a gilded cage wrapped in charm, but a cage all the same.
At first, I was heartbroken, resigned. I trudged to the island, given a taste of normal life but never allowed the freedom to truly live it.
But time has changed things. I’ve made friends, like Zoe—people who have my back when the pressure rises, when it feels like the ground beneath me is about to collapse.
Dad stands by my side now, arms crossed, his familiar presence solid and unyielding. He’s been here before—standing tall before the council, chin raised, daring them to challenge his son. It didn’t matter if I was in the wrong. I was his son, and nothing could change that. His steady support comforts me now, just like it did back then.
“I like the girl,” Grammie Rae says, leaning casually against a marble half-wall like it’s a vegetable stand, her voice soft but certain. “The magic likes her.”
Councilwoman Frome’s frown deepens from her seat. “She is not magic-born and doesn’t belong here. Every additional day she remains on our island, she threatens to harm us.”
Their fear of exposure has always been there, simmering just beneath the surface. It’s why we live behind wards, why magical communities like this exist—to stay hidden, to be free without the outside world knowing what we are. Because when humans discover magic, it never ends well. It always leaks. And when it does, it’s witches and warlocks left to pick up the pieces—erasing memories, fixing the damage, deleting any trace before it spreads too far.
Magic stirs in me, my claws itching to appear. I take a deep breath, willing myself to stay in control. I’ve gotten so much better at managing my abilities; I’ve even spent a night with Alex around the full moon without incident. The memory of her sends a pang into my heart. She’d begged off my offer for a nighttime walk on the beach last night, claiming work, but now I wonder if there was more to it.
Dean’s voice pulls me back to the present. “I agree. Alexandra Sinclair poses a grave danger to our community,” he declares, his eyes sweeping over everyone. “Our safety must be the paramount concern. If absolutely necessary, we can wipe her memory of everything related to Magnolia Cove and?—”
“No.” The word tears from my throat, rough and primal.My body fights against giving in to my magic, every muscle taut with the effort of resisting. “You can’t steal her memories.”
I want her to keep the memories of me, yes, but more than that, memory magic isn’t a perfect science. People have ended up damaged from the effects before. I won’t allow Alex to face that risk.
Dean’s gaze locks onto me, hard as flint. “We need to be certain she leaves soon, without dangerous information, and with no intention of returning or turning her pen in our direction.”
This is my responsibility. She walked into this town because of me. That means it’s on me to make sure she walks out of it—whole.
I square my shoulders. “I can make sure that happens.”
My heart breaks as the words leave me. Jas’ mom gives me a sympathetic look, and it makes me feel ashamed. Ashamed that she still sees good in me, sees me as her son’s mentor rather than the man that’s put him in danger. Sees my heartache as something worth sympathizing with rather than the monster others in the room are glaring at.
“See that you do.” Dean’s voice is crisp. “Or we will handle it ourselves. And you, Ethan, will be relocated to a more… secure community.”
Dad takes a step forward, but I grab his arm to stop whatever he’s about to say or do.
The threat hangs in the air, heavy and suffocating. My mind races. I stand to lose everything—my friendships, my father, the Whisk, Zoe, any connections to the outside world. And Alex. I’m going to lose her, but maybe, just maybe, I can do it in a way that keeps her from getting hurt.
As the meeting disperses, and we walk back out toward the dark sea, Dad claps my shoulder. He says nothing, but I know what goes unspoken. He’s at my side no matter what. I clenchhis fingers and turn down the path. Zoe catches up, Mia with her, and hisses in a whisper at my side. “They can’t do this.”
“They can and they will, Zo.”
“No, we’re residents here too. We have a right. We have?—”
“No right to hurt others for the sake of me following my heart.” I stop walking and look down at Zoe and Mia, the happiest couple I know. The people who have what I’ve always wanted but will never get to have. “I’ve done it before, and I won’t do it again.”
