Page 90 of All the Devils are Here

“No,” Ban said. “With Prospero in the mountain and the magic calm, the island is safe.”

“Good. I need some air.” I looked at Ariel. “See? I even asked if it was safe. Proof I’m not trying to kill myself just for fun.”

I turned on my heel and headed for the door. There was a possibility one of them would follow me, unable to ensure the magic wouldn’t try something, but they would give me space. I felt it in the silence I left behind.

My head hung as soon as I reached the outdoors and took a breath of fresh air. Normal relationship problems was right. That wasn’t the way I’d wanted that conversation to go. Not by a long shot. But it didn’t change how I felt. This was all or nothing, and I needed them to understand that.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

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MEGHAN

Iwandered the island for hours, exploring the tropical trees and lush woods. There were little pockets of beauty everywhere. Small ponds and exotic flowers I didn’t know the names of.

The temperature was perfect, and without everything behind the scenes, it was paradise. You could create a resort on the island and make a fortune.

Finally, when my legs were tired, I found a perch to look out at the ocean. The sun was already sinking, and I was facing west on a cluster of large rocks. I loved the wind off the sea in my hair, and the never-still surface of the water.

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrapped up my arms around them and watched the horizon. My mind was finally quiet, after a long time circling over the same frustrations and the same anger. I didn’t want to be angry, and I likewise knew that they were probably right.

But I already felt helpless, no matter if it was an honor to protect me. Telling me I wasn’t allowed to do something, when I was just asking a question I thought might help? It pissed me off.

Fine. I knew it wasn’t my finest moment, but I wasn’t the only one in the wrong. And I wasn’t ready to go back yet.

The sky turned to a blaze of orange and pink, almost like a starburst exploding from the horizon. It was gorgeous, and finally the emotions that needed to come rose to the surface.

This was so much. So fast. Even if the magic inside me was amplifying things? It was overwhelming, and I hadn’t even really had time to catch my breath except for the last few hours. I didn’t feel like myself. Granted, I hadn’t felt like ‘myself,’ in years, but even more so. I felt like every bad blonde and female stereotype. Weak, silly, hysterical, fickle, and foolish.

Deep down I knew I wasn’t any of those things. I wished Christine were here. There was nothing like a pep talk from your best friend. If I made it out of here, we were going to have the biggest dish session of all time, but I still wished I could talk to her now.

Something in the air changed, and I sensed I wasn’t alone anymore. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ariel standing lower on the rocks. He smiled, but it was tense. “Can I sit with you?”

He was reversing our roles for this. But I didn’t have the ability to transform and pin him to the rock, as he well knew. I nodded once.

Slowly, he sat down beside me, fully in physical form. He mimicked my pose and pulled his knees up. We were silent for a while, watching the sun get closer to the horizon. There was so much we needed to say, but I needed him to be the one to speak first.

Ariel looked over at me, and I kept looking at the horizon.

“I’m sorry.” The words were quiet.

I did look over at him then, and the sadness in his eyes matched the sadness aching in my chest. My eyes blurred with tears, and he reached for me. I went willingly.

“I’m sorry, Meg,” he said again. “I seem to be saying it to you a lot.”

A tear slipped out of my eye when I blinked. I didn’t know what to say to him. There was somuchto say that I’d gone mute.

“I could tell you that it was my mating instinct and that I couldn’t fight it. I could also tell you it was because I knew what the consequences would be if you did that. Or that I’ve been stuck with the same people for so long I don’t have any idea how to control my temper. And all of those things are true. But none of them are an excuse for me being an ass.”

Ariel shifted us so my legs were slung across his lap and my head was leaning against his shoulder. “What would really happen?” My voice sounded miserable.

“If you gave the island your heart?”

I nodded.

“The same thing that will happen if the magic you have now reaches your heart. There’s nothing to trade for with the power already inside you. At best you’d be trapped here forever.”

“And at worst?”

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