Page 15 of Cursed (Court of Isles #1)

Chapter 15

“We need to make a stop first.” Silas didn’t make eye contact with me as he took long strides away from the group.

“Atlas,” I filled in. “You’re talking about your brother.”

Silas’s whole body was tense, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of what lay ahead of us or because of what lay behind.

I reached out, rested a hand on a bicep that felt more like a boulder. I wanted to offer a reassuring sentiment, but what would I say? Everything will be okay? It wouldn’t, and we both knew it.

Silas expelled a breath, a tight stream of air, but he managed to smile at me despite it all.

Then he extended a hand, and I took it. One fissure in time later, and we emerged out of thin air just steps before Wisteria Cottage. Silas blew open the gate built into the stone wall with unseen magic, and I went through first.

We found Atlas and Millie waiting anxiously in the garden. Millie was tidying up some rose bushes that had suffered damage from the Gladiator style smack-down between brothers. She sent routine scowls in Atlas’s direction. Meanwhile, Atlas lounged at the bistro table sipping an espresso like he was vacationing on the Amalfi Coast.

“We’re taking the wards down.” Silas ran a hand through his hair. “Get your ass up, brother.”

“Taking the wards down?” That got Atlas’s attention. “The originals? That’s a death sentence.”

“We are out of time.”

Atlas’s laissez-faire attitude was vacuumed right up, leaving an intensity in its place I hadn’t yet seen. The confident Titan seemed so unfazed by anything that this change shook me deeply. If Atlas was concerned, that meant the situation was dire.

“It was her idea.” Silas didn’t quite look at Atlas. “As soon as the wards come down, we’ll be able to set up portals to usher people off the island.”

“The curse will run rampant if you take down the wards,” Silas said. “Have you located its power source?”

“The wards are the power source,” Silas said. “That’s the twist. We break the crystals, and we’re exposed, yes. The curse will lash out, but it will die off without its generator. Since the Spellbinders can’t come up with a way to dismantle the curse from the outside, it’s our only option. We need your help.”

Atlas stood still, but the strangest thing happened. His outline shimmered. Like his whole body was shivering, flickering in and out like a hologram. I looked in confusion at Silas. It seemed to me like Atlas was trying to use some form of magic. Silas didn’t look impressed.

“Even you can’t Phase out of here right now.” Silas frowned. “Olympus’s golden boy is stuck here, so you might as well put yourself to good use.”

Atlas looked resigned. “Tell me what to do.”

Except Atlas wasn’t looking at Silas. He was looking at me .

“I-I—” I hesitated. “Me?”

“This was your idea,” Atlas said. “Wasn’t it?”

Silas, too, waited for my answer. I wasn’t used to powerful people asking my opinion on important matters. Nobody had ever asked my opinion back home. In fact, those around me had actively tried to squash any opinion out of me until I had none left.

“Silas and I are in charge of breaking the wards.” I took a fortifying breath. “If you can help the Rangers get people off this island as a precaution, that would be best. I’m sure you have strengths that could be useful.”

“She thinks I’ve got strengths.” Atlas winked playfully at his brother. “Hear that, Silas?”

I held my breath, a little worried this snipe would start a world war, but Silas just rolled his eyes.

“Your ability to Phase and...” I waved a hand. “Do Titan things surely can be put to use. ”

“I’d like to help too,” Millie said. “I’ll go with you, Doc.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said. “I think you should stay with Atlas and help at the portal.”

“No, thanks.” Millie spoke simply, like I’d offered her ketchup and she preferred barbecue sauce. “I’d prefer to be with you.”

“It’s going to be dangerous, and it requires a certain form of magic.” I faced Millie. “If you really want to help, they’ll need all hands-on deck at the portal.”

Millie considered, gave a little huff. She looked at Silas. When he nodded, it was as if he were giving her permission to listen to me.

“All right,” she said finally. “Wherever you need me is where I’ll be.”

The four of us stood in a lopsided diamond, everyone completely still. Prolonging this single moment of normalcy before it was blown to bits—possibly literally.

“See you in the next one,” Atlas said finally, breaking the tense silence.

“Next what?” I asked.

“Life,” he said.

“I love your optimism,” I said.

“You can’t possibly think we’re going to survive this.” Atlas waved a hand. “The second you break the wards, the curse will attack this island, and you’ll be exposed. Y’all might be able to Phase out, but everyone else will be left for dead.”

“We’re not Phasing anywhere until everyone is off this island,” Silas said in a gravelly tone. “We don’t run.”

“That’s why I said I’ll see you in the next one.” Atlas shrugged. “I’m not sticking around if it all goes to pot. I’m out of here the second the wards go down.”

“Trust me, I know.” Silas walked toward Atlas. “I never fooled myself into thinking you’d care about this place or the people on it.”

The two men stood next to one another like towering redwoods, limbs thick and muscled—one fair-haired and the other dark. One radiant light, the other shrouded in night. Blue eyes fixed on black ones.

Silas dropped his voice, muttered something I couldn’t hear to his brother.

“If you do nothing else for me in this life,” Silas said, louder, “promise me that.”

Atlas extended a hand, gave a solemn nod. “I promise you, brother.”

They shook hands, and then Silas whirled on a heel like he was embarrassed.

This was it. I could feel it in the air. The trepidation hanging around us like a train barreling toward a cliff and unable to stop. The flowers in the garden dipped and bobbed with nervous energy. The bees buzzed with extra urgency. The breeze curled around us as if holding us hostage.

My eyes smarted. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Millie, the woman who’d welcomed me like a friend I’d always dreamed of having. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Wisteria Cottage, a place I’d only called home for several days, but a place that had felt like more of a safe haven than any brownstone in New York. I didn’t even want to say goodbye to the golden-haired man with an eyewatering amount of confidence.

And I especially didn’t want to say goodbye to the thunderstorm raging next to me.

Silas grasped my hand, but before he could Phase us to the outer limits of The Isle, Millie threw her arms around me. She squeezed me to her chest, holding me tightly, whispering in my ear.

“We love you, Alessia.” The small, red-headed fairy pulled back, gave me a meaningful look. “Remember, this island loves you too. You belong here with us.”

I swallowed over a hard lump in my throat, unable to respond to such a simple yet vast kindness. This was the only thing I’d ever desired in my life. To be accepted and loved, to bask in such a plain and wonderful gift. It cost zero dollars and cents, required no promises or lavish extravagances. I only wished I had longer to savor it .

A part of me wondered if it had been worth it. Would I have been better off marrying Simon and remaining oblivious to curses and magic and the magnificence of true love and friendship?

But as I gripped Silas’s hand, as that tremble started in my belly and pulled me away from my new normal, I knew the answer.

It was worth it. All of it.