I jump and look up, my eyes adjusting to the darkness in the trees as the sun sets.
Wolfe is standing in front of me, tense and unreadable. I push myself up from the ground, my gray silk dress damp from the earth, and meet his eyes. He hands me a moonflower, and I take it, brushing the petals lightly with my fingertips.
“Do you remember?” he asks me.
“No.”
He breathes out. “You don’t remember, and you walked away?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” He sounds angry, but I realize it isn’t anger at all. He’s protecting himself, not allowing any of his vulnerability to show. He’s scared.
“Because I believe you,” I say. “I used the memory keeper and knew I would never be happy if I wasn’t standing on the shore with you, practicing magic at night.”
His eyes get red and his jaw tenses. He nods several times and looks away, as if he’s embarrassed.
“Can I touch you?” I ask hesitantly.
He exhales and looks at me. “Mortana,” he says, his voice shaking, “the answer to that question will always be yes.”
I slowly close the space between us, wrapping my arms around him, holding on tight. He hesitates for a single breath, and then his arms are around my waist and his head is against my neck, his breath sending goose bumps all along my skin.
I thought it would feel odd, hugging this boy I barely know, but it doesn’t. I think my body remembers him, remembers the way it felt to be wrapped up in him.
He feels like home.
We hold each other for a long time, breathing each other in. I feel safe in his arms, peaceful and calm, even though I don’t remember. Even though I left such an unimaginable mess behind me. This is where I’m meant to be. Right here.
I finally pull away from him. “Take me home?”
He nods, holding his hand out to me.
And I take it, letting him lead the way.
* * *
Wolfe and I are sitting on a boulder that overlooks the eastern shore, watching as the sky changes from velvet blue to black. The stars are out tonight, and the half-moon shines brightly, reflecting off the water of the Passage. Lightning flashes in the darkness, and a few moments later, thunder rumbles in the distance. Then the sky opens up over the channel separating us from the mainland, drenching it in rain.
Landon’s boat is halfway across the water, the Emerald Princess sign lit up on the back of the ship. Small globe lights hang along the railings, slightly illuminating the silhouette of a person walking inside from the stern. I watch as it pulls farther away from the Witchery, and I wonder what kind of conversations he’s having with his parents, what he said to them after we spoke. I can’t deny the relief I feel as his boat gets farther away, knowing how close I was to being on it with him.
I’ve said goodbye to so many things today. I’m glad this island isn’t one of them.
The lights on the ship move in the distance, jerking to the right, and I sit up, straining my eyes to get a better look.
They swing back to the left.
“Oh my god,” I breathe, getting to my feet.
“What is it?” Wolfe asks, placing his hand on my back.
At first, I think it’s the storm battering the ship, but the swells aren’t big enough to jolt it like that. It’s something else. “The boat,” I say. “It’s caught in a current.”
For a moment, I just stare, mesmerized by the way the ship tips and thrashes as if it’s weightless. It starts spinning around and around, and I can hear the groaning and breaking of wood from here.
“We have to do something,” I say, rushing into the water, braiding the moonflower into my hair so I don’t lose it.
Wolfe follows me, conjuring a thick cloud of magic that fully immerses me. I feel it working, entering my lungs and flowing into the water, overwhelmed by its power.
“We’ll use a current to get there quickly. You’ll be able to stay underwater for minutes as long as you stay close to me.”
I nod, then put my hand in his and dive into the water. We’re immediately caught in the current he created, but instead of spinning us around, it drags us out into the Passage. I kick my legs and reach with my arms as we’re carried closer and closer to the ship.
The groaning of metal and wood punctuates the stormy night, and I kick harder when I hear yelling. An awful crack splits the air, followed by a large wave that rushes toward us.
It pushes us back several yards, but the current finds us again quickly. My formal gown drags in the water around me, and my body shakes from the cold as we’re pulled farther out to sea. Another bolt of lightning cuts through the darkness, and rain pelts us as we swim.
When we finally get close enough to see the ship in detail, Wolfe slows the current, and we tread water.
“Do you know how many people are on board?” he asks, breathing heavy.
I shake my head. “Landon and his parents for sure. Probably a captain, maybe some staff?”
Wolfe works beside me, his magic rising around us. This time, it stretches to the heavens, and I’m amazed when his palm lights up with a silver-blue glow.
“Is that moonlight?” I ask, completely amazed.
“It will help us see underwater.”
A scream pulls my eyes from the moonlight, and I recognize the voice immediately as Landon’s. He’s in the water now, thrashing around with all the debris of his broken ship. His scream is swallowed by the Passage as he’s pulled under.
“I’m going,” I yell, forcing myself underwater and begging my eyes to adjust. Wolfe follows, stretching his moonlight into the depths, turning the black water a soft shade of gray. The current swirls in front of us, violently stirring the sea.
I see a body drifting down to the ocean floor, completely still. I tap Wolfe on the arm and point, letting some air out of my lungs in order to sink deeper and deeper. The water is cold and sharp against my skin, but even in the midst of the chaos, the quiet here is comforting.
Wolfe’s moonlight illuminates the body, and I panic when I realize it isn’t Landon. I get closer, but I don’t recognize the man. Maybe the captain. I wrap my arms around his waist and kick upward, Wolfe’s light going off in another direction. We surface, and I see a boat from the Witchery rushing toward us, taking advantage of Wolfe’s current. It stops a safe distance away, and I flip onto my back and swim with the body, kicking as hard as I can.
When I finally reach the boat, it’s my father’s arms that reach over and pull the body inside.
“Tana, are you hurt?” he asks, and the words take me a moment to process.
“No,” I say.
“Get in the boat. It’s not safe,” he says, reaching for me.
“I’ll be okay. Wolfe is here; he’s helping.”
My dad realizes what I’m saying, that it’s Wolfe’s magic that is enabling me to help. Wolfe’s magic that is saving Landon and his family. He tenses, but he doesn’t argue.
“Okay. There’s nothing we can do until that current moves on. Help as much as you can, and we’ll be here, standing by.” He’s soaking wet, the rain unrelenting, the inside of the boat drenched, but they’re safe where they are.
Dad reaches over and rests his hand against the side of the boat. I quickly squeeze it, then dive beneath the surface and search for Wolfe. His light is coming toward me, and I rush to meet him. He’s carrying another person, Landon’s mother, but she’s moving, kicking her legs along with Wolfe.
Watching him, carrying the light of the moon and riding a current he created, I see just how powerful high magic is. If there’s a manor full of witches who can do what Wolfe is doing now—if this is the baseline of what they’re capable of—I can only imagine what they could do with more magic.
An idea forms in my mind, fuzzy at first but growing in clarity.
“What’s wrong?” Wolfe shouts at me, and I realize I’ve been treading water, staring at the sea.