“It’s more complicated than that. I didn’t want you to feel… obligated to provide for me.”
I was astonished by this admission. This was something we definitely had to talk out, and I didn’t want her parents around for it, because this was a big conversation.
After a beat of silence, Liam sighed. “It appears you two have more to work out than I thought. And your work starts now.”
The boat bottomed out against the sand, and we came to a halt. My magic sensed a small sandy beach with a forest beyond, though the island couldn’t be bigger than a few acres.
“Everybody out!” Liam barked.
I went to help Ava, but Liam grabbed me under the arm and yanked me out of the boat and down a sandy beach. Sophia and Oberi helped with Ava’s chair, while Liam dropped his voice so only I could hear.
“I didn’t realize Ava hadn’t told you about what she’d done,” Liam started. “And that’s a problem. If Ava’s kept this under wraps, that means she doesn’t trust you enough to finish your part. Your job here on this island is to show her that she can rely on you. Can you do that, kid?”
“Yeah, of course,” I insisted. “I’m willing to do anything.”
“You don’t understand,” Liam pressed. “You can’t just want this. You have to do it. You’ve already proven your intention. Now you have to show her you’re capable. She was supposed to tell you to go get her things back. It’s forbidden for anyone else to do it on her behalf, but I'm a chief, so I'm making an executive decision and going against tradition, because it’s clear you two still need help communicating.”
I hadn’t realized. I’d been so cautious around Ava that I rarely touched her anymore. I didn’t know what she’d been wearing for a while now.
All of her things. And I hadn’t known. How long was she planning on waiting to tell me?
“I wish I would’ve noticed,” I said. “Am I purposefully being ignorant?”
“No. Ava is acting out of her wounded feminine by being afraid to ask for your help, and you’re operating out of your wounded masculine by hesitating on giving her what she needs. This is why we brought you to this island.”
Liam clapped me on the back. “You two better not leave this place until you prove to her without a doubt she can count on you from now on, and she proves to you that she can trust you enough with whatever’s on her mind.”
We might be here until we died if that was the case, but I still replied, “We’ll do it. We can figure this out.”
Hopefully.
We returned to the boat, where Sophia had helped Ava out and into her chair. “I said we weren’t going to leave you empty-handed,” Sophia promised. “So here is the only tool you need to get you off this island. Use it well.”
Sophia placed something into my hands, and I ran my fingers over a leather cover. “A spell book?” I wondered.
“It is a journal of sorts, a gift from Liam and me to the two of you,” Sophia stated. “The spell you need to complete this ritual is inside. You’re not to leave the island until the ritual is complete. The empty pages are for your future, to add reminders, journal entries, or any notes that you desire to maintain balance in your marriage.”
“Mama, that’s so thoughtful,” Ava said. “Thank you.”
“There’s one more thing,” Sophia said. She knelt at Oberi’s side, and he panted happily. “This ritual must be done without the use of magic, as our ancestors did long ago. If we left you here with Charlie’s powers, he’d be able to levitate you back to shore, instead of you two completing the ritual first.”
“Dammit!” Ava cried, as if she’d been thinking of asking me to do that the minute her parents left.
“No cheating,” Liam scolded. “You do this right or not at all. We’re also taking the dog. No help from your Familiar, either.”
“With Charlie’s permission, Oberi should be able to cut off Charlie’s power,” Sophia continued. “Do you consent to this, Charlie?”
I hesitated, because taking away my power was like taking away Ava’s wheelchair. It was an assistive device for my disability. I worried about being able to navigate well enough to care for Ava out here without it.
Ava must’ve been thinking the same thing. “But that’s unfair!” she protested. “Charlie needs his powers. It’s not like he still has a cane to get around.”
“Ava makes a good point, Liam,” Sophia agreed. “You have accessibility aids, too. Not everyone needs to have their disability on hard mode.”
I will leave your connection open enough to navigate your environment, but you will not be able to cast power beyond that. Is that understood? Oberi told me, and I repeated his offer for the others.
Liam grunted, but finally said, “I’ll allow it.”
“I’m fine with that compromise,” I told them. “I don’t need my powers to get Ava off this island.”
