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“It’s not like I went looking for him. He hijacked me on the beach. And besides, I don’t want to go to his creepy house for dinner, anyway.” I open one eye and catch Davis staring at my chest. My damp shirt is most definitely stuck to me. Still, I’m not sure I’d call my sweaty, holey shirt sexy in any way. Davis doesn’t really seem to mind though.
“How do you know his house is creepy?” The deep rumble of Davis’s voice makes my skin tingle.
“I’m an ass, I assume things. Anyway, if you’re so dead set against me spending time with Anthony, you could come with me.”
“What?” He sounds so shocked that I sit up straight so I can look at him.
“Listen, there’s something off about this guy. I don’t know what it is, but he gets my hackles up. Whatever those are. He basically broke into my house, because I damn well know I locked my door, and then he forced me to stop on my run, then basically threatened to withhold a business license if I didn’t show up. That’s why I want to punch him, why do you dislike him so much?”
Sweat glistens on Davis’s forehead as he drops the net and moves toward a cooler sitting outside the cabin of the boat. He pulls out a bottle of water, holding it up to ask if I want one.
“Sure, thanks,” I say and catch it when he tosses it to me. I’m clumsy as a bad drunk, so it’s amazing it didn’t go right over the side and into the water. I’m a little smug when I crack it open and take a long drink. Davis grabs his own bottle and leans against the other side of the boat. I’m sure it has a name like a prowl or a flotsam or something, but I know nothing about boats.
“How much did your mom, or even Dani, tell you about your magic?” Davis drops the question so casually that I don’t know how to respond right away. My mom was pretty open about me being able to do magic, but I had to keep it a secret from everyone else. Based on Davis’s panic the other night when Birdie mentioned magic, I’m surprised he’s bringing this up at all.
“Well, I know the types of things I can do. If that’s what you mean?”
“What types of things can you do?”
Is this a test or something?
“Like I said the other day, I’m pretty good at mixing shit. Dani calls it alchemy. I call them potions because it makes me feel like I’m at Hogwarts.”
Davis snorts, and I shrug. “I didn’t have a book or anything telling me what to do. Most of the stuff I figured out was from understanding herbs and their properties and the best combination of things to mix together. I always need to have an intention when I mix my stuff up too, so even if I have all the right ingredients, it won’t contain magic unless I will it to be in there. It’s not like I went to school for magic. There’s a lot of trial and error.” I take a drink of my water and cock my head. “There isn’t some magical academy, is there? I’m going to be so bummed if I missed out on that.”
“No, there’s no magic school that I know of, but honestly, I don’t know much. Just rumors, knowledge we learned from our families.”
“Island lore,” I add, and Davis nods.
“You said we. Are you talking about Lena, Rhys, Archer?”
Davis hesitates a moment before nodding again. “Plus Ezra and Ruby. We’ve pieced together things by sharing what we’ve learned. Lena has a pretty extensive collection of books at the library in a private room, so she probably knows the most about actual magic. In theory.”
“Not that I want you to stop sharing, but why this sudden switch? Seems like the magic stuff was supposed to be a secret.”
Davis exhales loudly. “I’m gonna be blunt. You shouldn’t be here. Why would you come here?”
I rear back as though physically hit. This isn’t the first time Davis has made comments like this, but it stings worse each time he says something. “Why wouldn’t I? This is where my family is from. This place is all that remains of them.”
“This is the place your mom ran from. Didn’t you ever stop to think why? I can’t believe Dani let you come here.”
“Since I’m an adult, there wasn’t much Dani could have done to stop me, if she wanted to.”
Davis makes an exasperated sound, tipping his head back to look up at the sky. “Your mom begged me to take you away, and she begged me to never tell a soul about you. She was worried for your life.”
A shiver cascades down my spine from both hearing him say my name and also from his words. “Why would you have to keep it a secret?”
“Obviously she didn’t want anyone finding where you ended up. Do you think she would want you here? The place where she ran from all those years ago.”
Irritation makes my skin feel tight, but I shove it aside. This is more information than I would have imagined he’d give up when I stepped on this boat and if I want him to keep talking, then I can’t exactly start yelling at him to shut his mouth.
“My mom wanted me to come back here. To claim my family home when the right time came.” I breathe through the words trying to keep calm. “As much as I love being lectured, what does any of this have to do with Anthony?”
Davis slides down the side of the boat, sitting with his back pressed up against the wall, he looks surprised by the fact that my mom wanted me here. His knees are up and one wrist rests on his knee, his water bottle dangling from the fingers of his other hand.
“Wild Haven is a magical hotspot. Remember what I told you about the legend of the four courts of fairy?” I nod, wondering what some island story has to do with anything.
“Some of the families on Wild Haven believe they are descended from the sentinels sent from Fairy all those centuries ago. When the two realms were spilling into one another and damaging both worlds, the sentinels were supposed to protect Fairy. I suppose that meant some of them might have been stuck here when the veil between the two worlds closed.”
