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Tonight, Anthony showed us something amazing. We all know about the Fae lore and legends that surround Wild Haven Island, but I never, not for one second, believed they were real.
The entry ends. It’s one of the shortest in all of the journals that I’ve read so far. It still has that same new handwriting, as if Evelyn was in too much of a hurry to focus on her penmanship. I flip through the rest of the pages, wanting to see how many more entries there are. I’m surprised to find that there are only two more. The rest of the book has empty pages that were never filled.
Something is very wrong. With me. With Anthony. With everyone involved in his damn project. I went over to Holly‘s tonight because I know she’s not on board with everything that’s been going on lately. When I got to the house, I could hear the babies crying inside. I must’ve knocked for five minutes before Scott finally came to the door. He was so angry, it scared me just to be around him. When I asked to see Holly, he told me she was gone. That she couldn’t take living on this island anymore, taking care of two brats, and she wanted to go find herself.
I know Scott is lying. Holly loves those two kids more than life itself. She would never leave them with that monster. I don’t know what happened, but I have this horrible feeling that Scott has done something very bad.
That’s not the only thing. I haven’t felt like myself lately. I've been sick for days, and I’m so damn tired. But it’s more than that. There’s something off with Anthony. Something keeps pulling me back to him, but… as soon as I’m not with him, it’s like a fog lifts. He’s an asshole. He’s never told me, but I have the sense that he’s done some bad things. I don’t want to be with him, so why do I keep running back to his side?
Is it possible to magic someone to be attracted to you? Like a love potion? Were Evelyn’s feelings for Anthony legitimately hers, or was he doing something to her? The last page is short, and the writing is so sloppy it’s hard to read.
I don’t know why I’m compelled to write this down, but it seems important to have this documented somewhere. I’m leaving Wild Haven. I can’t stay here. Anthony has been messing with my head. Everything he’s told us has been true. At least a partial truth. The sentinels from Fairy, they were real. The seven of us that Anthony’s roped into his damn Axis, he says we’re all direct descendants of those that were left behind to close the veil. Scott, James, Isbeth, they’ve all lost their minds.
Whatever Anthony wanted to achieve, it didn’t work, and I don’t know what he’s going to do next. I can’t stay here with these people, with him. Not knowing that I have something so precious to protect.
My stomach swoops, and I gnaw on my bottom lip. I have a feeling that something precious was Miri. Evelyn was pregnant when she ran away. We already knew that much. I wish there were more details about what happened, but this is more insight than any of us have ever gotten into the original Axis before. It’s just not enough.
I pick up my phone to check the time, surprised to find I’ve been reading the journal for over two hours. Paul’s Tavern should be open by now, and I know Rhys prefers to open, rather than close down most nights. I could call him, but I need to get out of my apartment and clear my head, anyway. Plus, this isn’t really the kind of information I should tell him over the phone.
I throw on a pair of slip-on sneakers and swipe my keys off the small table by the front door. Normally, I’d make sure everything was perfectly in order, my clothes, makeup, hair, but I don’t bother. Nervous energy creeps beneath my skin, making me feel antsy and anxious. The sense that we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop has been a constant monkey on my back since Miri and Davis bonded, and it’s only getting worse. Maybe it’s all a manufactured worry in my head, but I doubt it. Anthony might have gone quiet for now, but I know he’s plotting something from his ugly modern monstrosity of a house.
There’s a lot of foot traffic on Aspen Street as I make my way to Rhys’s bar. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, more and more people will come from the mainland for weekend getaways. It’s a simple fact of life on Wild Haven Island. I know the businesses wouldn’t survive without the tourists, but I personally prefer the quiet season when I don’t have to wait fifteen minutes at Sidhe’s Cup for coffee and a muffin. That’s just my introverted side being grumpy.
I’m not surprised that Davis’s father’s death hasn’t quelled the surge of tourists. I’m sure Anthony and my father found a way to keep it all quiet. There’s a fair amount of people at the bar when I walk inside. Greta, one of Rhys’s employees, is helping serve food while my brother mans the bar. I forced him to hire some extra help when he kept begging me to cover shifts. I don’t mind on occasion, but it was becoming a legitimate second job with how often he was asking.
“Hey, Lena.” Greta swirls by, balancing plates of food with a daring amount of flippancy.
“Hi, Greta.” I give her a little wave and head over to the bar. This is probably a bad idea. It’s way too busy here for a private conversation.
“Magdalena, you look like you’re going to walk right back out the door. Get your butt back here and help me out.”
Rhys knows me too damn well. I glare at him, but don’t bother arguing as I slip behind the bar. The work actually helps calm my head. Everything I read earlier, the threat of the Axis looming over our heads, whatever crap Archer and I are getting ourselves into, has been wriggling around in my brain like a pissed off snake. Filling orders, washing glasses, helping Greta deliver food doesn’t leave room for much else. At least for a little while.
It’s a few hours before things calm down and the bar is cleaned up after the rush. I help myself to a handmade cherry coke, and plop down on a stool in front of Rhys.
“Thanks for helping.”
“Not like I had a choice.” I raise a brow, and then pluck a cherry out of my drink and eat it. I put three in there, because I can.
“You could have run away.”
“I would never do that to you, bro.”
Rhys lifts his head from where he’s wiping down the bar and nods, turning serious. “I know, Lena.”
I don’t really want to have this conversation, but I need to know. “Are you and Archer still broken up?”
Rhys glares at me and throws down his rag. He leans against the back counter, crossing his arms and his legs at the ankle. His black hair, the same color as mine, is messy from running around for the last few hours. “We’re officially divorced.”
“Okay, I don’t know what that means in this weird analogy.”
“You started it.”
“Well, now I need us to talk in actuals, not in hyperbole. Are you guys still fighting?” Rhys can push my buttons like no one else. He’s my twin brother. He’s seen me at my best and worst, and always has my back. He might judge me sometimes, but he wouldn’t do it behind my back. He just tells me straight to my face that I need to get out of my own head. That I need to cut loose and stop being so uptight. When I left for college, Rhys didn’t believe it would happen until he left me in my dorm room.
“If you’re asking if I’m still pissed at his reckless behavior, then the answer is yes.”
I frown, fishing out another cherry. “Reckless? What are you talking about?”
