Chapter 9

How do you know how to speak our language? Mabel folks speak their language.”

He shrugged. “Mabel folks adjust and my court just happens to be very adept at multiple languages, including yours. And I still don’t know your name.”

She looked at him like Mabel folks and adjusting shouldn’t be put in the same sentence but didn’t say a word. The silence stretched on.

“Prince Brian. Em for short.”

Prince Brian.Like her eyes. The name fit. He waited for a last name, then nodded when he deduced that she wasn't going to give it yet. He studied her for a bit and felt a kinship…then, an understanding.

“You're lost too. This isn't your island and you don't know how to get out.”

Prince Brian tensed again, then absorbed the rest of his deduction. Her brows furrowed.

“Too?”

The next part was tricky as he wasn’t sure how much he should reveal yet—or if he should even reveal anything at all.

“I was thrown here by magic. And I don't know how to get out.”

It was the truth, but not the whole truth. She tilted her head, still wary of him. But there was curiosity there now, too, even while the string maintained its hold.

“Whose magic?” she asked.

“Just some enemies,” was his offhanded reply, swallowing the names. In his mind, they were enemies now. “You know how it is in our world.”

“When did you get thrown here?”

“I don’t know what’s with all the questions, but…” He trailed off when he noticed her expression and things clicked. “Today. Just before I saw you.”

Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned ashen. She didn’t have to confirm for him to know that she had been thrust here at the same time. Was it an aftermath of the magic that had gotten him here or did she come here on purpose? Instinct pointed at the former.

“But you want to get out?” she probed.

“Obviously. As do you,” he said slowly, seeing the answer on her face. “Now, please let me go and we can talk about this.”

More silence. Then her face slipped into a mask, one that didn’t show him any answers.

“There's nothing to talk about,” she stated. “Not when you called me baby.”

The string was released, sucked back into her fingers, and disappearing a second later. Her hand still glowed, but she tucked them at her sides. He inwardly sighed in relief, then winced.

“That's because I didn't know your name,” he argued. At her lack of response, he stepped forward. “I would like to apologize for that incident. I wasn’t myself, as you witnessed.”

There was no need to tell her that baby was a pet name for most women, back when his life wasn’t a complete mess and he didn’t know any better. The past was the past and he didn’t like dwelling on it.

“Hmm. Apology accepted. Now leave me alone.”

Before he knew it, she was turning around and walking away. Confusion had him trailing after her.

“But we work better together.”

“No, we don't.”

“But—”

“Take another step closer and you're going to know what it's like to mess with a witch.”

Her words abruptly stopped him in his tracks, along with her hands that sparked with a threat. When she was satisfied that he wouldn’t follow, she resumed walking…then, whirled back to face him again.

“Thank you for providing us with your shield until I could get us to a water bank. I suggest you stay out of that pixie area and run at the first sight of one. They always come in droves and the next attack might be more vicious.”

He raised a brow, then nodded when she remained serious. “Noted.”

“And you talk too much. You just revealed a lot of things about yourself to a stranger. I suggest keeping some secrets to yourself.”

Rick blinked in disbelief, then gaped as she finally turned for good. The determined set of her shoulders told him she already had a path set and would do anything to get there. He supposed that was good. He would be clear and could do things on his own without her interference. He could get back to his home in no time and get the answers he needed. He could seek justice.

She was a witch, a stranger—inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. But she had saved his life and had probably scared those pixies witless enough to not look for him or her anymore. Even then, the woman didn’t know what else was in store for her on this island, considering witches and warlocks never really mingled or explored outside their business transactions.

And he knew what was in store and the possible dangers that could hit her right in the face when she least expected it.

“Damn it.”

Call it a sense of heroism—a weakness that had always plagued him—but he couldn’t just leave her alone. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind, then discarded them with an imaginary sweep of a hand. He cursed under his breath, a habit learned from the adventures he indulged in, which his elusive kind wasn’t even supposed to partake in.

Then Witch was racing after her.

It was a tricky thing to fool a witch into thinking she was alone and no one was shadowing her, but Witch managed as he kept his distance while still keeping an eye on her. To be fair, she was distracted, her mind seemingly elsewhere. But he had no doubt those hands would move with speed and instinct once she sensed the nearest threat.

From the way she avoided thick forests and even thinner ones while forging her path, he knew she was trying to find a shoreline as fast as she could. He climbed a tree and found it far ahead, indicating she was on the right path. Amusement glided in when she climbed a tree minutes later, mirroring his action and hopping down with even more determination. Then prince Brian was plowing her way through the rest of the path, her strides eating up the ground and her excitement slipping through the cool façade.

“Easy, now,” he murmured. “Clear your head. Don’t let anything catch you here.”

So far, the rumored dangerous island that no one had escaped alive from hadn’t presented any threats other than those pixies, and he didn’t trust it one bit. He kept glancing around expecting a jump scare, then switched to climbing a tall branch to survey further when she finally reached the shoreline. When there was still no threat, witch watched her instead as she visibly took a deep gulp of air.

“You have a plan, don’t you? A way out of here. I might have to follow you in that too.”

She didn’t hear him, still basking in the fact that she had found the ocean. Prince Brian studied it for a while, then stripped down to a thin layer of clothes that billowed around her figure. She wrapped the outer layer around her legs as if to add weight to them, then waded in without hesitation. Waist deep, she looked around, closed her eyes…chanted words he couldn’t hear that added a ring of light around her.

It was a long, slow series of chants, meticulous and organized, the circle so perfect even from his point of view. Deciding he might as well protect her without disturbing her, he hopped down from the tree and circled the edge of the forest until he was certain that there were no eyes on them. Satisfied, he returned his attention to her…and froze.

The ring maintained its size and brightness while the magic thickened to a point that even he could almost taste it. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the sharp, majestic fin behind her, still at a fair distance but swimming its way toward her.

“Brian, watch your back!”

She didn’t notice, still engrossed in her chants and swallowed up by her magic. He raced to the shore, repeatedly calling her attention. When she floated further into the ocean, already shoulder-deep, he dove under to speed up his movements. The dark water made it difficult to see, but all he needed was a glimpse of those cloth-wrapped legs before he was pushing the last few feet toward her.

The energy hit him hard as he wrapped an arm around her legs and yanked her out of the way, cutting off whatever she was doing. Horror rocketed when the fin became visible, too, already under the water. It connected to a long, gleaming creature with spikes under its belly and a teeth-filled jaw large enough to swallow them whole—and it wasn’t alone.

A force strong enough to shake him seized him out of the water just as he slammed up his shield, as natural as breathing air. The water around them tossed violently as he was hit from all directions, and he gritted his teeth when it kept coming. Then disbelief coursed in when she started thrashing and swimming out of the shield, unaware of the dangers of it.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed.

“Get back here,” he growled, grabbing her elbow and hauling her back in. Naturally, she thrashed more fiercely, even swinging an energy-filled punch to his stomach. He evaded it and grunted. Impatience flared as their tug-of-war extended, and an idea popped in. At her next attempt to get away from him, he took her shoulders and plunged her straight down, then joined her underwater.

Bubbles formed around them as she struggled. Then her eyes flicked away from him and her body went slack as she finally took in their surroundings. He did the same, his gut tightening every time one of the creatures hit his shield and jarred his senses. The worst thing was how blank their eyes were, cloudy orbs that attacked coldly. When they had their fill of looking, they swam back up and gaped at each other.

“You could have left me behind but didn’t,” he reasoned before she could argue. “I’m just returning the favor.”

“What?” She blinked, then focused on his shimmering shield.

“The shield protects me, not you,” he clarified. “In order to be protected, you have to stay inside it—unless you want to be those creatures’ dinner.”

Dazed and speechless, prince Brian didn’t seem to know how to respond but was no longer fighting it when he gently nudged her back to the shore. He dropped the shield immediately, switching back to conserving his energy. They stood wet and dripping, watching the last of the waves die down and the fins swim out of sight.

“You just messed up my way out of here,” she mused.

“And saved your life. Again,” he reminded, smirking when she looked chastised. Then her words registered. “Was that the way out? Would it have worked?”