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“You called me petty,” I acknowledge, though I’m a little confused. “It seemed like you wanted to speak truths. The books on the island paint you as a creature of the night, incomprehensible and filled with jealous rage.”
The dried substance folds in on itself, like walls in a Tomb Raider movie. Clearly, I touched the wrong button. It’s not that I want to make an enemy out of Sfear, though I still haven’t figured out if she’s bad.
We’ve fought, yes. She didn’t want me to leave… But did she mean the nightmare she created or this world? I haven’t spent much time pondering her motives.
I just assumed.
And I hate how hazardous assumptions can be.
Is Sfear using Nesta, or is Nesta using Sfear? I can’t find out if we keep arguing and fighting.
“There’s no need for this,” I tell her, exasperated by her visit. “Each of us is showing a weakness right now. You keep popping up, but you aren’t clear as to why. And you’ve yet to introduce yourself to me in a way that doesn’t feel like an attack. I don’t know if I’m supposed to help you or fight you.”
Sfear grows quiet, and the darkness disperses in a sudden implosion. It leaves me stunned, blinking at the bright light left behind. Which part of what I said made her leave? Or did she find something better to do with her time?
“What the fuck am I supposed to do with all this water?” I whisper as I glance around at the sea I’m drifting in.
But rather than let it go to waste, I kick my feet up, turning my face to the illusion of the sun as I float on my back. I love swimming, and sometimes I think I forget just how much it relaxes me.
“It’d be really nice to talk to you without feeling threatened,” I shout into my dreamscape. “I think we could get along. They could call us the petty water witch and the emotional demon.” I snort. “Yeah. We could be friends.”
24
ADELAIDE
DAY SEVENTY-TWO
I discard my sandals as soon as we touch the warm sand. The shore between the twin boulders has quickly become my favorite place to visit, though I don’t come as often as I’d like. The mixture of forest and beach is almost as enticing as swimming with Indigo and Jade.
“So, what’s a familiar exactly?” Madigan inquires, untying her skirt so she can use it as a towel. “Like a witch’s cat?”
“It’s a creature who is connected to us. I’m not sure how to explain them to you because I don’t fully understand it.” I grin to myself. “Jade scared the shit out of me when I first got here. The storm dropped me way out there, and I had to swim to the shore.”
“Who?” she asks, walking into the water until it wraps around her ankles.
“Isolde’s kraken,” I reply. “Her name is Jade. My kraken’s name is Indigo.”
Madi looks at me as if I’m losing my mind. “A kraken?”
I nod, but I don’t say anything else. Indigo makes her own introduction as the tip of her tentacle twists up the future Shade queen’s calf.
Madigan screams so loudly that birds scatter in the forest, their massive wings breaching the canopy in a flutter of motion. She scrambles away from the water, falling onto her ass and rubbing her leg like Indigo’s touch burns her.
I double over, laughing until my cheeks ache.
“What the fuck was that?” she screeches.
“This is Indigo,” I happily reply, sweeping my hand toward the ocean where the top of the kraken’s head, up to her giant purple eyes, greets us and excitable clicks echo beyond the water. “She’s my familiar.”
“That is?” Madi asks, pointing a shaking finger at the deep purple mound floating before us.
I turn and smile fondly at Indigo. “Yes.”
“It’s huge, Ada.” She climbs to her feet and dusts the sand off her skin. “How do you take it anywhere?”
“Her,” I correct. “And I don’t. She’s not a dog. I believe they guard the island, though it’s just a guess.”
“And you think I have a kraken too?” she continues questioning me.
