I nodded stiffly, even though I had no way of guaranteeing I could fulfill such a promise.

My situation felt completely out of my hands. It felt like I was relying on everyone but myself—Aisha, Bahir, Arron, the witch doctor… and before there had been River. After all the blood I’d consumed, I was unable to even stand on my own two feet without Bahir inside me, fighting a battle against the Elder’s increasing influence over me.

This lack of control was one of the most disturbing things about the predicament that I was in. The feeling of relying on supernatural creatures I didn’t even trust. Even Aisha, who was tasked to protect me, I couldn’t trust fully because as loyal as she seemed to be, she possessed her own faults and weaknesses.

Everyone was depending on me, yet I couldn’t depend on myself.

Yet all the while, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a mission I was supposed to go on alone. I’d felt it deep down in my gut the night I’d told Corrine to leave The Oasis with River. I didn’t know how I knew it. I just did.

But I couldn’t see any way to change the situation.

The brown wolf came into view, interrupting my thoughts. As he bounded toward us through the undergrowth, he clutched a small brown sack in his mouth. He arrived in front of me and dropped it at my feet before backing away and resuming his position beside the black wolf.

I stooped down and picked up the sack from the ground. Loosening the strings, I found myself staring down at a large jagged tooth. I wasn’t sure where he had gotten this from. Perhaps they had some kind of collection, or perhaps it was even from a departed wolf. I didn’t care much, as long as it would satisfy the witch.

I bowed my head slightly. “Thank you,” I said.

The black wolf’s eyes remained boring into mine.

I wanted to feel strong in that moment, as strong as the look he was giving me. But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t. How could I feel strong while being propped up by stilts?

CHAPTER 19: BEN

I was quiet after Aisha transported us out of the woods and back to the beach. One could say that procuring this tooth had been painless, or at least more painless than I’d expected. Yet I could hardly bring myself to feel relief. My mind turned immediately to the next item we had to find for the witch.

“Merflor,” I said.

“We must head to The Cove,” Arron replied.

“Do you have any idea where to search for this plant within that place?” I asked.

“I know the substance,” Aisha replied before Arron could.

“I have a good idea too,” Arron said.

Julie touched my shoulder. “Are you all right?” she asked, her hazel eyes traced with concern. “You look unwell.”

I smiled bitterly. I’d been unwell for so long, I’d forgotten what it felt like to be well.

“I’m okay,” I muttered.

“Let’s get a move on then,” Arron said. “We need to make sure that we have all these ingredients in time, or you will have to reschedule the appointment… and that could come with another fee.”

Another fee. I didn’t like the sound of that. I guessed that would involve taking off on another escapade to find some other stupid ingredient for her.

The stormy beach disappeared around me and when my vision focused again, I was standing on an islet. The slimy rocks surrounding me glistened in the moonlight. The ground swarmed with giant crabs scuttling from one shallow pool to the other. I tried to avoid stepping on any of them as I approached the edge and looked down into the water. They appeared deep and murky, filled with some kind of thick seaweed. Surrounding this islet were countless others. We were in the midst of some kind of archipelago.

“Welcome to The Cove,” Aisha murmured. “The merfolk of course live in these waters. It is not advisable for anyone to enter them. So I suggest you all stay on this rock while I go down there in search of the herb.”

“How long do you think this will take?” I asked.

The jinni shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll be as fast as I can.”

I’d heard that one before. Leaving the islet, she drifted down to the water and sank beneath it. Her long, thick hair billowed momentarily on the surface before disappearing with the rest of her.

It made sense for her to go. My parents had told me of some of the sinister creatures that lay beneath these waters, and I guessed Aisha would be immune to all of them.

I sat down on the edge of the islet and watched the waves licking the rocks. My eyes became unfocused as my mind traveled back to River. The girl I ached for. The only girl I’d ever professed my love to. I’d dated girls before River, but never come close to feeling strongly enough about them to say those three words. Although some had proclaimed love to me, I’d never been the kind of person to exaggerate feelings.

I closed my eyes, playing over in my head the last night we’d spent together. I relived her touch, her kisses, her embrace. The way she’d looked at me when she’d said she loved me too. The ache I’d felt, knowing that I had to leave her.

I snapped out of my reverie when someone sat next to me. I opened my eyes. Julie crouched, looking down into the water with a strangely thoughtful expression on her face.

“I’ve never seen a werewolf so cooperative,” she commented.

“Have you come across many werewolves?”

“A fair number,” she replied. “My father had some dealings with some. Though I’ve never come so close.”