I turn my back to the door and try to focus on the lavender.
Ivy nudges my arm and nods toward the woman. “Listen,” she whispers.
“Don’t play coy with me, dear. Something about your daughter and the governor’s son?”
I hold my breath, waiting to hear how my mother will respond. The rumor is true, of course, but timing is everything, as my mother says.
“You know as well as I do that I don’t like to share anything unless it’s settled.”
“Can we expect a… settlement anytime soon?”
My mother pauses. Then, “Yes, I should think so.”
Mrs. Astor lets out a tiny shriek, then congratulates my mother and gushes as she buys two new perfumes.
I quietly shut the door to the back room and rest against it, closing my eyes.
“News travels quickly,” Ivy says.
“News travels as quickly as my mother wants it to,” I correct her.
I just swam, but I want to run from the shop and dive into the sea, silencing Mrs. Astor and my mother and the expectations that weigh on me.
Ivy sips the last of her tea and hands me mine. “You should finish this.”
I take it from her and drink it down.
“Before I go, how are you doing with all this? It was one thing when your mom decided it was time to start your courtship with Landon. It’s another thing now that it’s truly happening.”
“This is huge for us,” I say. “It would be the most high-profile marriage between a witch and a mainlander in history. It would completely solidify our coven’s place in society.”
Ivy rolls her eyes. “I didn’t ask how your mom persuaded you. I asked how you’re doing.”
I exhale, moving closer to her. “Did you read any articles about the dock fire?”
The words are so quiet I’m not sure if Ivy heard me, but after a moment, she slowly shakes her head. “Only what was in the paper here.”
“I went to the mainland and read every newspaper I could find,” I say, watching the door to ensure my mother doesn’t walk in. “And you know what? There was hardly anything.”
A look of confusion settles on Ivy’s face. The fire happened one month ago, when a mainlander who didn’t trust magic or witches rowed to our island in a wooden boat and set our docks ablaze, trying to destroy the ferry route between the mainland and the Witchery. Trying to cut us off. As soon as my mother learned the details, she said it was time to begin my courtship with Landon.
“Why did you go there?” she asks me.
“I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to see how the mainland felt about it, how strongly they would condemn it. It never occurred to me that I’d find just three short articles that never even called it what it was. I know it’s a small subset of people who feel that way, but things like this will continue to happen until the mainland takes a firm position on the Witchery, and what better way to do that than the future ruler marrying a witch? It’s the most powerful statement they can make. If Landon and I were already married and the mainland had officially written their protection of the Witchery into law, would our docks have been burned? We don’t even know how harshly the man who did it is being punished, if at all. It’s easy to feel like we’re protected with the sea separating us, but we aren’t.”
Ivy nods along to my words. “Mom locked our doors that night. It was the first time I could ever remember her doing that.”
“It’s time for Landon and me to announce our courtship. I’m ready.”
The truth is that the fire only affected the timing. My life has been mapped out for me since the day I was born. This is my role—keeping my coven safe by cementing our place among the mainlanders. It’s a role I’m proud to play, even though it isn’t up to me.
“Well, then,” Ivy says, wrapping her arm around my shoulders, “I suppose it’s a good thing he’s handsome.”
“He most certainly is,” I say, laughing.
Ivy takes my cup from me and walks toward the door.
“Thank you for asking,” I say. She turns. “It’s nice to be asked.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, because I’m going to keep bringing it up.” She grins and walks out the door, saying goodbye to my mother as she leaves.
I’ve known my parents’ plan for this wedding since I was a little girl, and Landon is a good person. He’s decent and kind. We will formally announce our engagement on the same day as my Covenant Ball, when I will bind myself to my coven for the rest of my life. It’s the same ritual every witch must go through, a choice that can never be altered, can never be undone. I must choose my coven or the outside, seal it with magic, and never look back. Without that choice, magic becomes volatile and dangerous.