It was warm and homey—nothing like the chain coffee shops people loved in the city. When people came to Twin Pines Café, it was to sit down, enjoy their drink, and appreciate the view of the ocean from the back porch or outside the window.
I could almost smell the fresh coffee.
When I stepped through the door, everything was just as I remembered. It was dinner time, so the evening crowd was enjoying their sandwiches and drinks, along with plenty of tourists who’d stopped by at the end of their scenic drive along John Astor Road.
“Gemma!” someone said from one of the couches near the bookshelves. “You’re back!”
My best friend from school, Jillian. She was up in a second, and nearly gave me a hug. Then she froze, her eyes running up and down my clothes.
“What are you wearing?” she asked.
I looked down at my Haven whites, feeling stupid for not remembering to change.
“Long story,” I said, and I hurried toward the door to the back room. As far as I knew, Shivani had told everyone that my family and I had moved in with relatives in New Zealand. I did not have time to coordinate with her cover story right now. “I’m only here for a bit. Sorry.”
I disappeared into the back room, not giving her time to ask any more questions.
Hopefully Shivani could make a memory potion for Jillian, so she’d forget I was there. Slip it in her coffee or something. The taste of the coffee was strong enough that it might be able to mask the potion, especially on someone who wasn’t expecting it.
I hurried upstairs to Mom’s room/office. Shivani was there on the computer, managing the bookkeeping, just like Mom would have been doing if we’d been home.
She looked up from the computer, startled. “Gemma,” she said, and she glanced around, checking to see if anyone else was there. “What are you doing here?”
“I need memory potion,” I said quickly. “And I don’t want anyone to know about it.”
“So you came to me.”
“Obviously.” I was so eager to get this over with that I could barely stand still.
“All right,” she said. “But if I’m making you memory potion, then I need to know what for.”
“It’s a long story,” I said, hating that I had to go over it again.
It hurt too much to repeat. Talking about it was like opening a fresh wound.
“Then I suggest you tell me quickly.” She leaned back and crossed her legs, clearly not going to budge. “Because I’m not making you a memory potion without knowing why I’m making you a memory potion.”
I paced around the room and summarized the situation as fast as I could.
Once I finished, Shivani’s expression was solemn. “I’m sorry for everything you’re going through,” she said. “And I’m more than happy to help. It’s just…”
My heart dropped. “Just what?”
“I’ve never heard of nightshade doing such a thing.”
“Oh.” I frowned.
“But memory potion works on all memories.” She forced brightness into her tone. “You have memories of these moments with Ethan. So it doesn’t seem illogical to think you can drink memory potion and erase the false memories.”
“So I’ll replace the false memories with… different false memories.”
“Ideally, you won’t remember them at all,” she said. “It’ll be like your experiences while asleep were a forgotten dream. Although, the potion will only erase your memories of the time when you were knocked out from the nightshade. If you want to erase your memory of your kiss with Ethan, I’d have to create a separate potion. Although I don’t see what good that would do, since Ethan would still remember it. But with your false memories erased, your emotions attached to the kiss should disappear, too.”
“Good,” I said, although the word felt empty. “That’s good.”
“I need a strand of your hair.”
I plucked one out and handed it to her.
“Perfect,” she said. “Now, you look like you could use some sleep.”
I yawned, not realizing how tired I was until she said it. And the thought of lying down in my own bed sounded really nice.
I’d missed being home.
“Go get some rest,” she said. “I’ll wake you once the potion’s ready.”
6
Gemma
I got back before sunset, so no one realized I’d left.
For the next two days, Ethan, Mira and I visited the Eternal Library to see if Hecate was there to answer our questions.
She wasn’t.
So we continued with our training. Raven didn’t give up on telling us about Avalon while we were practicing sword fighting with her. And while life on the island