“No, you don’t want to intervene. You never do,” Naomi spat back. “But we’re not asking you to fight with us. We just need to borrow a boat.”

Celeste shook her head. “When I created this sanctuary, I swore we would not intervene in the conflicts of the external world.”

“External? What to you mean external? We all live in the same world.”

“I’m not going to argue semantics with you, Naomi,” her mother replied calmly.

“Those children are like the children here.” Her gaze shifted to her sisters. “Like them. Like me.”

Celeste sighed. “I made the choices to keep the people here safe. Our bodies and our souls.”

“It’s just a boat, Mom. I’m not asking for a flamethrower.”

“No.”

Naomi threw up her hands in frustration. “You created this place so that mages and fairies could live together in peace. So that children of mixed supernatural heritage could grow up free from prejudice. So they could be safe. The pirates have taken hybrid children. They’re collecting them. Hoarding them. Imprisoning them. You must help us.”

“Naomi, I…” Celeste looked down at her hands, her face a battleground between outrage and fear, her magic a storm of a million other emotions. Regret. Horror. Pain. She expelled a resigned sigh. “I can’t.”

“The pirates are after hybrid children. We don’t know why, but I don’t doubt they will strike again. This island is the closest and largest source of hybrid children to their fortress. The children here are at risk. If you won’t intervene to help those children already taken, help us stop them from taking more. Help us protect the children here.”

“The pirates cannot come here. The magical defenses we’ve woven around the island will protect us. And we’ve recently had help reenforcing them.”

“Wake up, Mother,” Naomi growled. “Or the pirates will take over Fairy Island while you’re still sleeping.”

“Naomi, you don’t understand.” She shook her head sadly. “It’s late. The last boat from Fairy Island today has already left, so I will allow you and your friend to stay here for the night. But you will have to leave on the first boat tomorrow morning. This is a sanctuary of peace, not a war tent. Ivy, Ruby.” She waved at Naomi’s sisters. “Show our guests to their room so they can deposit their weapons before joining us for our evening meal.”

The girls pushed away from the table, leading the way toward a hallway. Sera and Naomi followed.

“One more thing,” Celeste called out.

They all stopped and turned toward her.

“Next time you two want to hide the Silverheart Nectar, try a better hiding place.” She held up a crate of bottles filled with sparkly liquid. “It took me all of two minutes to find these.”

Ivy and Ruby groaned in defeat, then turned back toward the hallway. They remained silent until they’d left the main hall.

“How did she find it?” Ruby asked.

“She always finds it.”

“We need a better hiding spot.”

“But where? We’ve tried everywhere,” Ivy lamented.

“Can your mother sense magic?” Sera asked them.

“I don’t know.” Ivy looked at Ruby.

Her sister shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I bet she can,” Sera said. “And that she’s following your magic trail to where you hid the crate. You need to have someone else hide it. Or cover your magic with something more potent.”

“Fairy Lily?” Ivy asked.

Sera reached out, getting a feel for their magic. It had a distinctive flavor, but it wasn’t that potent. Not as potent as Naomi’s, at least. She nodded at them. “The Fairy Lily should do it.”

They shot her dual grins, then turned to open the door they’d stopped in front of. Sera and Naomi followed the girls into the small room, which held a tiny desk, an armchair, and a bunkbed.

“Cozy,” commented Sera.

Naomi stripped off her knives. “I call the top bunk.”

Ruby and Ivy snickered.

“What?” Naomi asked her sisters.

“Maybe you won’t be sleeping here tonight,” said Ivy coyly.

Ruby snorted.

“Why do I get the feeling that there’s something you two aren’t telling me?”

Ivy winked at her. “Your boyfriend is coming to dinner.”

“Huh? Which one?”

Ruby giggled.“Cloud.”

Naomi collapsed into the armchair. It was a good thing she’d already relieved herself of all her sharp and pointy weapons. “How does Mom work so quickly? How did she know I’d be here?”

“She didn’t. But Cloud often comes to dinner on Fridays,” Ivy said. “To collect the plants he needs for his magic shop in the city. And he’s been helping out with other things on the island too.” She sighed. “He’s very popular here.”

Ruby nodded vigorously. “Yummy.”

“You two can have him,” Naomi told them.

“Mom already told us off for flirting with him.” Ruby’s lips puckered out into a solid pout. “She says he’s too old for us. Everything fun is too old for us.”

“But we have a plan.”

“We’re going to run off to the city one Friday night when everyone’s busy. I hear that place called Liquid is the place to be. Lots of boys there. And no moms allowed.”