Wicked Ones ♛ MAL [✓]

➣ twenty-seven.

027. | THE BREAKING POINT

After half an hour, we stopped on the hill that overlooked the cottage. The boys were nowhere in sight, which meant that they were still out looking for Ben.

"I really hope they found Ben," Mal said.

Uma let out a soft, impressed breath at the sight of Evie's cottage. "Nice digs."

Evie shrugged. "I got a really good deal."

We went inside, and upon entering the living room, we saw Dizzy and the twins asleep on the couch. My heart sank at the fact that they, too, had been affected by Audrey's spell, but it also infuriated me that she would pick on such innocent kids.

While the twins were sleeping peacefully. Dizzy was whimpering and mumbling in her sleep, a frown on her face as she squirmed in place. She's having a nightmare, I realized.

Celia walked over to Dizzy, placing a hand on her forehead to comfort her. "Shh," Celia said. "It's okay." Then, she picked up a blanket and covered the three young children, making sure they were comfortable before she leaned over to speak to Dizzy. "Don't worry, Dizzy. We can fix this. And once we do, they're gonna let all the kids come from the Isle. So..." She paused. "Happy dreams."

Suddenly we heard loud snoring coming from the patio. So we quickly rushed down the stairs, and I gasped when I saw who was asleep on the floor.

Doug.

"Uh, who's the dude?" Uma asked.

Evie rushed over to him, then crouched by his side and said, "Doug." When he didn't move, she poked his shoulder and repeated, "Doug. Wake up. Wake up."

"He's spelled," Uma reminded her, then turned to Mal and asked, "Is she not a fast learner?"

Mal gave her a small shrug. "She's emotionally involved, okay?"

Uma sighed. "Well, in that case, she should be able to wake him up." Evie looked at her in surprise, and Uma gave her a look and explained, "True love's kiss. Works every time."

Evie winced apologetically. "Well, we haven't used the 'L' word yet."

Uma gave Mal a sideways glance as if to say, Really?

Evie looked down at Doug, hesitating for a moment before looking up at us. "Can we be alone?"

Mal, Harley, and I nodded, and we beckoned for Uma to follow.

The four of us went back up the stairs and into the living room, where Celia was busy eating a slice of cake. I plopped down on Evie's couch, putting my head in my hands with a soft sigh.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Harley asked me, "You okay, Alfredo?"

I jerked my head up, shrugging her hand off before saying sharply, "I'm fine. Just tired."

Harley raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Cause to me it looks like–"

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped. "So just drop it, alright?"

Harley took a step back, lifting her hands in surrender before walking away to speak with Uma. As soon as she was gone, I sighed again and buried my face in my hands once more. I knew that the necklace was doing this to me, but until we could find Audrey, I had to keep it on. It was the only thing that could help us stop her.