“Warned by who?” Oro demanded.
The oracle shook her head.“ThatI cannot say. But I will say more than I’ve promised not to.”
Cleo. It had to be Cleo.
“So many secrets, trapped between you,” she continued. The oracle scratched along the ice with a long nail, and the sound made Isla wince. “But, just like this wall, they too will one day give way and unravel and fall ... leaving quite a mess and madness.”
Isla avoided meeting Oro’s gaze. The oracle met her eyes with a knowing look. Knowing everything. She grinned.
“Enough of your riddles,” Oro said. “We seek the heart of Lightlark. Is it here?”
The oracle smiled wider. “It is near. Nearer than you know.”
“So, it’s on Moon Isle?” Isla said.
The oracle nodded. Relief nearly brought her to her knees. “Where?”
The woman shook her head. “That I cannot divulge. You both must find it on your own. That is the only way to successfully wield the heart.”
Isla glared at her.
The oracle stared back. “You ... have many questions. There are so many things I could tell you ... though I should not.” She looked at her knowingly. “All will be revealed soon enough.”
Isla’s stomach puddled. Could she truly mean that her secret would be revealed?No.
“Know this,” the oracle said. “There are lies and liars all around you, Isla Crown.”
Lies and liars.
Who?
“And one of the six rulers will indeed be dead before the hundred days are over.” Which ruler? Did that mean the curses would be broken?
Isla took a step forward, willing the right words to form in her head, the right question. But before the words could leave her lips, the oracle smiled.
And the water hardened into ice.
Isla banged on it with knuckles that immediately spotted with blood. Still, she kept pounding, over and over, her hand raw and throbbing.
Finally, Oro placed his hand over hers, stopping it. “She’s gone,” he said. “And she will not awaken again anytime soon.”
Her hand stayed splayed across the ice for another long moment before she tore it off. She turned to Oro. He had secrets too. The oracle had confirmed as much.
So much for sharing them all.
Lies and liars ...Had the oracle meant him?
Or someone else?
And which one of the six rulers would perish?
Though she was disappointed, terrified ... the oracle’s information had been invaluable.
“How many other places on Moon Isle qualify?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper. The oracle had warned her that her secret would be revealed. They needed to find the heart soon, before that happened. Before the island was no more than rocks and ruins.
“Three.”
Three.Isla breathed out and leaned against the ice, relief making her limbs go weak. The cape kept her warm, and she cradled her bloody knuckles against the fabric. “Three,” she repeated. “Can we go tonight?”
