“We didn’t plan for years to be stopped by this,” she said. “And all hope is not lost, not yet.” She surprised Isla by grinning. “I’ve been speaking to the Starlings who work in the castle, your Ella included. About the hidden library.”
Isla resisted the urge to scream. The bondbreaker was a lost cause. She knew that. Her friend’s insistence on finding it was getting infuriating. Isla needed arealsolution—not a legend.
Still. Celeste could have abandoned her the moment the rest of the rulers had learned her secret. But she hadn’t. So, Isla said, as gently as she could manage, “Do any of them know where it is?”
“Not yet—but they’re looking. I have them each searching a specific section of the castle and asking around to anyone they—”
Isla gave her friend a look.
Celeste lifted her arms over her head. “So, what’s your plan? Sit and hide here until the island falls apart around us? Wait until Cleoand the king find the heart—if it even exists—and kill you? Wait until the Wildling realm is officially extinct?” Isla bristled. Even though that was exactly what she had been doing.
She had told her friend about what she had seen in her puddle of stars. She had shown her.
I will help you,her friend promised. But Isla knew nothing short of the power promised in the prophecy would save the Wildlings in their state of deterioration.
Her problems seemed insurmountable.
How was she supposed to find the heart of Lightlark when everyone now not only wished to kill her but knew they easily could? The moment she stepped out of the Place of Mirrors, she would be a target.
How was Isla supposed to win now?
She looked down at her hands. Her shaky words surprised her. There was a lump in her throat, and the corners of her eyes prickled. “I don’t want to give up,” she said honestly. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her guardian. Suffering. Slowly becoming part of the forest. Poppy and Terra were counting on her ... and Isla had purposefully gone against all their plans and preparation. She had truly thought that she could fulfill her duty and get what she wanted most on her own terms. How foolish she had been. “But how can I not? We have no plan. No allies.”
Celeste took her hands in her own. There was something bright in her eyes, an intensity like two glimmering stars. “We have exactly what we started the Centennial with. Each other.”
If only that were enough.
If she had power, she could face off directly against Cleo and Oro, maybe even get the heart from them, instead of waiting to be slaughtered.
The Starling ruler paced the room quickly, as if invigorated by her own words. “This game is not over. We’ve been on the island over two months. We must have made some sort of progress, some connection. Someone here must be able to help us.”
Connection.
Celeste’s word gave her an idea. Her breath caught. Her thoughts scattered. One person had proven useful, time and time again. Someone who dealt in secrets.
And if Isla had learned anything during the Centennial, it was that secrets were everything.
“Parchment,” Isla demanded.
The Starling ruler smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
An hour later, Celeste returned with parchment, ink, and Ella. The Starling now knew of their friendship, but Isla didn’t worry. Not when Ella had been loyal and was one of Celeste’s people. It was in her and her realm’s interest to keep their secrets.
Isla wrote the letter quickly, showing it to Celeste before folding it in half and handing it over to Ella to be delivered.
Finished. Isla had done something ... She wasn’t giving up. Not yet.
As Ella left with the letter, Isla felt a spark of hope. She might be young and powerless and foolish. But if Oro and Cleohadfound the heart, they would have already used it. One of them would be dead, and the curses would be gone.
Something had gone wrong.
Celeste was right. The game was not over. Not yet.
The letter was for Juniper, whose bar had been closed since the ball. If anyone knew the location of a rumored hidden library, or anything at all that could help her win, it was him.
It read,Details of my greatest secret in exchange for yours?
Isla couldn’t sleep. And, it seemed, neither could Grim. He stood with his back to her in the long room, staring out a window—a threshold he could not pass. He took a deep breath, and his head fell back as he exhaled, as if just seeing the dark beyond invigorated him.
