Isla remembered what the oracle had said.
You ... have many questions. There are so many things I could tell you ... though I should not.
All will be revealed soon enough.
Isla stood in the Place of Mirrors, spine straight. Dead leaves blew lazily at her feet, wind peeking in from a fracture in the glass. She faced the grand staircase that led to rooms that once were full and now sat empty, cobwebs and cracked mirrors instead of laughter and music.
She could almost hear them, their voices just as honeyed as her own, as she reached up to her neck to the giant black diamond that sat against her throat and pulled.
A minute ticked by. His power didn’t work in the Place of Mirrors. He would have to appear at the edge of its forest on Wild Isle and get to her on foot.
The door slammed open so hard it seemed close to shattering, and she whirled around to see Grim, running, frantic.
His eyes were wide—filled with fear. His breath was wild. There was a sword by his side.
He was in front of her in an instant.
“Heart—are you hurt?” His giant hands cupped both sides of her face, thumbs at the corners of her lips, studying her for any damage. He looked down at her as if she was made not of blood and bone but of ice and mist, a moment from vanishing ... panting from the run ...
“I’m fine.”
Noting her tone, he dropped his hands.
No need to skirt around the reason she had called him here. “Why didn’t you tell me that Wildling created the island with Sunling and Nightshade?”
His expression did not change. Not the way she had thought it might. For a moment, all he did was study her.
Finally, Grim said, “Some things are better uncovered ourselves.” His gaze was steady. “There are many things others told me that I would have preferred to have learned on my own. In time. When I could understand it all better ...”What things?she wanted to ask. But she stayed focused.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“In time, of course. I brought you here ... answered your questions ... but I didn’t want to force everything onto you at once.” He shook his head. “You had just arrived somewhere new. Not knowing much. Forced to carry the burden of the curses, to represent your entire realm. Powerless. You were terrified. I couldn’t make it worse. I didn’t want to.”
Isla shouldn’t have been shocked he had been able to sense her terror throughout the Centennial. Her confusion. Still. That was no excuse.
“Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?” she demanded. She couldn’t trust anyone. Azul had poisoned Celeste. Cleo had tried to kill her on multiple occasions. Isla remembered the oracle’s warning.
There are lies and liars all around you, Isla Crown.
Was Grim one of them?
His eyes flashed with something. She knew him well enough now to recognize it.
She took a step back. “There is, isn’t there?”
Grim tensed. Nodded.
“What is it?” Part of her was angry. The other half was scared. And he felt all of it.
Grim took a step closer. She stepped back and almost lost her footing. “There are afewthings I haven’t told you,” he said. “Not explicitly.” Another step.
Just say it,Isla thought. She couldn’t take another moment of wondering.
He frowned. It was an unfamiliar expression on his face. He frowned at other people, alot,but never at her. With her, he always grinned. “I haven’t told you what you do to me.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I haven’t told you that you’ve ruined me.”
