After two weeks spent in the darkness of her chambers, the curtains drawn, she had finally felt strong enough to brush her hair. Put on a dress. And walk outside. She stood on her balcony, staring down at the sun’s reflection on the sea, a golden yolk just like the heart of Lightlark. The enchantment they had spent so long looking for that had saved them all. Had savedhermore than once.
It held unmatched power.
And so did she.
She still hadn’t tried to touch her abilities beyond giving some to the Wildling realm. Didn’t even know where she would start. She was worried that if she tried to pull just a thread of them, she would end up ripping a seam and they would all tumble out of her in a destructive flurry.
So, she had let them be. Even though she knew the time would come when they would need to be unleashed.
Grim had returned to Nightshade, scathed. Betrayed.
Isla couldn’t deny the sinking feeling in her stomach at his name returning to her thoughts. She hadn’t let herself look too closely at the shadows in her room. She kept towels over her mirrors, just in case, knowing Nightshades could use them to communicate. Sometimes she drank coffee late at night instead of falling into dreams that she now knew were memories.
Especially since, five days ago, she had heard a voice echo through her mind, just before she had opened her eyes.
Remember us, Heart. Remember it all.
You will remember.
And when you do—
You will come back to me.
Grim’s voice had spoken so clearly, it was as if he was sitting in her room. At the edge of her bed.
But when she had finally blinked her eyes open, gathering the covers to her sweating skin, she had found it empty.
With their curse broken, Nightshades would be stronger than they had been in five hundred years. She remembered with a swallow Grim’s demonstration of power in the rain. Remembered the words that had made chills snake down her spine ... they did so now, again, though for a different reason.
I could open a black hole that would swallow the beach. I could turn the sea dark as ink and kill everything inside of it. I could demolish the castle, brick by brick, from where we stand. I could take you back to Nightshade lands with me right now.
Before, she had thought of his words as boasts. Declarations.
Now, they seemed like threats.
She braced herself against the railing, knocked out of her own mind as heat flooded her. It came from behind her.
Oro.
They hadn’t spoken since he had helped her back to the castle. She had been a shivering mess in his arms, sobbing, screaming, Celeste’s eyes as she died seared into her mind. He had left food, tea, water, comfortable clothing at her door. But she had only ever opened it after he was far down the hall.
Her shoulders stiffened. She stared down at the sea, thrashing beneath her, all white caps and sapphire swirls.
“You’re not thinking of jumping again, are you?”
She whirled around and glared at him. “I did notjump.You made me fall.”
His eyes were serious. But his tone was all mock concern. “Did I?”
“Yes. You and your snooping.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I could hear you from my room. I went out to investigate. I’d hardly call that snooping.”
She tried to keep her glare in place. But as she studied his face, she blinked. She hadn’t ever seen him in the sun.
Oro’s amber eyes shined just as brightly as the heart had. His hair was sun spun into silk. The sharp edges of his face were highlighted in the light. His skin shined.
The dark circles below his eyes had disappeared. His cheeks looked far less sallow. The grayish blue had all vanished.
