“I have a deal for you, then.”
“A deal?”
He nodded. “I’m looking for a sword. I believe you can help me get it.”
“What sword?” And why would he possibly think she could help him?
“A powerful one that very few people know exist,” was all he said.
“What exactly does it do? What does it look like?”
He bared his teeth. “Do you think I’ll tell you so you can rush off and try to find it yourself?”
“I wouldn’t do that.” That was exactly what she was planning to do. “So, I help you get the sword. What do I get out of it?”
Grim looked pointedly at the bars. “For starters, you wouldn’t freeze to death in this cell, in that flimsy dress.” Isla had dropped her arms, but she covered her chest again. “And, if you can help me, I will not only agree not to kill you at the Centennial, but I will also be your ally.”
“You—you’ve decided to attend?”
“Only if you help me find the sword.”
His aid would be invaluable. With Grim by her side—along with Celeste—she might really have a chance of surviving the hundred days on the island.
Still. Grim couldn’t be trusted. She and Celeste had a plan. She would find a way to get the gloves. “No.”
Grim’s shadows flared around him. “No?”
She shrugged. “No.”
His fingers twitched, as if desperate to turn her to ash, just as he had done with the shackles. Instead, he said, “Very well,” and turned to leave.
He made it to the end of the hall before she said, “Wait. You wouldn’t leave me here, would you?”
“I would.”
Her eyes bulged. No, no, he wouldn’t.
Who was she kidding? He was the ruler of Nightshade. Famed for his cruelty. He had killed thousands in his lifetime.
His steps retreated once more, before she said, “Fine! Fine. But only if you return my starstick.”
His lip curled back in disgust. “Yourwhat?”
“My portaling device.”
With a flick of his wrist, it was in his hand. “I feel strongly that I will regret this,” he said, eyes narrowed, as he slipped it to her.
She grinned, cradling it in her arms. It was her most prized possession. Grim just frowned at her.
That was how she made a deal with a demon.
REVELATIONS
“There is a sword.”
Isla recounted her memory to Oro. It was the first one that seemed remotely helpful. “He said I could help him find it. He said it was powerful.”
Oro’s brows came slightly together. “Do you know anything else about it?”
