The air seemed sucked out of the room. Isla turned to Oro, who was staring at Zed like he was an enemy and not seemingly one of his oldest friends. “Zed,” he said darkly, the word a warning.
“He didn’t tell me,” Zed continued, ignoring Oro. “A forest turned to ash on Sky Isle. The place next to it looked like a damned palace garden. It wasn’t hard to put together.”
“Zed—” Oro said.
“I am Nightshade,” she said.
The room went silent.
Zed leaned back in his chair and stared at her. For a moment, he almost looked impressed. “I wasn’t expecting you to admit it.”
Isla sat straighter. “It is what I am. I can’t control it more than you can control your dark-blue hair, or he can control the fact that he was born in a realm ruled by a witch.” She motioned to Calder.
Enya nodded. “It’s true,” she said, looking at Zed as if to scold him. “All of us were born different, in one way or another. It’s what brought us together.”
Calder shook his head. He tried to smile at Isla. “Ignore him. He’s just moody that Oro hasn’t been joining our weekly games. The teams aren’t even.”
“Games?” Isla wondered.
Calder’s grin grew. He opened his mouth, excited, but Oro stopped him.
“Enough interrogating Isla and talk of games,” Oro said, setting his hands on the table. He looked pointedly at his friends. “We are at war, or have you all forgotten why I asked you to meet?”
That sobered the room.
Enya’s expression became focused again. “Oro and I have the Sunling forces set up. Most are rusty, but our numbers are strong, and they are training as we speak.”
“Do they need weapons?” Zed asked.
“No,” Enya said. “All can wield. It’s better they’re not weighed down by swords or armor.”
“Same for the flight force,” Zed said. He glanced at Oro. “Is Azul coming?”
Oro nodded. “He’s in a representative meeting, but he’ll be here soon.” He looked at Isla.
“Wildling warriors have volunteered. They can all wield and are training now. We have our own weapons.” She looked at Calder hopefully. “Are you a healer?”
Enya made a choking noise, and Calder gave his friend a look. He smiled sheepishly when he turned back to Isla. “Currently the best on Lightlark.”
“Because all the other healers are on Nightshade,” Zed said smoothly.
Isla’s smile faltered. Great. “We have healing elixir and are trying our best to make more of it. Starlings have volunteered to fight, but we see their best contribution as creating a shield around parts of the Mainland.”
Zed nodded. “Smart,” he admitted.
“I’m still trying to figure out how many talented wielders are on Star Isle, but I’m going to assume they’re limited.” She had asked Maren to get back to her with a list of the best, but so far she hadn’t received it. “So, the shield will be small, but it might mean we can reduce where Nightshade can attack.”
Calder nodded. “I can freeze parts of the sea around the island to limit where their ships are able to land too.”
“He’s not coming from the sea.” Dread churned in Isla’s stomach.
Calder frowned. “You think he’ll arrive from the skies?”
“No.”
That was when she told them about Grim’s portaling flair. He and his army could appear anywhere, at any time. There would be no warning except for the one he had already given them.
Silence.
