He tried to find a path where it didn’t feel like his heart and soul were breaking.
What if Cleo had not attended the last Centennial? What if the curses never happened? What if Grim’s father had never declared war? What if I had never lost my parents?
He flew toward Nightshade and lived dozens of versions of his life. Alternate endings to a story he already knew.
And even in possibilities where his family was still here with him, even in possibilities where the curses never occurred, even in possibilities where all his problems had seemed to have been solved...
He never ended up as happy as when he had been with her.
The realization stung. He didn’t need the pool to tell him this, but even after the heartbreak of the last few weeks, that hadn’t changed. Even when he didn’t end up with her, even when she chose Grim, just having known her for a little while was enough to have made him happier than in any other life.
“Why are you showing me this?” Oro asked, his voice tight, his head pounding. He had been flying for hours, but his mind was more exhausted than his body. All of this was in the past. It had alreadyhappened. Even if he knew now what he might have done differently, it didn’t matter.
“I told you. Because soon, you will make a choice. You have seen so much of the past already...But until now, you haven’t explored your own.”
Oro didn’t know how the woman could sense he had used the Threads of Time, but she was right. He had been lost in the past, had traced his ancestors’ footsteps over thousands of years. He had seen how predictably history repeated itself, over and over.
“You can break the cycle,” the woman said.
“How?” he asked desperately.
But when Oro looked below him, the pool had vanished. Only dark, undulating waves remained. The moon was bright in the sky, glistening off of the sea. He had been lost in his mind for an entire day.
He swallowed, the silver woman’s words haunting him. He had plenty of time left to contemplate them as he raced toward Nightshade.
ISLA
Lark was sleeping.
The feather was clutched in her hands, as if she didn’t want to be parted from it for even a moment. She hadn’t seen her ancestor sleep soundly before. Perhaps the pain had been too great, the way Cronan had left her. Now, it seemed she had healed enough to rest.
She had told Oro to wait for her, but she knew he wouldn’t. His faith in her was unwavering, even now. He was probably already halfway to Nightshade. He would have had to abandon his island in the midst of the creature invasions. He had to leave his friends to fight without him...
All for the belief that she would do her part by discovering the starstick’s location.
She had tried, but she had nothing left to offer Lark. Nothing left to bargain with.
Isla laid on the filthy cell floor and looked up at the only window in this cell, perched high up the wall. From this angle, she could see a shred of the moon, staring down at her. Almost smeared away completely by the strange shade of sky—peculiar even in darkness.
But then it was covered completely.
By a dark cloud.
Ever so slowly, Isla started to feel that seed of power within her bloom to life.
Her eyes flicked over to Lark’s sleeping form. Now that she was mostly healed, she posed a risk. But the incoming storm didn’t rouseLark. It was as if her body was catching up with all the sleep she had missed when she had just been pieces that hardly fit together.
Isla eyed the bars of the cell next. Even if she wanted to escape, she couldn’t. The metal was not only shademade but also tied to Cronan. He controlled it.
It was why he didn’t even bother shackling his prisoners. Storms might give them access to their powers, but the shademade bars couldn’t be destroyed with their abilities.
Still...she would be able to use her powerswithinthe cell...
Her gaze landed on Lark again.
The storm was moving on quickly. She could feel her abilities going with it. But how would she use her powers to get this information out of Lark? The last thing she wanted was to duel with her ancestor in such close quarters. If only she could read her mind...
Why couldn’t she? Her father was Nightshade. She had that power within her.
