Kai blinked rapidly, processing Isla’s words. “We have to get everyone ready.”
“Isla, wait—” Rynn moved toward her, his hand outstretched.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” Isla snarled, backing away quickly and letting the door shut with a click. She rushed down the hall to a small alcove, the muffled sound of fists hitting solid wood reaching her ears as the entire floor shook at her feet.
Isla slumped against the wall and let out the sob that had been building in her chest. She couldn’t breathe as the tears streaked down her cheeks, her white-hot anger and the acidic burn of betrayal snaking through her veins. She felt alone and isolated, and it was all her fault. She’d lied to everyone around her, and the one person she wasn’t supposed to trust was the only one she wanted to see.
Her mind felt so twisted, so dark. She wanted all of it to be over. She wished she had never met the elementals to begin with.
“Oh, Isla,” Kai’s soft, sweet voice washed over her as she knelt and met Isla’s eyes. Isla jolted slightly; she hadn’t heard the elemental approach.
“Now, tell me what’s going on.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Kai
Thepoorgirllookedlost.Angryand lost.
After pointedly ignoring Rynn and telling Aidan to wake the crew, Kai followed Isla down the dark hallway. The gods only knew how skilled Kai was at deceiving those closest to her, so she could tell Isla was hiding more than she let on.
She knew Isla loved her family, of course, but she didn’t think the girl would be so naive as to keep this blood magic from them or go to the kingmultiple timeswithout telling anyone, without having a way to protect herself. A small sting of bitterness pinched her, for she had been there when Isla received the vial—and Isla had willingly withheld it from her. She’d come back from seeing the king with hesitancy in her eyes and a guarded tongue. Something had happened that night, something that pushed Isla away from the rest of them, pushed her to this recklessness. Kai thought it had been her family’s disappearance, but now she knew it was more than that.
“Start at the beginning,” Kai said.
Isla’s tears slowed and her breath evened out, and she patted her long-sleeved sweater against her eyes as she spoke. “I went to see Sebastian almost a week ago, on our last night in Aataran. I’d been having a lot of anxiety over Papa and Arden and needed to see them. It was a rash decision, but I didn’t know what else to do. So, I used his blood and just…appeared at his palace. Like magic. He said it was the spirit bond.
“He took me to see them. They were safe and cared for like he said they’d be—more than cared for, honestly. He gave them huge rooms and access to anywhere they wanted to go inside the palace. I know they’re still prisoners, but it surprised me.” Isla shook her head as if arguing with herself. “And there were little things he said and did that were so unlike him. Something was different. His eyes changed color whenever he experienced a strong emotion, I think. Almost as if he fought the darkness inside of him for brief moments. I know this sounds ridiculous—it’s not much to go off, but you weren’t there. I just had thisfeeling.”
As Isla spoke, an uneasy knot formed in Kai’s gut. She didn’t like the way the human spoke of this monster, the way his name flowed easily from her tongue. It set Kai’s teeth on edge. And the little twitch in the corner of Isla’s mouth made Kai think she still wasn’t revealing everything.
Isla continued. “Tonight, I heard August talking to all of you about Sebastian’s past. How he was a good man who loved his kingdom. It just didn’t make any sense. I figured something must have happened to make him the way he is now.”
“Anyone can be corrupted,” Kai interjected. “Even the best of men.”
“You haven’t seen everything I’ve seen, Kai,” Isla argued. “He’s not the same person he was a month ago. I started thinking, what if we have the wrong idea? What if we’re fighting the wrong enemy?” Her words became stronger, her face resolute. “If thereissomething or someone else controlling him, then us going after Sebastian isn’t going to solve anything. The enemy from the prophecy will still be out there. I had to see him—I had to know if I was right and figure out how to stop whatever is causing this.”
Kai ached to shut down these thoughts, to shake the girl by the shoulders—but that would make her no better than Rynn. Kai’s blood boiled just thinking about how she’d burst in on Rynn’s hand digging into Isla’s arm, and the fear on Isla’s face.
Kai shoved her fury with her fellow elemental aside for now, promising to deal with him later—if Aidan hadn’t already burned him to oblivion. Instead, she said, “And what did you find out?”
Isla took a breath. “He’s definitely not in control. He’s being forced to do all of this.”
“Did he say this to you? Did he tell you who it is?”
“Well, no.” Isla rubbed at the back of her neck. “He kept trying to dissuade me from the idea and was worried about me getting caught by someone. He said he can’t stop and he can’t fight it any longer, but he wouldn’t say whatitwas.”
Kai ran her finger along her lip. While it did trigger suspicion, Rynn had a point—the king could be deceiving Isla, choosing to manipulate her emotions and beliefs since he couldn’t infiltrate her mind directly like he could the rest of them. Kai believed Isla was telling the truth, but she couldn’t trust Isla’s judgment on the matter. Especially since Kai had a hunch there was more to the story.
“What else are you not saying?” she finally asked.
“I’ve told you everything.” Isla squared her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Kai had to admit, she was a good liar.
Realization hit Kai like a tidal wave. “Do you have feelings for him?”
Isla’s face paled, and her eyes widened for a second before she rolled them and crossed her arms in annoyance. “Who, the king? Of course not. I just want the truth. And I think there’s something much worse playingallof us.”
“Listen to me, Isla.” Kai grabbed the girl’s hand gently. “Let’s say you’re right—that someone else is controlling or manipulating him. He willstillhurt you. He’ll still do whatever he has to in order to get the dagger and take our powers. If you’re right, he won’t have a choice. Hewillkill your family if it comes down to it. You can’t let this hesitation take you away from the danger that exists right in front of you.”
