Page 70 of Lightlark
Then shot up into the air. He must have angled in such a way as to go through the hole that hadn’t been directly above them, but he certainly did not stop or slow down—he flew fast as a shooting star, a strike of lightning in the opposite direction.
Isla screamed so loudly in his ear, it was a wonder he didn’t simply let her go, especially when her nails dug so deeply into the back of hisneck, she was sure they drew blood. Feigning bravery felt impossible. They propelled faster than the wind for just a few moments before everything went weightless.
He was simply ... walking. Had they reached ground already? She moved to jump out of his grip, but he hissed and his arms gripped tighter, almost painfully so. Only when she opened her eyes did she see that they were still very much in the air, hundreds of feet up. Oro was walking on nothing, an invisible bridge instead of the flimsy one, right toward the cliff. The exposed beach sat far below, rocks poking out of it like shards of glass. She gasped and promptly stuck her face tightly in the space between his neck and shoulder.
Oro laughed meanly, amused by her fear. She whispered words into his ear that made him frown. “It’s almost like youwantme to drop you.”
Before she could say something she might regret—and that wouldn’t have much bite, anyway, given how tightly she was clinging to him in terror—Oro took a step that felt much more solid.
Finally, they were back on the Mainland.
The second it was safe to do so, she stumbled out of his arms, relieved to be away from the king. She glared at him. “That was horrible,” she said, lest he have any doubt about her feelings about flying—about being so close to him.
He returned her cold look. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, baring his teeth, making it sound like a threat.
Then he shot back into the air, toward the castle, leaving her to walk home alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SEEKING
Isla might have promised she wouldn’t tell Grim about the heart. But she had said nothing about telling Celeste.
The first place she went once she reached the castle was her friend’s room.
She knocked, and the door swung open immediately, even though it was nearly dawn. The Starling must have been waiting all night to speak to her.
The pairings had complicated their plan.
She told her friend everything. To which Celeste demanded, “Are you sure he saidheart?”
Isla nodded. “He must believe it fulfills the prophecy. An original offense committed again, somehow. Maybe finding it was the original offense?”
Celeste shook her head. “I don’t know. But I don’t like this. Not at all.”
“Me neither. The king is clearly desperate to break the curses this time,” she said. “But I think this can be good.”
Her friend looked at her as if she had sprouted a flower from her forehead.
“Thisis how we get into the Sun Isle library.”
Celeste considered that. “You think you can convince him to show it to you?”
Isla winced. The king hated her. Still, she would find a way. She nodded.
“All right,” the Starling said. “Get him to show you the library as soon as possible, then. There are just a few weeks until the ball.”
A few weeks until rulers are allowed to killwere the words she didn’t have to say.
On Isla’s way to the door, her friend called to her once more.
“Oh, and, Isla? Be careful.” Celeste bit her lip in worry. “The rulers ... I’m afraid of what they’ll do to win, now that we know Lightlark is in trouble. I don’t trust any of them.” She looked her right in the eyes. “Especially not the king.”
Oro arrived at her room the next night, as promised. He barely spared her a look before leading her to their next destination.
This time, Isla didn’t ask where they were going. She had been to some of the isles now, knew where nearly all of them were. She could figure it out herself.
Twenty minutes into their walk, she was positive they were going to Sky Isle.
