Page 144 of Skyshade
She found his blade nearby. The one he had cursed. The one that held his power. It glistened beneath the light. Otherworldly. Shademade.
Isla remembered some of his last words for her.
You will bring the gods to their knees.
He had believed in her, when she didn’t even believe in herself. She tucked his blade into her belt.
Then, she pressed a hand against his body, and portaled him to The Hive.
The winged creatures awaited. The woods shook with their sobs. He was carried on a scrap of wind, between his people. She watched in shock as they plucked feathers from their wings and put them upon his body, until he was coated in them.
She was the last in line. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to do everything you taught me.”
It was the last secret shared between them.
Isla stood on the edge of the cliff next to her father’s estate, overlooking the cove where he had once tried to flee his destiny.
She clutched the large black diamond around her neck and pulled.
Within moments, the ground thundered as Wraith landed, his talons digging deep into the dirt. Grim was on his back. He wordlessly leapt to the ground. Isla’s knees nearly buckled as he walked toward her. For days, she had wondered if Lark had found him. If she’d...if she’d—
“I thought you were—”
His lips covered hers, and she was engulfed in him—in storms and rain and shadows. “Don’t you ever do that again,” he said. And then, he kissed her more.
She wanted to capture this moment forever. But Lark was still out there. She still wanted all of them dead.
He hugged her to his chest. He was grasping her so closely, she could feel his heart beating wildly, right against her ear.
She looked up to see him studying her body, gaze snagging on her raw wrists. The shadows that had puddled at his feet now flared, eating across the cliffside. “What did she do to you?”
“She put the bracelets on and chained me a mile below the ground. She said she was going to kill all of you.”
Grim’s voice shook with rage as he said, “I’m going to rip that witch limb from limb and have her heal herself so that I can do it again and again until the end of time.”
“And I’m going to help you,” she said. “Where is she?”
“Astria saw her go underground a few days ago, and she hasn’t surfaced since. The Skyling’s blade might not have cursed her, but it was strong enough to have weakened her.”
Good. His death was not for nothing.
Lark was strong. Soon, she would surface. There were only days left of winter. Their time was nearly up.
“This ends now,” Isla said. She had everything she needed. “Get them all—Oro, Enya, Calder, and Zed—and bring them here. I’m going to Azul.”
Grim nodded.
She left him on that cliff.
Azul was seated on his castle steps. He stood as she approached.
“What’s happened?” he said, as if he could read the pain and trials of the last few weeks in her features.
Energy simmered around her as she approached. Ever since she had discovered her true flair, it was as if part of her power had beenunlocked, and now it surged around her. “The storm to end all storms? It’s happening tomorrow,” she said.
Azul tensed. “How do you know?”
“Because I’m making it.”
