Skyshade

As much as Isla tries to tell herself that the townspeople are mistaken, she fears that “the monster that had been growing within her” took control of her while she was asleep and that she was wrong to remove the bracelets (282). Grim swears that he will defend her no matter what. Suddenly, the castle is rocked by earthquakes, and Isla is pulled underground by a Wildling woman who closely resembles her. The woman declares that she wants to kill all of the Nightshades and “make this world anew” (287). Isla attacks the woman, but she possesses a healing power that makes her invulnerable. Snakes wind around the woman, and Isla realizes that this is what the carving in the augur’s cave predicted. The woman introduces herself as Lark Crown, Isla’s ancestor and one of Lightlark’s three founders.

Lark reveals that Cronan is also alive. He imprisoned her and used her power to return to the world that Lightlark’s founders originated from. Now Lark intends to kill Grim and Oro and make a new world with their power. She wants her descendant to help her find the heart of Lightlark and says that she understands what it’s like to be lonely and reviled as a traitor. Isla escapes and defends the palace from the dead Nightshade soldiers Lark raises. Many people die before Isla and Grim drive the undead soldiers to retreat underground.

The blacksmith summons Isla and reveals that Cronan was Lark’s lover before he betrayed her. The blacksmith gives Isla a suit of armor and entreats her to kill him so that Lark can’t exploit his skills. In his final moments, he remembers that his name is Ferrar.

Isla gives Wren her starstick and instructs her to take their people to the Wildling newland. Grim admits that both he and Oro knew that Lark was alive and imprisoned under Nightshade. He kept the truth from Isla because he worried that she would try to free her ancestor. Their only hope of defeating Lark is to send her to another world and seal the portal after her. Isla resolves to go to Lightlark and find the prophet’s missing page so that she can implement this plan. Grim kisses her and pleads, “Come back to me, wife” (307).

Isla places a tracking skyre on the prophet’s tooth and uses Grim’s power to teleport to Sun Isle. Oro catches her and accuses her of killing his coastal guard, but she explains that Lark has risen and is bent on destroying the world. Oro leads her into a magical “canyon of twisted rock, painted in hypnotic, orange, wave-like stripes” (313). Technically, she could kill Oro without dooming Lightlark because of her bond with the Sunling king, but she doesn’t strike, because she still hasn’t found a way to preserve her life and those bound to her. The canyon leads to a desert. Oro was once imprisoned there to see if he was worthy of becoming a ruler, and he remembers the lay of the land.

When a sandstorm rushes toward them, Isla captures part of its power in her diamond ring before Oro pulls her into the shelter of a cave. They undress, seeking some relief from the stifling heat. Oro uses his Moonling powers to soothe Isla with a cooling touch, and she guides his hand along her body, forgetting “the other half of her heart” (319). Oro suggests that the sandstorm’s magic has heightened Isla’s emotions and tells her to sleep.

Isla’s dreams present a flashback to her and Oro’s last night together before the battle at the end of Nightbane. She dons a red dress and surprises Oro in his chambers. She apologizes for opening the portal, but he reassures her that he understands this was an accident and doesn’t see her as his enemy despite her Nightshade heritage. The complete trust between them heightens the intensity of their sexual union. When he says that he loves her, she answers, “No world exists in which I do not love you” (327).

Isla awakens in the present and is embarrassed to learn that she said Oro’s name in her sleep. They resume their trek across the desert, and he carries her to an oasis when she succumbs to the heat. Isla claims to hate Oro, but he can tell that she still loves him. He leads her to a palatial tomb carved into a cliffside. Isla finds the missing page of the prophet’s book, and her blood unseals the shademade coffin of Horus Rey, one of Lightlark’s three founders. His body is preserved by a relic, a “bone from the finger of a god” (334). At Isla’s urging, Oro takes the bone, and Horus’s body crumbles into ashes. Another sandstorm arises, and Oro rests inside the tomb while they wait for it to pass. After he falls asleep, Isla takes the relic and uses Azul’s ring to create a path through the storm. She hopes to reach the edge of the desert and teleport back to Nightshade before Oro can find her.

Oro catches up to Isla. He’s furious at her recent betrayal, but he pleads for her to stay because he still loves her. He reveals that he kept the golden necklace she returned to him and longs for her every day. An army of undead soldiers lies in wait for Isla and Oro, and she uses her black diamond necklace to summon Grim, who defeats Lark’s soldiers with his fire magic. Isla stands between the rivals and urges them to put aside their enmity so they can defeat Lark: “The only chance we have is to work together” (345).

Isla, Grim, and Oro meet with the Sunling king’s allies in Oro’s war room. Although many are reluctant to trust Isla, she uses her powers to prove that Grim and Oro love her and that she loves them both. To achieve Isla’s plan of banishing Lark through the portal, Grim and Zed search for the sword that controls dreks while Oro and Isla look for Remlar, an ancient creature from the same world Lark came from. Remlar possesses a shademade dagger and offers to create a curse that will weaken Lark.

When Oro begs Isla to tell him the truth and swears that nothing could make him stop loving her, she reveals that she is destined to kill him or Grim and explains that she thinks the only way to protect him is to stay far away. She also tells him about the prophecy that she is fated to either save or destroy the world and voices her fear that she is “more of a curse than a blessing” (359). Oro reminds her of the good she’s done and tells her that he has already forgiven her wrongdoings. Lark kills Wren, takes Isla’s starstick, and sends Isla’s fallen ally to attack her. When Isla suddenly becomes unable to use Grim’s powers, she fears that he is dead and unleashes a destructive burst of magic.

Isla’s power produces blades of stone, and one pierces Oro’s chest. She fears that this is how she will fulfill the prophecy but then decides to fight against fate by using magic to heal his wound. Isla uses the black diamond necklace to summon Grim, who teleports her and Oro to his castle. She uses the remaining healing elixir to save Oro. Grim and Zed found the sword that controls dreks, but they were imprisoned for a time, which explains why Isla temporarily couldn’t use his powers. Isla goes to Remlar to retrieve the cursed dagger. She asks the ancient being whether she should kill Grim or Oro, and he explains that killing Oro is the only way to end nexus, “the curse that bound all rulers to their people” (371).