Nightbane (Lightlark, #2)(26)

“Well, you look different,” Enya said. Isla was wearing her training clothing, instead of her usual dresses. Her crown was in her room. Before Isla could say a word, Enya pulled her into a hug. Into her ear, she whispered, “He’s almost intolerable, isn’t he?”

“I can hear you,” Oro said.

“Of course you can, that’s the best part,” Enya said.

“How—how do you know each other?” Isla asked. They bickered like siblings. But no . . . Oro’s entire family was dead.

“Our mothers were best friends,” Enya said. She stepped to stand next to Oro. Her height was impressive, but she was still short enough to lean her head against his shoulder. He did not so much as move a muscle in response. “Whether he liked it or not, that meant I would be by his side forever.”

Oro sighed, but Isla could see fondness there, beneath his frown. “Enya has been one of my Sun Isle representatives since before the curses. She often acts as my proxy, and attends meetings in my stead.”

“Like Soren,” Isla said, almost to herself.

Enya made a gagging noise. “Nothing like him, Isla. But yes, a similar role.” The Sunling got straight to business. “I hear you need help on the Wildling newland. Volunteers. Infrastructure. Some organization?”

“Everything.”

“Good. I’ve taken the liberty of, and I hope you don’t mind”—she looked to Isla like she really did care if Isla had an objection to what she was about to say—“rounding up a group already. All of them are respectful of all realms, including Wildling. They don’t know what it’s for, in case you don’t approve, but—”

“Once she gets something in her head, she is relentless,” Oro said.

Friendship, for more than five hundred years. Since childhood. Part of Isla wondered if she should be jealous, but she just . . . wasn’t. Isla was grateful that Oro had had someone he could count on when he lost his family. Someone he could trust.

Enya shrugged, not even trying to deny it. “I can get obsessive. At least I know that about myself . . .” She shot a wicked grin at Isla, then turned to Oro. “Some people are far less eager to admit their faults.” She led them through the palace to a room that looked like it was used for strategy. There was a circular table inside, decorated like a sun. At its center was what looked like a pile of ash.

“Would you mind sketching the Wildling newland for me? I already have a rough idea of how many people we will need, and where, but it would be helpful to see.”

Isla just stared at the pile. She turned to Oro, and he smoothed the ash into a thin layer. “Here,” he said. He traced lines in the ashes with his finger, and a moment later they hardened, becoming three-dimensional figures. Interesting.

She dipped her finger inside and felt like a painter, with a canvas and paint that both came to life. There was a time when Isla hadn’t known much about her lands, but she had explored them through portaling many times since.

When she was finished, Enya reached over and grabbed the map. It came off in her hands. She looked at it from all angles, then set it down again.

“Very well. We’ll be ready in three days. I’ve organized my schedule so I can stay there for a week, to make sure everything goes smoothly. Does that sound acceptable?”

Acceptable? Isla wanted to bow at the woman’s feet.

“It sounds perfect,” Isla said.

“Oro tells me you have a portaling device?”

She nodded.

“How many people can it transfer at once?”

“I’m not sure. The most I’ve tried is two.”

Enya waved away any worry. “No matter. We will go in small groups. We’ll make it work.”

Isla believed her. She would believe anything that came out of her mouth.

“Thank you,” Isla said, and, unexplainably, her eyes stung. She felt such gratitude . . . Enya didn’t even know her, and she was helping her. Her people.

“Thank you,” Enya said, and her eyes sparkled mischievously. “For showing us that our dear Oro does indeed still know how to smile.”


Enya had gathered a dozen volunteers. They all stood together on the Mainland, with supplies between them. She quickly explained the usage of the starstick, and the volunteers looked curious, but no one questioned it.

Isla drew her puddle of stars as big as she could, and they all barely fit inside. Then, they were in the Wildling newland.

One of the volunteers was immediately sick. “Sorry,” she said. “I should have warned you about the nausea.”

Isla had portaled them to Wren’s village. The tall Wildling stepped out into the street within minutes. At first, she looked alarmed, but slowly, her expression calmed. She dropped the hand that had instantly gone to her blade. Isla realized then that she hadn’t properly prepared her people for visitors.

“This is Oro, king of Lightlark,” Isla said. By then, a few Wildlings stood in the streets, watching the volunteers warily.

At once, they bowed their heads.

Isla introduced Enya, then Ciel and Avel, who rarely left her side, then the rest of the volunteers. Her people stared at them with varying levels of wariness.

The volunteers looked a little frightened too. The Skyling to her right was smiling, but her gaze kept darting to the monstrous hammer one of the Wildlings carried on her back.