The leopard made what seemed like an annoyed sound as it waited. What did it want? It leaned down lower, and no . . . it couldn’t . . .
Did it want her to get on its back?
She was bleeding too much; she needed the wound closed soon. She fought to stand, gritting her teeth against the pain, and limped over to the leopard’s side. She tried to climb up its fur, but she kept slipping, her blood getting everywhere. Eventually the leopard seemed to get tired of waiting, because it gripped the back of her shirt with its frightening teeth and flung her over. She landed painfully on its spine and fought for purchase, gripping its dark hair in her fists.
The leopard didn’t give her even a second to get used to it. Before she could test her position, it leaped off the branch.
Her stomach was in her throat, her eyes burned against the air, she was floating off its back—then roughly landing again, her leg roaring in pain.
With a few jumps that made her want to retch, the leopard finally landed on the forest floor. It stalked around, head bent low, as if looking for something. Finally, it paused and tipped over to the side. Isla slipped off its back in the most undignified way imaginable.
Exasperated, the leopard motioned with its head toward something on the ground. Her arrow. Half of it, at least.
It was telling her to complete the ceremony. Somehow, it knew that to claim it, she had to shoot it.
The bow would be useless now. She leaned down, grabbed the broken arrow, and approached the creature.
It watched her warily.
“This is . . . this is going to hurt . . .” she said.
The leopard regarded her in a way that hinted at disdain. Great. Her own bonded didn’t seem to like her.
Then why choose her? Why let her do what she had to do next?
Isla winced before reaching her arm back and putting all of her remaining strength into stabbing the leopard in the leg with the arrow.
It didn’t even move or make a sound. It simply reached down, grabbed Isla by the back of the shirt again, and threw her behind its head.
“Hey!” she said, wincing. “Stop doing that! It—”
Before she finished her sentence, the leopard took off. She yelped and held on tightly, ducking her head down, lest a branch behead her. The leopard raced like lightning, jumping over roots, traversing around trees. The world moved so quickly around her, she buried her face in its surprisingly soft fur, until the leopard finally slowed.
It had brought her to the center of the village. She sat up as the leopard walked down the streets and watched as her people left their homes, staring at her in clear wonder.
It stopped in front of Wren, whose eyes were wide. Her voice was thick with emotion. “I wondered . . .” she said. “I—I didn’t dare hope.”
Isla slid off the leopard’s back and nearly collapsed on the road, her leg covered in fur that had stuck to the blood. She looked from the animal to Wren. “Wondered what?”
“Isla,” Wren said. “Lynx was your mother’s.”
REFLECTION
Her mother. This leopard . . . was once bonded to her. Isla was losing a lot of blood, but she turned and looked the creature right in the eyes. For a moment, the disdain faded, and she saw only unfiltered sadness.
The cat grieved her mother. That was why it had chosen her.
“We need to get you healed,” Wren said. Other Wildlings rushed forward. There were calls for the healing elixir. “He’ll follow, don’t worry.”
Wren was right. Lynx remained by her side. He was so large he couldn’t fit through the doors of the palace, so she used her starstick to portal him into her room, which he didn’t like one bit. He made a disgruntled noise before he went to the corner, curled, and sat down, making the ground tremble and taking up a large portion of her space. Wren pulled the arrow out of his leg, then put healing elixir on it. Everyone left her to rest.
Through the darkness, Isla saw his bright-green eyes gleaming. Then, as they closed, the world went dark again.
The next morning, Isla portaled to Oro and said, “I need to show you something.” She took him back to the newland with her.
He now stood in her Wildling room, staring at the creature that was staring back, many feet above his head, baring its massive teeth.
“You have . . .” Oro was saying.
“An animal companion,” she said. “A bonded.” She motioned toward the great leopard. “His name is Lynx, apparently.”
“Right.” He reached out a hand, not seeming too concerned that the leopard could tear it off, and Isla watched as the leopard sniffed him. Tilted his head. Then leaned down, allowing himself to be petted between the eyes.
Isla was outraged. “He likes you more than he likes me!” she said. The leopard’s eyes slid to hers, unimpressed, before looking at Oro again.
Oro smiled, and the sight was so beautiful, her hurt all but shriveled up. “What an impressive creature,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like him.”
She frowned. “Not on Lightlark?”
He shook his head. “We have lions and tigers on Sun Isle, but none remotely this size.”
That seemed to please Lynx. He made an approving sound, and Isla shot him a glare. “I told you this morning how impressive you were, and you turned your back to me,” she said.
Lynx didn’t even bother looking at her.
She sighed. “He was my mother’s bonded, according to Wren.”
“Ah,” Oro said. He pressed his hand against Lynx’s lowered head. “You must miss her,” he said to the cat, and he made a thrumming noise.
Isla’s throat worked. She wished the cat could speak, so she could ask him all about her mother. Now, though, she had to think of the practical. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “There’s nothing like these woods on Lightlark. I don’t want to trap him in a castle . . . if he even fits in the hallways.”
Lynx gave her a scathing look.
Fine. If he could understand her, let him decide. She stood in front of the leopard and said, “I can take you back with me, to the castle. Or I can leave you in this forest and come back to visit soon. I can start making a place for you on the island.”
Lynx stared at her for half a second, before turning toward the window. His choice was clear.
A pang of disappointment shot through her chest, though she understood it was the right choice. She didn’t know why she was so surprised. Lynx had clearly chosen her out of obligation, not fondness.
Oro rubbed his hand down Lynx’s lowered head again before turning back to Isla. She watched him study the circles under her eyes. She had only slept a handful of hours last night. He sighed and said, “There’s something you should know.”
Upon their return to Lightlark, Azul and her Skyling guards were waiting.
“The rebels were spotted,” he said.
Isla’s chest tightened, remembering the pain of that night, being swept away under the water, so helpless—
Never again. She could use her Wildling power now. She might not be invincible, but at least she had a fighting chance.
She also wasn’t alone. Ciel and Avel moved to her sides immediately.
“Where exactly?” Oro demanded.
“Their whispers were heard by our spies, coming from Star Isle. We tracked them down from the sky, but they just . . . vanished. Underground. We found more tunnels, but they all had dead ends.”