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Isla Crown arrives “home” with Grim straight from the battlefield, torn between relief in his arms and revulsion at the blood on her. Remembering the carnage on Lightlark and fearing an oracle’s fate pitting Oro and Grim against each other, she demands Grim take her to the site of devastation.

In a ruined village blanketed with ash and bodies, Isla blames herself for the mass deaths caused by her uncontrolled power unleashed to save Grim. Grim insists intention matters and reveals his motive: after binding his life to hers, only Lightlark’s portal could permanently save her, even though using it would destroy Lightlark and kill Oro.

Isla condemns the calculus of risking realms for her life, while Grim declares he would choose his wife over the world. Confronted with memories of their secret past marriage and her role in retrieving the drek-control sword, Isla recognizes her complicity in enabling the slaughter.

Prioritizing lives, Isla forces immediate de-escalation: Grim calls off his forces and dreks and swears to return the sword and never use it again. However, when she demands he renounce the portal, Grim refuses, arguing they would all die without it because his realm’s lives are now tied to hers.

Realizing Grim will always choose her, Isla accepts responsibility and resolves that she must be the one to save the world and prevent Lightlark’s fall—and Oro’s death—without the portal.