Contents
Lark
Overview
Isla learns the traitor is her ancestor Lark Crown, who reveals Cronan still lives and unleashes an endless, bloodless army. Isla and Grim barely defend Nightshade before the army withdraws. Blacksmith Ferrar compels Isla to kill him to deny Lark his skills and gifts her armor. After confronting Grim for hiding Lark’s imprisonment, Isla resolves to banish Lark through a portal and portals to Lightlark to find the missing instructions.
Summary
Underground, Isla confronts Lark Crown—her immortal ancestor and a founder of Lightlark—who reveals Cronan lives, escaped through a portal fueled by power stolen from Lark, and that his blood-bound curses persist. Lark plans to kill Grim and Oro to build a new world and wants Isla, marked by Lightlark’s heart, to find that power.
Isla escapes to the surface and finds the Nightshade castle besieged by armored warriors who do not bleed or feel pain. Realizing they are risen dead, not Grim’s army, Isla uses precise, skyre-shaped power and shadows to shatter only the bloodless soldiers, aiding Grim’s forces without harming them. She then races to a village and incinerates more attackers with blue-tinged fire.
Grim arrives on Wraith; Isla tells him everything about Lark. Together they clear swaths of Nightshade with shadow and flame, but the bloodless army keeps rising until suddenly withdrawing underground, seemingly recalled by Lark. Exhausted survivors are portaled to the Wildling keep for treatment.
Isla’s starstick delivers her to the blacksmith, who reveals he created her device, crafted shademade armor for her, and warns Lark will compel him. Naming himself Ferrar, he begs Isla to kill him so Lark cannot use his skills. Isla, devastated, grants his request and escapes with the armor as Lark’s brambles overrun the forge.
Back at the Nightshade castle, Astria executes Grim’s order to burn the dead and graves to deny Lark more soldiers. Isla realizes Grim and Oro had known Lark was imprisoned and feels betrayed; Grim explains he withheld the truth to prevent Isla from freeing her. Accepting Lark cannot be killed, Isla proposes banishing her through a portal. To learn how to open and close it, she uses Grim’s power and her skyre to portal to Lightlark in search of the prophet’s missing pages.
Who Appears
- IslaProtagonist; escapes Lark, destroys bloodless soldiers, saves villages, kills Ferrar at his request, confronts Grim, decides to find portal lore on Lightlark.
- Lark CrownIsla’s ancestor; reveals Cronan lives, raises an endless bloodless army, seeks Lightlark’s heart power to build a new world.
- GrimNightshade ruler; fights alongside Isla, orders burning of dead, admits he and Oro knew of Lark, stays to protect his people.
- Ferrar (the blacksmith)Creator of Isla’s starstick and armor; asks Isla to kill him to stop Lark from compelling his craft.
- WraithGrim’s mount; carries Isla and Grim across Nightshade during the battles.
- AstriaNightshade general; wounded, follows Grim’s orders to burn the dead and graves.
- LynxWildling companion; finds Isla, shares images of devastation, stays at the stronghold.
- WrenWildling ally; entrusted with Isla’s starstick to evacuate their people if needed.
- TerraWildling; assists the wounded at the stronghold amid Nightshade’s crisis.
- PoppyWildling; helps treat survivors brought to the stronghold.