Contents
Chapter 87 — Isla
Overview
On the eve of Cronan’s triumph, Isla persuades a dying Lark to let her kill and later revive her, trading death for shared power against Cronan. Isla executes the plan, absorbs Lark’s ancient strength, becomes the last living ruler of their line, and smashes out of imprisonment to act.
Summary
Hours before the confrontation at the Pool, Isla forms a desperate plan inside a shademade cell. She confronts Lark, acknowledging their mutual hatred but stressing their shared enemy, Cronan, who has stifled Lark’s power and condemned her to a rotting half-life. Isla admits she cannot defeat Cronan alone and proposes a pact: let Isla kill Lark, absorb her power, and then bring Lark back so they can fight together.
Lark, barely able to hold form, weighs the offer. Isla presses on family ties and legacy, pleading not to let Cronan erase everything Lark created. At last, Lark reveals how she can be killed. Isla immediately carries it out, ending Lark and drawing in her vast, ancient power.
The energy overwhelms Isla, turning her vision silver until she forces it into a contained core, realizing she is now the last living ruler of their bloodline. She addresses Lark’s corpse with contempt, then tests her new strength, bending the shademade bars and bursting through the walls, escaping to continue her plan against Cronan.
Who Appears
- IslaProposes a deadly pact to defeat Cronan, kills Lark, absorbs her immense power, and breaks out of imprisonment.
- LarkRotting, weakened ancestor; agrees to reveal how to kill her so Isla can take her power.