Chapter 72 — Isla

At dinner, Cronan releases his suppression of Isla’s powers and publicly urges her to demonstrate why she should join him. When a pompous lord, Alaric, asks for a duel, Cronan promises a conquered planet to anyone who can take Isla down. The assembled lords attack at once.

Isla responds by pinning each lord with different abilities—flame, shadow, energy, wind, liquid, and even a shard of the table—while shadow-doubles armed with blades rise behind her. Cronan applauds, snaps his control back into place, and her powers vanish; the humiliated lords compose themselves as he touts her value.

On the way to the dungeons, Grim demands to know why Isla didn’t flee during the storm she summoned. Isla declares she will not leave without him and reminds him he erased their shared year, insisting the diamond at her throat and their bound lives prove his love. Grim denies it, seethes, and tries to keep distance, but Isla challenges his reliance on power and needles his loyalty to Cronan.

As tension mounts, Grim senses Isla’s desire and struggles to restrain himself. He pulls away, then returns, kisses her fiercely, and lifts her as they press against the wall. The moment ends with Grim, still conflicted yet yielding, telling her to do it again—marking a breakthrough in their stalemate and deepening the stakes of her refusal to abandon him.