On the forty-third night of the Centennial, Oro returns to Isla after eight days away. Oro explains that he spent the time finding an ancient creature, coaxing her from hiding, and making a deal. Isla follows because Celeste has learned that the Sun Isle library is too guarded and crowded to search without Oro granting Isla private access.

Oro brings Isla to Star Isle, a beautiful but neglected realm where the cursed Starlings die young and their government has decayed. In an overgrown ruin, Oro pricks his palm with a thorn and summons a silver, transparent specter. The specter greets Oro flirtatiously and reveals that Oro has brought Isla as the price for her help.

The specter wants to inhabit Isla’s body briefly, specifically because Isla is beautiful. Isla is furious that Oro withheld this condition and demands payment before agreeing. Isla asks Oro to take her alone into the Sun Isle library, and Oro agrees; immediately afterward, the specter possesses Isla for a moment and uses Isla’s body to cling to Oro, leaving Isla embarrassed and enraged when control returns.

After the possession, the specter says that what Oro seeks is not on Star Isle. Before vanishing, the specter warns that the island’s underbelly is rising, darkness is at work, and the ancient beings feel dread. Isla seizes on the completed bargain and demands that Oro take her to the library that night, hoping to find the bondbreaker and break the curses before further danger reaches her.

At the bridge, Oro refuses immediate access, saying he never specified when he would take Isla and will do so only after Isla helps find the heart. Isla explodes in anger, denies that she is trying to win Oro’s heart, and declares their deal over. Oro reveals that he suspects Isla is hiding her true goal and asks what she wants, but Isla refuses to answer and warns that she does not need Oro’s permission to enter Sun Isle.