Alex was silent. A blast of pain seared his gut. He dropped his gaze.

“It’s not fair to keep me in the dark. You’re so brave when you’re leading Artimé, but when it comes to me, you can’t even talk.” Sky bumped her elbow into Alex’s arm. “Hey. See? Say something. Tell me what’s happening. Please. I’m begging you.”

He looked up. He wished he could explain to her how miserable he felt. He wished he could just talk to her and tell her everything he was feeling, but the problem was so confusing he didn’t understand it himself. How could he explain something he didn’t understand?

“You’re right,” he said. He knew it wasn’t enough, yet it was all he could get out. How could he tell her the truth? How was he supposed to say that he made too many mistakes when she was around? That he couldn’t concentrate when she was nearby? That he thought about her all the time, when he should be thinking about more important things, like keeping everybody alive?

And now she was looking at him with such deep disappointment in her eyes.

“That’s it?” she asked. “That’s all you’ve got?”

He wanted to reach out and take her hand. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to tell her everything he was feeling in a way that she would understand, and he wanted the two of them to be okay again. But every second that went by, things became less and less okay. And he knew they’d reach a point soon when there was no fixing it. “Yeah,” he said weakly. “I guess that’s all I’ve got.”

Sky didn’t flinch. She didn’t show any emotion at all. She just stared at Alex.

Alex shook his head. Her reactions never stopped surprising him. “I can’t believe you’re not crying or yelling at me right now,” he said.

She allowed a small laugh to escape. “Don’t you know me by now, Alex? Every time somebody hurts me, I just get stronger. Eyes of fire, heart of ice—just like the golden rooster said.” She stood up. “Maybe you should think about what Vido said about you.”

She turned then and walked toward the crab-claw reef and the ship.

Alex watched her go. “I’m so sorry,” he said, but she was too far away to hear him. He dropped his head in his hands and thought about all the things he’d just messed up so that he could be a better mage.

The way he felt now, he wasn’t sure it could ever be worth it.

A Final Tale

The Artiméans stayed on the Island of Legends for a few more days. Ms. Octavia reattached Florence’s arm and declared it to be as good as before, perhaps better. Simber, Florence, and Talon cleared the trees that had been toppled by the eel. They split the logs into planks, and Alex, Samheed, and Lani used the wood to repair the ship’s deck.

Sky, Crow, and Copper helped the others replant things that had been uprooted, trying to make Karkinos beautiful again, and maybe even a tiny bit healthier. And when the work was done, many of them spent their time lounging by the sea, telling stories, and taking walks together. Kitten and Lhasa were seen deep in conversation from time to time, with Fox trying, as always, to join in.

Florence and Talon stayed up late talking every night until Talon drifted off under the stars, and Florence did too, just to be polite. It was sort of, almost, quite perfectly, a little glorious holiday for most of them. Even Sean began to feel better, and he joined the others on the beach once Florence made him a special chair to sit in. It was big enough for Carina to lounge next to him, as she had taken it upon herself to care for her friend. Lani kept her eye on the two, wondering if there was a little something more than friendship going on. She had a lot to tell Meghan already.

Alex and Sky barely spoke, and when they did, it was only out of necessity. Both of them tried to pretend they weren’t hurting inside. And it was working . . . for now.

The group spent a quiet last evening around the fire. The ship was packed and ready to sail at first light. And while everyone wanted to stay longer, they were all growing curious about how Ms. Morning, Mr. Appleblossom, and Meghan were getting along with the new group of children from Warbler.

When it came time for stories, it was Florence’s turn to tell her tale.

“Many years ago,” she began, “in the early days of Artimé, Marcus Today was out wandering deep in the jungle. There he found an enormous rock. Marcus brought the rock to life and put it in charge of the jungle, and the two became friends.”

Talon, Lhasa, and Bock were getting used to feeling shocked by the strange things that were alive on their new friends’ island, but they weren’t the only ones sitting up in anticipation. Most of the Unwanteds were deeply curious too, for they had never heard this story before.

“The rock’s mouth was a cave,” Florence continued, “and Marcus spent hours exploring inside. One day when Marcus visited, the rock asked Marcus if he would extract something from his mouth because it was causing him pain. Of course the mage agreed to help his friend, so he went inside and found the source of the rock’s discomfort—a large piece of ebony was embedded in his throat, and a portion had broken off and fallen away, leaving a sharp corner.

“Marcus marked the outline of the ebony stone and began chiseling, going deeper and deeper around the perimeter. Soon he discovered that the stone was much larger than he had initially thought, buried far into the wall of the rock mountain’s throat. With his friend’s permission, Marcus set out to recover the fine stone whole. The rock mountain was happy to be rid of it, as it had been a source of discomfort for years.”