Skyshade

As Isla prepares for the ceremony, she thinks that the wedding is a mistake. She attempts to banish thoughts of Oro as well as memories of her first marriage to Grim. To make the ceremony special for Isla, Grim sends Astria to escort Isla, holds the wedding in her beloved greenhouse, and includes Wildlings among the guests. Eta is the officiant, and she persuades some of Grim’s subjects to accept the marriage by declaring it a “union that was fated” (179). As part of the ceremony, Isla clasps a necklace around Grim’s neck that cannot be removed until his death. As the couple dances together, Isla feels both “radiantly happy and horribly disappointed in herself” (180). Isla realizes that she still loves Grim even though she hasn’t forgiven him.

During the celebration, a guard whispers urgent news to Grim. To keep the guests from panicking, Isla initiates a passionate kiss with Grim. He teleports them away, making it seem that they have retired to their bedchamber. In actuality, Grim takes them to the graveyard where the soldiers who died in the recent war were buried. Someone dug up the graves. Isla sees a serpent among the dirt and remembers Eta’s warning.