Island of Legends (The Unwanteds) (35 page)

“Clearly.”

“I mean, I don’t hate
this
, like, this thing we have. I mean . . . trying to explain . . .”

Sky just watched as he struggled for words. “Well, I do.”

Alex paused. “You do what?”

“Hate this thing we have.”

Alex stopped breathing. “Y-you what?”

Sky’s face was pained, her voice calm. “I hate this thing we have, Alex. Because it’s not really a thing, is it? It’s just uncomfortable and awkward.”

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.

T
he 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.”

Florence shifted in the sand. The firelight danced on the sheen of her body. “After weeks of work,” she went on, “he found the end of the black stone. He chipped away at the rock surrounding it until finally the enormous piece of ebony was freed. Once it was loose, Marcus realized it was way too big for him to move. So he used the transport spell to bring the ebony stone to the mansion.”

“Wow,” Alex said under his breath. He caught Samheed’s eye, and the two shared a moment of amazement as Florence’s story unfolded.

“Marcus wanted to keep as much of the stone intact as possible. He’d never seen a piece of ebony so large before, and he wanted to respect its grand size. He envisioned a giant warrior to complement Simber inside the front door of the mansion, and began carving ever so carefully. Once he had chiseled out my shape, he began the painstaking work of sanding and
smoothing hundreds of rough edges to give me this sleek, polished look. It took him years to finish me.”

She smiled. “He always called me his most frustrating project ever, and he told me he’d thought about giving up on me several times. But then he said, ‘Florence, every night, when I wanted to give up on you, and give up on my art because it was so difficult, I always told myself that if I still felt like quitting in the morning, I could quit. But I had to sleep on it first.’

“I remember feeling really strange that he’d admitted this to me. But then he said, ‘But, Florence, every time I looked at you after a night of sleep, I could only see how beautiful you were, and how much progress I had made. And that kept me going.’ ”

Florence paused, a bit choked up. And then she continued. “When he finally finished me and was ready to bring me to life, he said, he wrote out everything he wanted me to be, so he could read it as he was casting the spell. He didn’t want to mess up or forget anything after all that work.”

She smiled and looked at Alex. “I miss Marcus. We all do. And I’ll never forget everything he sacrificed to make me. But we continue on with our memories of him, and you are a worthy successor, Alex. I wouldn’t want anyone to take your place.”

“Hearrr! Hearrr!” Simber said.

Those around the fire murmured in agreement.

Alex looked down at his hands. He didn’t feel very worthy. “Thanks, everyone. I’m just trying to do my best to not make mistakes. It’s hard not knowing all the secrets. But I’m getting there.”

“Well, Alex,” Ms. Octavia said, her pride for her student evident on her face, “you did a fantastic job bringing Artimé back from ruin and rescuing Samheed and Lani from Warbler.
And
creating Spike.” She beamed. “I can’t wait to see what you do next. You have my full support.”

“That’s very generous of you, Ms. Octavia,” Alex said. She’d taught him so much, yet he knew she could teach him so much more. “I hope you all will tell me if you think I should do something differently. I’m really still learning, and I count on everyone to help me figure out this job.” He turned to Florence. “I’m so glad to know how he made you.”

Alex looked at the others who had shared stories over the past days. “It helps so much to understand what he was thinking and how you all came to be. I wish I’d thought to ask before. Talon, you are really cool for introducing this storytelling thing to our evenings by the fire. Thanks.”

Talon reached out to shake the boy’s hand. “It is nothing compared to the service you and your people have done for me,” he said. He looked at Lhasa, and then at Florence, and spoke from the heart. “You have given us new life and new reasons for living. There is not enough thanks in the world for that gift.” Talon’s words were positive, but Alex couldn’t help but notice the tinge of sadness that went with them. It made him more determined than ever to figure out a way to save the giant crab island.

By and by, the tired creatures, statues, and humans made their way to their resting places for the night, until all who remained by the fire were Alex, Lani, Samheed, Sean, and Carina. Alex lay on his back on one side of Sean’s chair, Lani and Samheed on the other, looking at the stars.

Alex wished Sky had stayed by the fire. Just having her nearby seemed to take some of the ache away. But she stayed away from him. He couldn’t blame her at all. He’d been a total jerk to her, not giving her any explanation at all for his distant behavior after the Spike and Florence incidents. Here, under the stars that he’d so often shared with Sky, it was all he could do to stop dwelling on it and try to make conversation, just to keep the misery at bay.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to sail home?” Alex asked Sean.

“I’m ready for anything, really,” Sean mused. “Anything that doesn’t require fighting an eel, that is.” He yawned. “It’s been nice resting up on this island, but I’m getting a little bored. Isn’t there something exciting we can do before we head back?”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

Carina looked at Sean in much the same manner. “Yeah, like what? It sounds like you have an idea.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sean said. He looked off over the water to the west and began to whistle a slow tune.

Lani propped herself up on her elbow. “What—you want to see what’s out that way? Let’s do it! I’m in!”

Samheed groaned. “There’s nothing out there. It says so in the Warbler handbook.”

“So you trust Queen Eagala?” Carina said. “Her word doesn’t mean anything.”

“Simber said it too,” Alex offered. “But I don’t know if he meant there are only seven islands in the world, or just seven in this chain.”

Sean grinned. “I happen to know that Simber said there
were seven in this chain. He doesn’t know if there’s anything beyond it.”

“I can hearrr you,” muttered Simber from somewhere in the darkness. But he didn’t deny the claim.

“And?” Carina prompted Sean. She turned on her side next to Sean in the chair, wearing a playful grin.

“And so I was thinking that we could maybe just go that way and see if anything appears on the horizon. Head west for a day, and if Simber still can’t detect anything, then we’ll turn around and head back home. Whaddya think, Al?”

“Come on, Alex. Please,” Lani said. “We’re right here—when will Samheed ever have this chance to prove me wrong again?”

Samheed laughed and tugged at Lani’s hair. “Hey, you’re cute
and
funny,” he said. “I like you. Even if you drive me crazy.”

“Same to you,” Lani said. The two affectionately touched their foreheads together, grinning.

Alex thought about going farther west. It seemed like a fine time to check it out, since they were out this way anyway. At most it would only add two days to their trip home, and they really hadn’t been gone long, though it felt like a lifetime with
all that had happened. “I think it sounds good,” Alex said. “I’ll check with Simber to see if he has any concerns. If he feels good about it, we’ll do it.”

“Sounds fine,” came Simber’s response.

“Hooray!” Lani said.

“Do what?” said a voice from behind them. It was Florence. She and Talon came walking toward them. “What are we doing?”

“We’d like to go west to see if there’s anything else out there,” Alex told her. “If we don’t see anything by the end of the day, we’ll turn around. But I thought it would be nice to check since we’re out this far already.”