Free Island of Shipwrecks by Lisa McMann Page B

we’ll stumble across some now and then.”
    Carina, who had been silent and brooding during this last bit, stood up, her face a mask. She looked at Sean. “Well,” she said, her words cold and sharp, “this has been a very informative session.” She struggled to control her anger. “I’m just so glad to know you were such great friends with my lying mother. Nice of you to tell me—it’s not like you and I had anything else to talk about during the entire time I took care of you .” She clenched her jaw. “And to think I could have had the chance to . . . to understand all of this and maybe speak to her before . . .”
    She shook her head and pointed a shaking finger at Sean. “You are quite possibly the worst person anyone has everknown. You’re a worse human than . . . than Queen Eagala. You’re a . . . you’re a world-class jerk, Sean. An absolutely hideous man, inside and out. And I never want to look at your ridiculous lying face again.”
    She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she turned and walked swiftly toward the hospital wing doorway, where Mr. Appleblossom stood with Seth, listening to the conversation from afar.
    â€œMama!” cried the toddler.
    â€œThank you, sir,” Carina said to Mr. Appleblossom as Seth reached out to her in glee. She took him and held him tightly, then retreated into the mansion’s entryway, ran up the stairs to the family wing, and disappeared.
    Sean, weak and exhausted, could only watch her go, and when she was out of sight, he put his hand over his eyes and groaned. “Crud,” he muttered.

Aaron Strikes a Deal
    Y ou want me to do what?” Aaron asked the general, trying not to sound incredulous. But what General Blair was asking was something Aaron, even on his most adventurous days, had never seriously considered. Tear down the wall? Completely? That went against everything Justine had taught him—everything Justine believed in. The wall was their infallible protector. Their safety. Their hope , for Quill’s sake. Sure, he’d taken down a tiny portion in the past. But even opening that window in the wall near the palace had made Aaron so uncomfortable he’d filled it again. It was dangerous! Clearly the general hadlost his mind. Maybe the gunk oozing from his wound was his brain leaking out.
    That forty-foot-tall wall that encircled Quill had taken months, maybe even years to construct. It had kept them safe from enemies for Justine’s entire reign. And clearly there were enemies out there. Aaron knew well enough that Artimé was fighting them. Did Aaron really want to go that route, when that route looked like the most wrong of all possible wrong ways to go?
    â€œTake down the wall,” General Blair repeated. There was menace to his voice. A dare. Almost as if he expected Aaron to say no.
    And why wouldn’t he? It was a ridiculous request.
    Yet the general had a point. The bottleneck issues of the original battle had been Quill’s downfall—that was easy to see when the general pointed it out. Once vehicles had been rendered useless inside the gate, there was no way to get the working ones out past the ones that had broken down. And each platoon that entered was small compared to the Artiméan groups that awaited them. No wonder they’d lost that battle. They couldn’t descend on the enemy in any sort of successful way.
    What Aaron had to decide now was whether it was worth it to take down the wall and risk being attacked from other islands in order to defeat the one true enemy, Artimé.
    Liam fidgeted next to Aaron. Aaron averted his eyes. He had to concentrate. He had to think this through. What was more important? Protecting Quill from some unknown enemy who might not ever attack—and had no reason to attack Quill, because they hadn’t done anything? Or giving Quill the opportunity to