Or was overpowering, at least for some.

He set the book aside and did a cursory exploration of the hut, but there was nothing to eat and nothing else to distract himself with. He settled down on the blanket, willing his mind to still, to ignore the dull throbbing in his leg and the hunger in his stomach.

For an hour or so, he was on the edge of sleep, his lucid thoughts mingling with almost-dreams. Until the call of a bird in the trees outside the shack woke him fully.

It was the same bird they’d heard earlier, the one singing the song from his dreams. He wondered if that song was in the book, but without the ability to read the music, it was impossible to know. Instead he listened intently to the bird, humming along with the call until he matched it note for note. Unfortunately, it was the same few notes he already knew, and he was left still searching for the rest of the song.

Restless and suddenly desperate for air, he crawled to the door of the cottage and nudged it open. The shriek of the hinges caused him to wince and duck back inside, but after a few moments, the bird called again, and he took that as a good sign that no one was coming.

He crept outside, taking greater care to keep the door from squeaking, and slowly straightened to his full height, testing out his bad leg. The pain wasn’t as intense as it had been, but that was mostly because the leg had started to go numb. That didn’t seem like a good sign at all.

Judging by the sun’s position, it was midafternoon, which meant he had at least a few more hours before the girl returned. He had promised her he would stay put, and he had no desire to get himself lost, or worse, run into another islander. Instead, he found a tree stump just a few feet from the hut and sat down on it, letting his head tip back so the sunlight could shine on his face.

He heard the bird call again, this time a little farther away, and hummed the tune to himself. A moment later, the bird responded. Closer, now.

This went on for several minutes, and the idea that he was somehow communicating with a wild creature made Jaren forget just how much danger he was in. Before long, the bird landed on a branch in a tree a few yards from where he was sitting. It was an ordinary-looking blackbird at first glance, but when the sun shone on its feathers, they took on an iridescent sheen.