"They would have every right to be worried. Isla’s failure would doom them all for at least another century. And there had been four failed Centennials already. Isla clenched her back teeth together, waiting for them to see right through her—waiting for her perception of what they wanted to be wrong."
This quote is filled with important information about the story. Isla is the heroine of the story. The Centennial is the central event around which the plot revolves. The title refers to an island that appears just once every century. The Centennial is a competition between several realms in what has been the last time a failed attempt to fulfill an ancient prophecy. This competition is a wild, magic-fueled affair. Isla is so fearful of exposure that despite being the representative of the Wildings realm, she suffers from an unprecedented shortcoming. Somewhat unaccountably, she was born lacking any magical abilities whatsoever.
"Each Centennial was a giant game, a chance to gain unparalleled ability. It was said that whoever broke the curses by fulfilling the prophecy would be gifted all the power it had taken to spin them—the ultimate prize."
For these fantasy-novel game-like competitions to work, there must be some prize worth fighting for. Here it is explained—or hinted, at least—what the stakes are that will create that urge to fight and win. The hint is the suggestion of not just a winner-take-all deal, but that all that will be taken is something very close to absolute power. While the reference to curses and a prophecy is undoubtedly significant, the essential information being conveyed here is that the competition is, at its foundation, a game. And like any game, it has rules that be observed. Like most games, however, competition is not simply based on following the rules and being endowed with abilities that allow one to excel. Games are often won by less skilled opponents who excel at the psychology of gameplay. Winning the Centennial is made complicated by the fact that trust and honesty are also essential elements involved. Since the prize is so valuable, honesty may be in short supply, and knowing who to trust and when could be the key to Isla overcoming her disadvantage.
"Now the island was a shadow of itself, trapped in a forever storm that made traveling to it outside the Centennial impossible, by boat or even by enchantment."
The whole premise of this novel and planned series is in the title. Lightlark is an island that used to be very active and alive. But then it disappeared into a storm that lasts forever except for that one special moment every century when it appears magically out of the mist and becomes the centerpiece of the plot. This element should not be underestimated. One need only imagine what it would be like if there were some mystical island that is impossible to get to for ninety-nine years—a forever storm isn't even necessary—that suddenly becomes accessible. This narrative element does not need another battle-to-the-death competition to make it worthy of storytelling. When even "enchantment" fails to make it possible to get to the setting in a fantasy novel, that scene rises to the upper echelon of importance. And the island itself, Lightlark, does come to play a central role in the Centennial competition.
