Page 118 of Salt in the Seas
Guilt pricked at Gaeren’s conscience. If they went after anyone, it would be Riveran. And it was Gaeren’s fault. “They know you killed one,” he warned his friend.
Velden, who’d been strangely quiet, finally chimed in. “That probably wasn’t the best thing to tell them.”
“I didn’t tell them,” Gaeren said. “I didn’t know Elder Perla could see memories.”
“It’s your spoke,” Kendalyhn said. “You should assume anyone out there possibly could. We all should.”
“Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to help anything right now,” Iris said. She cocked her head in the direction of the guards. Nori had told them the guards had no magic, but that didn’t mean they weren’t listening in.
Holm nodded, and they all leaned in to catch his words. “Escaping the hut won’t do us any good unless we have the starbridges.”
“Did you figure anything out before you set us up as their enemy?” Aeliana asked.
Gaeren huffed his irritation but latched a hand on to Aeliana’s and Sylmar’s arms. He showed them the box under the floorboard, making sure to cut off the memory before Nori’s mother relived her time with the Seer. He dropped their arms and looked away, his mind full of Nori’s lifeless eyes. He shuddered.
“What else did you see?” Aeliana asked.
When he glanced back at her, the anger had receded, and concern filled her face. “Nori might be in danger. I don’t know.” He rubbed his palms against his eyes. “I saw something in her mother’s memory. I think they’re trying to get her to marry Gellen to protect her from an alternate future in which she dies.”
The room grew even quieter. Nori had only taken Velden, Aeliana, and Gaeren out of the hut, but after she’d delivered meals and given them bits of information, they’d all grown to see her as an ally.
“Even if that’s true,” Sylmar said, “she’s not likely to believe us at this point. We may have to leave that problem to her and her people.”
The thought didn’t sit well with Gaeren, and when Aeliana bit her lip and stared down the hut’s door, he knew he wasn’t the only one.
Loud pops filled the air, and bursts of light shone through the nooks and crannies of the hut.
“A celebration like this would have been an excellent time to make an escape,” Sylmar muttered.
“We don’t have time to wait for another one,” Aeliana said. “Nori told me they only have one of these every couple of years, and I doubt we’ll last a couple more days.”
“For now, we should rest up,” Iris said. “We’ll all think more clearly in the morning, and maybe Nori will bring us food. We’ll get a better sense of our odds after talking to her.”
“If she’s even willing to talk to us,” Kendalyhn muttered, her glare centered on Gaeren.
They all found places to lie down. No one seemed eager to be close to Gaeren or Riveran, but with their cramped quarters, Cyrus eventually ended up on Gaeren’s right. His tossing and turning made it clear he was having just as much trouble sleeping as Gaeren.
“What do you think of the Sayhleens’ worship of the sprites?” Gaeren whispered.
Cyrus didn’t respond at first, making Gaeren wonder if what he’d assumed to be insomnia was actually nightmares.
“I think we’re all genuine in our worship, and that’s something to be admired. But we can’t all be right.” Sorrow colored Cyrus’ words, making Gaeren wished he’d kept his questions to himself.
“And you think I’m just as wrong to worship the Sun as they are to worship the sprites?”
Cyrus sighed. “I wish I’d taken the time to talk to Orra before we left. Everything happened so quickly. But if she’s a Star—or was a Star—I can’t imagine why she would worship the Sun… unless the Sun is what you believe it to be.”
Gaeren stilled, recognizing this was what made Cyrus sad. Not that they couldn’t all be right, but that he’d come to the conclusion that he hadn’t been.
“Go ahead,” Cyrus offered. “You can say ‘I told you so.’ You were right, both about me being afraid and about me being wrong.”
“Do you think I’m that heartless?” Gaeren cringed. “I’m sorry things didn’t turn out to be what you thought.”
“I’m not,” Cyrus said. “I’m only sorry that I led people astray. That my family’s Stargazer is a farce. I feel a burden to take this knowledge to Gamps, to help him understand and spread the truth throughout all of Lorvandas. But I can’t do that until I understand it and learn it for myself. I need to get answers from Orra, and I need to make sure others know the truth, even if I don’t like the answers I get.” His whispers grew heated with his passion. “And if I feel burdened for the Lorvandans to know the truth, why not the Sayhleens? But how can I help them understand if they worship the sprites?” He shuddered. “Especially if the sprites turn into dark spirits like you suspect.”
Gaeren hesitated, unsure if Cyrus wanted advice, especially from the likes of him. “Orra once told me that so much of what we do wrong isn’t in our actions, but in our decision to act without consulting the Sun. The burden you feel, if it’s from the Sun, you should act on it.”
Cyrus hummed. “I guess it doesn’t do me any good either way if we can’t get out of this hut.”
