Page 142 of Salt in the Seas
“My father will expect to see me there. What he hasn’t told you is that he has plans for the starbridges. Remember how they wanted to send ambassadors back with you?”
“You mean back with Aeliana,” Gaeren said, “because I’m supposed to be dead.”
She grimaced. “Yes, that plan. He wants our ambassadors to discover what’s happening to the starlocks, why we’re receivingso few. He wants to know if somehow your people are stealing them from ours. He wants to know if there’s a way to restore the magic in our land. It’s fading, and they’re afraid Lady Merinnia hasn’t picked another Seer because there isn’t one.”
“That’s—” Aeliana broke off. “But we have fewer progenies in Vendaras, too.”
Nori faltered. “Are you certain?”
“We have the same questions,” Gaeren said. “We have one among our company who couldn’t come. She’s a grounded Star. We could ask her. She might know.”
Nori’s mouth swung open. “You what?”
“Her name is Orra, but she used to be called Sheen. I don’t know about the Sayhleen account of the Great Divide, but ours tells of a Star who convinced the others to divide the lands to protect the people from each other. Orra was that Star, and her punishment was to remain grounded.”
“Our story is similar.” Nori’s voice came out breathy. “But it’s said the sprites herded us here for our protection from the Stars’ plans to destroy all the lands and start over.”
“I don’t think Orra will know much more,” Aeliana said. “She’s been grounded for a thousand years. She doesn’t know why there are fewer progenies any more than the rest of us.”
“But she spoke to a Star on the northern keep,” Gaeren said.
Aeliana hesitated. “That’s true. And she’s not always very forthcoming with what she knows.”
“I’m coming with you.” Nori’s voice held a firmness, like she was convincing herself as much as them. “I want to meet her, and I want to bring back news for my father. If I offer myself as the one to go, perhaps he’ll give me the starbridges. We wouldn’t even have to make a scene or fight for them.”
Gaeren and Aeliana exchanged a glance, and Gaeren recalled the bright light and Nori’s glassy eyes. “I don’t think he will,” Gaeren admitted. “We needed your help getting out of your seaweed prison, but if it comes to a fight, most of us have magic. I think it would be better to leave you out of all of it.”
Nori rolled her eyes. “I need everyone to stop trying to makedecisions for me and to stop trying to protect me. Have you ever considered if maybe I saw something more than what the Seer showed my mother? If maybe I know more about my future than you all think you know?”
“Whatdidyou see?” Aeliana asked.
Nori pressed her lips together. “I saw my Awakening.”
A smile bloomed on Aeliana’s face that made Gaeren’s breath hitch. “You received a starlock in your vision,” Aeliana said.
Nori nodded, then glanced away. “What if there’s a third path for me? One my mother’s too afraid to consider, not because it’s dangerous for me, but because it seems too impossible to be real? One that takes me across the barrier? Let me choose my future.”
Gaeren’s lips lifted. He couldn’t help but appreciate her courage. “All right, lead the way.”
When they reached the town square, Nori found a spot at the edge for them to hide, allowing them a view of the dais. Sure enough, the elders had gathered and were explaining their plans to the people. Before Nori even had a chance to step out of the shadows and offer her assistance, Elder Algaen pulled the starbridges from his pocket, lifting them high for the villagers to see.
Aeliana grabbed Gaeren’s arm, squeezing it tight. He rested his hand on hers, unsure if it was to comfort her or himself.
“It’s going to work,” he whispered.
Nori strode into the crowd, and the closer she got to the dais, the more people parted for her. “I volunteer to take the Vendarans back.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd, making it difficult to catch the elders’ initial reaction.
“They’ve confided in me.” Nori’s voice rose. “And they have resources that can give us answers.”
By the time she reached the dais, every eye was on her, and Gaeren felt less concern over how noticeable he and Aeliana might be in the mouth of the alley.
“They will help me get answers, but not if they’re threatened—not if they’re forced to leave loved ones behind. They’ve already had to bury one of their own on our lands, and it has broken them. Let me take them home, and they will help me find answers.” Her chin rosewith the declaration. If she had any doubt in her success, she hid it well.
“We’d never send you by yourself,” her father said.
“We won’t send her at all,” her mother argued from her place at the stage’s edge.
