Page 222 of Salt in the Seas
Andreas glanced back at Lumina, and Orra sensed the wave of guilt flowing through them both. Lumina turned her back on Orra and kneeled before the king and queen. A hum resonated from her that would soon grow into a song, guiding the king and queen to the Sun.
“You’re not fighting her.” She realized the truth even as the words left her lips.
“We’re waiting for the Sun to intervene.”
“Why?” Orra asked. “You have the ability to stop her—or at least to try. Why would you not do that?”
Andreas frowned and stepped away. “You were punished for yourchoice. Reyna hasn’t lost her status, which leaves us all wondering if perhaps she’s right, and perhaps her methods are blessed by the Sun.”
Orra shook her head. “You cannot presume to know how the Sun works. I don’t understand it either. But you know what’s right and wrong. We always need to stand in the light, even if the Sun is silent. Reyna was working with Mayvus. Half-lights might overemphasize the abhorrence of blood magic. They don’t understand it’s not the blood that makes it wrong.” She pointed back in the direction of the council room where Mayvus’ body likely lay. “But every time that woman spilled blood, she was working against the Sun. She welcomed the dark spirits. Now that she’s dead, where do you think her own spirit went?”
“To the sprites,” Andreas whispered. “She’s joined their ranks, and now her destiny is to never become more than a dark spirit.”
Orra rubbed her palms over her face. “I should have spent more time studying the sprites. I should have tried to understand if there was a way for them to change.”
Andreas shook his head. “They made their decisions in their lifetimes. Their time as sprites is an echo of their existence. They’re merely creatures between worlds fighting to remain alive a bit longer.”
Orra shuddered. “And yet Reyna was serving a woman who became one.”
Andreas rubbed the back of his neck, his face twisted in indecision. “Reyna told you the truth. We didn’t intend to work with Mayvus. But one thing led to another, and some of the Stars have been…distracted.”
Orra kneeled beside the bodies of the king and queen, letting Lumina’s song comfort her along with the royal spirits.
Andreas joined her. “I agree with you though. We’ve begun interfering too much. Which is why I wait for the Sun to intervene.”
“It’s not about not interfering,” Orra murmured. “It’s about interfering in ways blessed by the Sun.” She stared down at the king and queen, not understanding how the Stars could have let it go this far. She placed a hand on an arm of each of the deceased. “And this? Is this blessed by the Sun?”
Lumina’s song broke off, and Orra stood, backing away. Justbecause she was angry with her fellow Stars didn’t mean she should interrupt their song.
Andreas’ warm hand rested on her back, and she closed her eyes, absorbing its comfort.
“If the Sun doesn’t stop Reyna,” he said, “I can’t rally the other Stars to do it. As long as her way is not blocked, they believe her actions are blessed.” His voice shifted to a whisper, maybe to tune out Lumina or maybe to emphasize his point. “But you can still change things. Break down the barriers and bring back Bryton. It might be the only thing that makes the other Stars reconsider.”
The weight of his suggestion added to the pain she already carried. “Where is the iron cutlass?”
“With Pacran, just like your people assumed.”
She turned an accusing glare on him. “You’ve been watching us.”
Andreas squeezed her hands in his. “I have been rooting for you, even if I must do it in secret.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “And the onyx stone? Where did Mayvus leave it?”
He shook his head and pulled his hands away. “Mayvus wasn’t the only one who used the stone. She’s no longer its keeper.”
Orra’s eyebrows rose in question.
“Anara has it.”
Orra didn’t have magic to waste on searching out the truth. “Who is Anara?”
Andreas glanced back at Lumina, whose song had come to an end. “Reyna will say I’m interfering too much.”
“Please, Andreas.” She grabbed his hands once more. “Don’t you want me to take down the barriers and bring Bryton back?”
He hesitated, but Lumina began glowing, signifying their time was up. “Ask Sylmar.” He gently released her hands and matched Lumina’s glow. “I think you’re right, Orra. I think we misunderstood the Sun.”
She blinked back tears, overcome by their brightness even as she strained to catch his words.
