Page 67 of Salt in the Seas
Aeliana’s hands twisted in her lap, and the motion made Gaeren feel oddly more at ease. Her nervousness allowed him to focus on making her more comfortable rather than examine his own discomfort.
“Gaeren is the best person to help you with this because his noetic skills are the most advanced in our group,” Sylmar grudginglyadmitted.
“Why, thank you,” Gaeren said, placing a hand over his heart in mock surprise. “I think that might have been a compliment.”
Sylmar rolled his eyes and sat heavily on the bed, leaving Gaeren still hovering awkwardly over the other three. “Let’s start with Cyrus.”
“I thought we should start with me.” Gaeren might have been a little too eager to contradict Sylmar’s plans, but he rushed on anyway. “It will be hard to tell whether she’s using her magic or I’m using mine, but it will give her a sense of what she’s aiming for since the other instances were more accidental.”
Cyrus stood, gesturing toward his stool for Gaeren to take his place.
“Very well,” Sylmar muttered.
Gaeren sat beside Aeliana and Riveran, holding out his hand, palm up.
Still, Aeliana hesitated. “How do you keep yourself from getting memories people don’t want to give you? How do you stop yourself from invading their privacy?”
Gaeren winced, remembering his own fears when he’d first learned. He’d hardly wanted to touch anyone for fear of seeing something he couldn’t unsee. “It’s difficult to get someone to show you a memory they don’t want you to see, especially when you’re first learning. And in your case, you’re going to focus on giving me memories since that should come easier to you if it’s your primary spoke.”
“I don’t think it is,” Aeliana said. “I meant to test it yesterday by cutting out my brand on Durriken. If the magic had stayed, we’d know it was my magic, and if it didn’t, we’d know it was Durriken’s. But…Durriken wanted to maintain the connection. He called it a tether. He’s fine with me using his magic.”
Gaeren whistled low and long. “A tether? I didn’t think those were possible anymore.”
“They aren’t,” Sylmar said.
“It’s not a real one,” she rushed to add. “He just seemed to think we could treat the brand like one. For now. It’s the only reason I’m willing to train in magic I’m basically stealing from him. Because he’s offered it.” A pink tinge came to her cheeks, one that made Gaeren want to tease her, but something about the topic felt off limitsto him, at least if he wanted to maintain the growth in their friendship.
Besides, the idea that this skill came from Durriken made sense. With her ability to receive so many memories, it would make more sense for her to be a destructive noetic, but he understood why the old man assumed she’d be a constructive noetic after seeing her light shields. If Durriken gave her noetic magic, it didn’t have to follow the rules of the Wheel of Magic.
He tapped her knee, then held his palm up once more. “Then let’s get started.”
“What if—what if there are memories I don’t want to give?”
“Then you let go of my hand,” Gaeren said. “Any memory you’re giving me will cut off if you let go. At least for now, while you’re still learning. If it’s your primary spoke, you’ll eventually be able to use it without touching. Technically I could continue to take the memory from you with my own magic, but I’ve trained not to do that. Losing people’s trust is not worth gaining whatever knowledge they want to keep secret.”
She nodded but still seemed uneasy.
“Instead of thinking about the things you don’t want me to see, it’s important that you think of something youdowant me to see. Shove those other memories to the background and bring the memory you want to share to the front.”
She nodded again and tentatively placed her hand in his.
Gaeren didn’t need to close his eyes, but he did so anyway. She was already nervous enough without being watched. “I’m going to reach out for your memory now. For me, it’s like tuning in to a specific note on an instrument.” His starlock warmed as he said the words, and he felt the thrum through his arm and into his palm. “At first the images will be blurry, but just like an instrument can be tuned to the perfect pitch, I can find the right note to make the memory clearer.”
Even as he spoke, the image came to his mind.
It was a fleeting moment with all of them on horseback, long before they’d reached the Myndren Mountains. Maybe even before Aeliana and the others had found Gaeren in Islara. Sylmar was instructing Aeliana on the Wheel of Magic, and Velden was behind him, mimickingthe way the older man spoke by overexaggerating his gestures and pompous expression. Then the half-Sayhleen shifted into a bored listener, falling asleep and nearly tumbling from his horse. Cyrus snorted from beside Aeliana, and he felt her turn to hide her own smile.
Gaeren pulled his hand back and let the memory snap closed. He and Aeliana grinned at each other.
“What did you see?” Sylmar asked.
“She just showed me a memory of Velden being Velden.”
Aeliana’s eyebrows rose, as if challenging him to admit the full scene.
Sylmar grunted. “That man needs a leash.”
Aeliana burst out laughing, the sound stunning Gaeren with the same mesmerizing power of a winex’s chime. He tore his gaze away from the dimple in her cheek to find Sylmar grumbling.
