Page 103 of Salt in the Seas
“I wouldn’t mind staying on the ship,” Brogdon admitted. “Maybe even after we return to the fortress. I’m not sure I can return to asoldier’s life.” The raw statement was directed at Gaeren as if asking permission.
“You’ll always be welcome aboard my boat,” Gaeren said, and he meant it even if he now saw the boat as a Recreants’ tool more than his toy. Jasperus’ son had turned out to be a fine sailor, and he couldn’t blame the man for wanting a fresh start away from the reminders of his past. “Even if Larkos paints her and changes her name without my permission… again.” He waved to Larkos, who stood across the ship at the helm.
Larkos waved back, blissfully unaware of the slight directed his way.
Iris and Aeliana chose that moment to step out from their quarters, drawing everyone’s attention as they crossed the deck. Aeliana’s hair had been freshly braided at her crown—so tight it looked painful. It seemed like Iris had taken her fears from the last week out on the plaits, and he winced in empathy for Aeliana.
She stood next to Cyrus, practically leaning on the almost priest for support.
“Does anyone else want to stay behind?” Sylmar asked, his gaze lingering on Cyrus, who only seemed to raise his chin and stand a little taller in response.
“I know you already said I’d stay behind,” Thallahan said before turning to Gaeren, “but I’m just making it clear I’m not delaying my wedding again. And if you want to be welcomed in my home by my wife, you’ll make sure you’re back in time for it too—with that princely gift you promised.”
“I’m pretty sure you promised it on my behalf.” Gaeren chuckled.
Thallahan shrugged. “It’s still expected by the bride.”
“We still have a few moons. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Thallahan squinted his good eye. “Do I have to remind you what happened last time?”
“We’ll take a few days to let the three of you recover,” Sylmar said, ignoring their side conversation. “Maybe stop for supplies we might need on Sayhla Island.”
Gaeren didn’t bother hiding his relief, and neither did Velden nor Aeliana.
Sylmar’s scars bunched together with his favorite overly dramatic grim face. “Who knows what we’ll find across that barrier?”
Over the next four days, they let their starlocks and blood recharge in the Sun’s light while Sylmar attempted to make plans for every possible circumstance. Larkos continued heading toward Valorian, taking a slow and aimless pace, suspecting they’d get to Rykarn days, if not weeks, before those using the starbridge.
After Bartholem’s reverence for their use of the starbridge, it almost felt sacrilegious for the ten of them to stand on the deck and crowd around the silver fish under the moonlight. Velden’s grip tightened on his mother’s tail as if fearing it might not cross the barrier with him.
“I wish we were leaving during the day,” Cyrus said. “I want to see everything.”
“But we don’t want the Sayhleens to see us,” Sylmar pointed out. “At least not right away. Not until we know we’ll be welcome.”
“Is there a limit to how many can cross at one time?” Aeliana asked, her gaze on their linked hands.
“I guess we’re about to find out,” Gaeren said.
“Can I say it?” Cyrus eagerly held out his hand for the fish. His face reddened. “It’s the only thing I can really do.”
Aeliana gave Cyrus an encouraging grin as Sylmar grunted his reluctant assent and set the fish in the Lorvandan’s palm. As they all linked arms, Cyrus reverently recited the foreign words that matched the script on both the arrow and the fish, and Gaeren let them sink into his memory, determined to be able to repeat them if he ever needed to follow through on his promise to the Recreants to take his family across the barrier.
Then Gaeren felt the deck of his ship disappear from beneath him.
CHAPTER 39
Aeliana’s stomach dropped,the experience uncomfortably familiar. But this time she waited for the grounding sensation she knew would follow once they crossed the barrier and reached Sayhla Island.
Except this time the sensation didn’t come.
Her stomach continued dropping as her body fell with it. Bright light was replaced by dark skies and flashes of lightning. Rain lashed against her skin, and screams carried on the wind around her. They were quickly swallowed up by the thunder of waves and the slap of bodies hitting water before Aeliana was swallowed up by the sea. Panic engulfed her as she was swept back to the memory of being pushed off Lovers’ Falls by the sprites. That same loss of direction left her fighting the waves around her for what was up and what was down.
Her hands brushed fabric and hair, arms and legs, making her desperate to drag all her companions to the surface with her, unwilling to repeat her failure with Cyrus. But she couldn’t maintain a grasp on anyone, let alone find her way to the surface.
The thunderous roar of the storm above was muted beneath the water, the quiet foreboding. Her lungs burned and her mind fought the intense need to inhale as she stretched her fingertips, reaching for relief.
When she finally broke the surface and gasped in air, she wasquickly overcome by a monstrous wave that rolled her again, leaving her sputtering and coughing as she surfaced a second time. Rain pummeled her face, making it impossible to catch a full deep breath, and the waves tossed her around until she no longer knew if her companions were still with her or if she’d been lost farther out at sea.
