Page 112 of Salt in the Seas
“This is the most exciting thing to happen to our village in years, maybe decades. Obviously it’s not exciting that Aunt Rhoda is gone, but visitors from across the barrier…”
Aeliana couldn’t see Nori’s face as she stepped from the bath to dryoff, but the awe was evident in her words. “Velden made it sound like everything over here was exciting.”
Nori snorted. “He’d never even been here before, so maybe it’s that Aunt Rhoda made it sound exciting. And it probably was for her. Crossing the barrier, having a secret romance, slated to be Seer.” Her voice came out wistful.
“I’m sorry you were never able to meet her,” Aeliana said as she pulled on a fresh set of clothes.
Nori sighed. “I think I’m probably more like her than I’m like my parents.”
When Aeliana tapped Nori’s shoulder, the other woman turned and grabbed a brush from the table, pushing Aeliana to sit in the chair and face the mirror. When she came around Aeliana to comb through her hair, Aeliana stiffened, Nori’s familiarity feeling out of place. But in many ways, it was no worse than when she’d been forced to do the same with Kendalyhn. Besides, it kept Nori talking, and she was a wealth of information.
“Sometimes my father tells me I’m like her when I get in trouble, almost like it’s an insult. My parents take everything so seriously. I know it’s because they bear the weight of our entire people group, but that almost makes it worse. I can’t live under that kind of pressure.” Her strokes turned rough, making Aeliana wince.
This was all news to Aeliana, but she held back her surprise, worried it might clue Nori in to the fact that she was likely giving out more details than she was supposed to. “My mother bears a heavy load as the high priestess. Many Vendarans want her to rule instead of the royal family.”
“Yes.” Nori paused in her strokes, studying Aeliana in the mirror. “That was how Sylmar made it sound when the elders questioned him. It’s good that your stories match. It will matter to the elders you meet.”
Aeliana nodded, and they fell silent as Nori switched to plaiting Aeliana’s hair.
“It can be hard to follow in footsteps like that,” Aeliana added, hoping to get Nori talking about her own family again. But the words were also true, giving her a sudden shared kinship with this Sayhleen woman.
Nori hummed her agreement. “I don’t really want to follow in my parents’ footsteps, but I don’t have much choice. I haven’t received a starlock, so I can’t go to the Seer’s Sanctuary school. I always dreamed of being the next Seer. I’m sure every child does at some point, but a part of me still wants it. To see the future with such certainty, to do so much good with that knowledge. To pick up the mantle Aunt Rhoda couldn’t take.” Her hands stilled once more with her wistful tone.
“Why is the Seer not available to outsiders?” Aeliana asked.
“Is that what my father said?” Nori picked up plaiting Aeliana’s hair once more. “I don’t know that we have a true rule about it. There haven’t been outsiders before now. Why do you want to see her anyway?”
Aeliana hesitated, but the curse wasn’t exactly a secret. If Gellen hadn’t already gotten it from her mind, Sylmar or Velden had probably told the elders. “My mother’s been cursed. Her life is tied to another’s, and we need to know how to break the curse.”
Nori frowned. “Her pneumatic skills are highly focused on the future, not the past.”
“But if we have a chance of breaking the curse in the future, won’t she see that?” Desperation leaked into Aeliana’s words. They couldn’t have come for nothing.
“Probably. It’s just an unusual use of the Seer. But far worthier than most,” Nori added dryly. “I suspect the elders are afraid of what she might show you. What you might think of her. People go to her under the rarest of circumstances. Predictions for a loved one’s future, resolution for crimes, decisions they can’t possibly make on their own. We’re each given one chance in our life to consult the Seer, and we must save it and use it wisely.”
“Just one?” Aeliana asked.
Nori nodded. “We have to invoke our right by making an official request to the elders. Some wait so long to use it they never end up getting the chance. Others use it too early and regret that they wasted it. Others choose to never go, afraid of how often people return…changed. Sometimes mad.”
“Velden said as much,” Aeliana admitted. “Which shows how desperate we are.”
“It’s not always bad. She’s proven people’s innocence and saved lives. She’s not just a Seer but a judge. Her words are the final answer on everything, even if we don’t like the answer. That kind of authority is the only thing that made me nervous about accepting such a role.”
Her gaze took on a faraway look, but instead of prying further, Aeliana let the other woman sit in her sorrow.
“Well”—Nori’s voice turned flat—“without a starlock, I’ll most likely be married off to someone who cares more for the proximity to my father’s power than my lack of it.”
“Aren’t you young? I just received my starlock this year. There’s still time.”
“Now you sound like my mother.” Nori’s voice held a smile. “And while that may be true, fewer people are getting starlocks. Ailah’s Awakening is the first we’ve had in two years. The next likely won’t be for another two years or more, and by then I’ll be far too old. I’m happy for her though,” Nori was quick to add as she tied off Aeliana’s braid.
Aeliana turned to face her. “You can be sad over your own loss and still be happy for someone else.”
Nori snorted. “You will do far better at following your mother’s high priestess footsteps than I’ll do at being an elder’s wife.” Her laugh shifted to a disgusted face that left Aeliana grinning.
“Maybe you’ll become an explorer now that there’s a way across the barrier. You could always come back with us.”
Nori leaned forward, her face a handsbreadth from Aeliana’s. “Do you think that’s possible? I’ve always felt like my future had to hold something more, something bigger. Something beyond this small island and our coral.”
