Page 134 of Salt in the Seas
“I don’t know.” Gaeren ran a hand through his hair, his gaze stuck on Holm’s body. “She screamed and then said, ‘don’t make me do this.’ And then they were on the floor, each trying to kill the other.”
“What did they see?” Nori’s eyes held a haunted sorrow. “It’s because of the vision they received. That’s the only explanation for it. Something they saw made them enemies.”
Aeliana knew everyone was asking the same question in their minds. How could they go from lovers to enemies because of a vision? A small part of her realized it was a double blow. This meant they hadn’t all seen the curse that she’d seen. If no one else had seen it, she might not ever discover which words she’d missed.
“We can’t ever know what Holm saw,” Sylmar said, his face grave.
The only sounds left in the room were Lady Merinnia’s groans and Iris’ sobs, which turned to muffled screams as she brought her palm to her mouth. The place that had once held her bond mark showed a jagged pink scar, which she nursed as Velden lowered her to the cavern floor.
“Take her memory, Gaeren,” Sylmar said.
Gaeren flinched. What had he seen in his vision? Did it make him afraid to see what Iris had learned?
“I want to see it too,” Aeliana admitted. “I want to know formyself.” She didn’t know if she could this far from Durriken, but it was worth trying.
She and Gaeren each placed a hand on Iris’ shoulder. Despite her pain, Iris must have wanted the vision to be seen, because it came through, disjointed at first, but clearer as it went on, perhaps fueled by Gaeren’s magic as well.
The memory of the vision held a vaguely familiar cliffside. Once Aeliana recognized the scorched remnants of a campfire within a cave, it became clear it was the place Holm had found what he thought was Mayvus’ body. But instead, Mayvus stood there, surrounded by half a dozen soldiers.
They wrestled Holm to the ground and took his blood, forcing a brand on him, making Aeliana’s stomach churn. When the process was complete, he stood, no longer resisting. And Mayvus stepped forward, placing a glove over his hand. Her gait was unsteady and she nursed a wound at her waist, but she was clearly alive.
“You’ll tell them you saw my remains. You’ll convince them I’m dead. Send them on wild searches to waste their time while I build my army.”
He nodded.
“You’ll only remember this when I check in on you. You will continue among their company as though nothing has changed. When the brand heals, you will remove your glove, and I will mask it for you.”
He nodded again, and the vision faded, pierced by Iris’ mournful howl both in the memory and in the present.
Aeliana and Gaeren gasped, stepping away in horror.
“Holm betrayed us all,” Iris cried. “I knew he’d been keeping something from me. But I never thought it would be something like this.” Her sobs rent the air once more. “I couldn’t cut it out before he attacked. It was the only way to stop him.”
Her words became unintelligible again, and Aeliana bent forward, wrapping her arms around the woman who had taken care of her like a mother over the last several months, crying with her. Nothing could fix what she’d been forced to do.
“Holm was branded,” Gaeren told the others, his voice raw. “He’sbeen feeding information to Mayvus since he first found her in Durriken’s cave—alive.”
Iris’ sobs grew louder, and Aeliana hugged her tighter. The faithful maidservant had been forced to kill her bondmate. It didn’t matter that he’d been branded. She’d had to look him in the eye while she’d shoved a dagger in his chest. She’d had to watch the man she loved die by her own hand. It was a cruel trick, like something the sprites would have done.
Aeliana turned to glare at the Seer, who still hunched in her chair. “You said it would be good!”
Lady Merinnia’s hands went to her ears and she moaned louder, hunching farther.
“Aeliana,” Nori warned.
“How is this good?” Aeliana stood, but the acolytes came forward, blocking her path.
A few brought food and drink for the Seer, applying ministrations that were likely ritualistic after every visit.
“Why did you tell us it would be good?” Aeliana cried out again as the other acolytes dragged them back down the path around the circumference of the room. Gaeren and Velden hefted Holm’s body between them, each clearly enhancing their strength to hold a man of his size.
It left Aeliana sick to see the man she’d loved and respected jostled about like a sack of potatoes. She turned Iris away so the other woman wouldn’t have to witness the consequences of her actions, and Iris cradled her hand against her chest, her cries holding not just the sorrow of her actions but the pain of her broken bond.
When Holm was practically dragged through to the room where the elders and guards waited, a new round of chaos ensued. Each of the Vendarans was shackled once more with the same seaweed-like rope that had been used before. Nori cried out in their defense, begging her parents to have mercy and to recognize the loss they’d just experienced.
“Loss?” Elder Algaen, asked, gesturing at Iris’ bloody hands. “Tell me, how did he die?”
Nori hesitated, her eyes seeking out Aeliana.
