Page 146 of Salt in the Seas
CHAPTER 55
Orra stoodon the boat’s prow, closing her eyes against the wind and letting her fingers lightly rest on the braid at her wrist. She soaked in the way it hummed with life, an echo of what the starbridges had formerly been. She found herself holding her breath, relishing the strength of it.
Despite the silver fish being farther away now than the onyx stone had been when she’d last sensed it, she sensed the fish more clearly, a sign that her power was returning. She’d feared it wouldn’t, even though she’d been conserving it.
Still, something about the thrum of her power felt off.
Just before, she’d sensed a Star’s presence in Rhystahn and wondered at the connection. But her ability to sense the pinpricks of starlocks being delivered and removed had diminished over the years, and she no longer trusted it. Especially now that the Stars were communing again.
Had she instead sensed one of her own approaching a half-light to commune? An Ahmranan? Or Mayvus?
She shuddered, wishing she could ask Andreas or Reyna. But she’d lost the privilege of that sort of knowledge long ago. And now she no longer knew which of them she could trust.
“Everything all right?” Emeris asked.
Orra opened her eyes at the gentle question, at the reminder thatthey were berthed in Seaglass Port for the night, almost halfway to Andel. She was not a thousand years in the past, begging for one last chance to reverse her wrongs.
Emeris peeked out from her hooded cloak, which thankfully gave no one pause now that Winter Solstice approached and the weather was so much cooler.
Rildan and Marnok had found passage for them with some fishermen and traders. But Emeris had needed to keep herself hidden, from both Recreants and Loyalists alike since any attention would slow their progress.
“I’ll be fine.” Orra cradled her wrist against her chest as if holding the braid closer to her heart could somehow bring Bryton closer once more. “But I think the others have already returned from Sayhla Island.”
“Isn’t that good?” Emeris craned her neck, looking for Marnok and Rildan. “We should tell the men.”
“We’re still a week outside of Andel,” Orra said. “We’re on the complete opposite side of Vendaras. We could spend the next moon chasing Aeliana’s group all the way back around if Larkos takes them north. They won’t know to avoid the Ahmranans at Ahmranan’s Viewpoint.”
Emeris wilted. “So it’s not good.”
“Perhaps they’ve returned sooner than Larkos expects, and we’ll catch him in Andel.” Orra patted Emeris’ shoulder. “Never lose hope.”
Emeris nodded, then angled her head toward the waning moon. “That will be a new moon in the morning.”
“A fresh start,” Orra murmured.
Had Felk kept the letter? Would he place it in his nest for his next life? Breaking tradition after hundreds of years was difficult. And yet that was the only way things could change.
And it was time for a change. Orra sensed it in every part of her bones. She knew they were on the cusp of finding the starbridges, not just because she hoped to finally reunite them, but because she sensed the Sun working all around her. It made it harder to ignore the Sun’s presence, harder to hide behind her own guilt and shame.
Her reckoning was coming, and she hoped she was ready.
She hoped all of Rhystahn would be ready for what was about to come.
CHAPTER 56
Gaeren had never been sorelieved to feel solid ground beneath his feet. As his senses recovered from the shift, waves broke on a shoreline and the salty scent of the sea brought him a nostalgic comfort. He dropped to the ground and buried his hands in the sand, shocked that he had survived and grateful that he had yet one more day to live.
But next to him, Aeliana fell to her knees with a shuddering sob. He wrapped his arms around her, and she clung to him as though his presence was the only thing still anchoring her. The image of Nori’s blank eyes came back to him, and his heart broke right alongside Aeliana’s.
Lukai approached, his eyes rimmed red, and Gaeren felt an odd sense of possession. But his bond mark twinged, and he released his hold on Aeliana, allowing Lukai to step in and comfort her in his place. He clenched his jaw and looked away, his chest burning with all they’d been through in the last hours.
He’d thought he was going to die for her. He’d thought it was his moment to sacrifice for all of Rhystahn, that his death would somehow eventually bring about peace for both Enla and Aeliana. But now that the moment had passed and he was here and alive, he was no longer sure what any of Lady Merinnia’s visions had meant or how they connected to the sprite’s deal.
The others seemed just as lost. Iris took herself to the edge of thewater and sat, burying her face in her hands, Holm’s sword tucked against her side. Sylmar and Velden approached the tree line, likely to guard from any unwanted visitors and assess their surroundings.
Without the Sun’s light, it was difficult to get a sense of direction, but with the moon closer inland than to the shore, Gaeren suspected they were on the western side of Vendaras. The landscape even looked familiar enough that he suspected they might be near Rykarn.
Cyrus and Kendalyhn awkwardly sat together, her eyes not leaving Lukai and Aeliana while Cyrus attempted to engage her in conversation. It left Riveran and Gaeren alone for the first time since they’d traveled to Sayhla Island.
