Page 166 of Salt in the Seas
“How is it that you still love Enla after your bond’s been broken?”
Riveran’s eyes widened, but he didn’t deny the claim. “It’s not about the bond. It never was. The bond strengthened what was already there. But even breaking the bond couldn’t weaken the love it stemmed from. Maybe for a time it did. But I’m more likely to stop breathing than I am to stop loving her.”
The words came out with so little hope that Gaeren felt the first stirrings of anger that his sister had married Croft soquickly. Then he marveled at the way his thoughts toward Riveran had shifted over the last year.
“She’s a fool,” Gaeren muttered.
They passed their horses to the stable boys, but then Gaeren hesitated, eyeing the main entrance. “Let’s go through the back gardens instead.”
Riveran followed without question, smiling when Gaeren gave his traditional mocking bow to Queen Amaya’s statue.
“Who does she look like to you?” Gaeren asked, and Riveran shrugged, squinting up at the porcelain face. “Doesn’t she look a bit like Orra?”
Riveran frowned. “Maybe. Didn’t Orra say she’d followed her descendants over the years? Could it be one of her daughters?”
Gaeren laughed. “I guess that would make us related.”
“No more than you and Aeliana are related.” Riveran elbowed him in the side, and Gaeren winced.
“It was a thousand years ago. It’s not like she’s my cousin.”
Riveran chuckled, the sound reminiscent of his carefree days before he’d been sent away.
They climbed the lattice leading to Gaeren’s balcony. Unsurprisingly, the door to his room was locked, but he found the pin he’d hidden in the railing years before and swiftly opened it, gesturing for Riveran to enter first.
The room smelled musty, like Enla had ordered it shut up, knowing Gaeren would never return. It remained just as he’d left it after the trip to Lorvandas, even though he’d sailed around the entire continent and crossed a second barrier to Sayhla Island since then.
“You should think about hiring new maids,” Riveran joked as he wiped thick dust from the desk’s surface.
Gaeren frowned. “Usually she foresees my return. She gets everything ready for me.”
Riveran gave a mock pout. “Is Gaeren not the most important thing in the world to Enla anymore? Did she find matters more pressing to attend to than her baby brother’s needs?”
Gaeren shoved Riveran half-heartedly, but his mind still raced.Something was wrong. He could feel it. “Maybe you should go back to the ship,” he said. “Catch them before they leave.”
Riveran dropped onto the bed, sending up another cloud of dust. He folded his hands behind his head and leaned back against the pillow. “They’re already well out of harbor. Sylmar wasn’t even willing to do a supply run for fear of being recognized. Why? What’s wrong?”
Gaeren shook his head. “I’m not sure. Isn’t it odd that she told us to come but didn’t get my room ready? Even if she hadn’t foreseen it, she told us to come.”
Now Riveran’s face turned wary, and he glanced toward the door. “It was written in her hand, though. And I don’t think anyone could fake the letter she wrote me.”
Gaeren nodded. “True. Maybe she just forgot or miscalculated how close we were.” Even as he said the words, they didn’t sound quite right. By now, Enla should have come to his room. “What if she’s sick? Or what if my parents are sick?”
“Your parents haven’t been right for a while,” Riveran said. “And after your dramatic exit last time, I don’t think you should seek them out without first finding Enla.”
Gaeren nodded slowly, studying the room more closely. He tuned in to the space around him, but the memories evaded him, all far too old to still be present. No one had been there in days if not moons.
“We need to go find her.” He opened the door to the hall, tuning in as far as his starlock’s power could reach. His parents and their soldiers had crossed through these halls, but there was nothing that gave him concern. They headed toward the main hall, creeping down the winding path until they drew close enough to the central quarters that Gaeren suspected they’d be caught.
He let his magic unfurl like the tendrils of a vine until it latched on to a soldier standing guard just outside the front entrance. He pushed his starlock’s power to infiltrate the man’s memories, speeding back through them until he recognized his sister.
Despite looking healthy, her eyes were vacant, like she remained lost in her visions while walking through the halls. He swore softly under his breath, wondering why Croft wasn’t watching out for her. He was a bondmate. It was what he was supposed to do. And yet deepdown, Gaeren knew. Her stubbornness likely prevented the other man from protecting her from herself.
“She’s in her quarters,” he whispered.
“In the middle of the day?” Riveran’s brow furrowed. “That’s not like her.”
Gaeren nodded. “At least it will be easier to get to her.”
