Page 170 of Salt in the Seas
“I think it’s time you tried taking your tonics again,” Riveran said, swiping the wetness from his eyes, “the ones that help you sleep. See if you can take a break from sifting. You need to find a way to turn it off.”
She shook her head. “This one was close to the surface. I didn’t even have to dig far for it. I’m certain of it.” She reached out a hand to squeeze Gaeren’s arm, sending him a barrage of images that made his head ache.
He shook her off. “Fine. It’s all right. I believe you. Emeris is coming with a delegation and I should vouch for her. Is that all?” At this point, the truth of her visions no longer mattered. They needed to figure out how to calm her down and settle her magic.
“Please take me seriously,” she begged, her gaze clouding over. “If you don’t vouch for her, everything changes.”
“I said I’ll do it.” He wrapped his arms around her as if he could smother the visions out of her. “Now please—stop searching.”
She relaxed under his grip. “I’ll stop.”
He glanced at Riveran, whose lips pursed while he blinked profusely.
Gaeren had been right to come. Enla needed him here. But now he worried he’d waited too long.
CHAPTER 65
Gaeren triedto watch Enla closely after that. She’d spewed so much chaos he no longer knew what to believe. But each possibility she’d mentioned held enough truth he had to at least consider them as possibilities. He and Riveran spent the next two days and nights hiding in Gaeren’s room while Enla snuck them food. Gullet held no clues about his presence, meaning if any note had been sent, it had been lost in transit.
On the third day, their parents still kept Enla from the council meetings, but they let her return to the throne room in order to welcome the navy representatives arriving from Andel. Before she left, she crawled through the passageway, heedless of the way cobwebs clung to her braids and the way the loose boards snagged at her silk.
“Today you must come,” she said to Gaeren. “Remember the alcove where we would watch as children?”
Gaeren nodded, picturing the small space at the edge of the throne room, most likely intended for servants to be ready at a moment’s notice. They’d observed many of their parents’ outbursts and questionable rulings from that vantage point, forever tainting Gaeren’s impression of them.
“Be there to watch the naval officers return. They won’t be alone.”
He pinched her arm when her gaze wandered, forcing her to focus again on him. It was a cruel trick he’d used when they were young, butit was also effective. And he wasn’t willing to let her fall back into her dangerous sifting. “I’ll be there.”
She nodded, then retreated through the passageway once more.
“Are you really going?” Riveran asked as Gaeren rifled through his drawers for fresh clothes.
“Of course I’m going. Why wouldn’t I?”
“If she was wrong about what she sifted, you could be caught by your parents. All your efforts to hide from them would be wasted.”
“And if she’s right?” Gaeren asked, unwilling to hold Riveran’s gaze. Neither one of them had wanted to consider that possibility. Not only did it mean that some of Enla’s visions still rang with truth, but it meant things hadn’t gone well in Myndren.
“If her vision was right, wouldn’t Emeris come find you?”
Gaeren paused, considering Riveran’s perspective. “Maybe. But I’ve learned things no one else has heard by eavesdropping in that alcove. There are things we might need to know, and this could be the only way to discover them.”
Riveran winced, and a memory came to Gaeren with so much force that he took a step back. Riveran stood in the throne room, kneeling before Enla and the king and queen, offering out his hand while his head remained bowed. It was fleeting but strong, the precipice of time that had changed everything for Riveran and Enla. Everything for Gaeren as well.
As the memory cleared, Gaeren’s breath came quick, like he’d just run to his hideout in the swamp and back. “I guess I didn’t see everything that went on in the throne room,” he murmured.
Riveran blinked rapidly and looked away.
“You can stay here,” Gaeren offered. “In fact, it’s better if you do. If I vouch for Emeris, but my parents disown me for my treasonous actions, it’s better for you not to be found with me. If I don’t return before the night’s end, you should go back to the harbor. Take Gullet with you, and send word to Aeliana.”
He pulled the star-shaped bead from his starlock’s necklace and passed it to Riveran, whose face held all the conflict Gaeren felt stirring within his own soul.
“You know it’s the best course of action,” Gaeren said. “Even if you don’t like it.”
Riveran swallowed hard and nodded, taking the bead from Gaeren. “May the Sun’s light always shine upon you,” Riveran said.
“And may the Stars’ light always guide you,” Gaeren responded, the words holding less irritation than they usually did.
