Page 173 of Salt in the Seas
It wasn’tthe first time Orra had been in the Elanesse dungeons, but considering Gaeren’s agitation, it was likely his.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered, his grip tightening on the bars as he leaned his forehead against them. He peered down the dank hall as if one of the guards might suddenly appear and let them free. Marnok and Rildan sat with Emeris on the sorry excuse for a mattress in the opposite corner.
“I find that very little makes sense without a broader perspective than we might find from within these walls,” Orra said.
Gaeren snorted, but Orra shot out her hand and grabbed his wrist, turning his palm over to see the scar from his bond mark. He pulled away from the bars, watching her warily, waiting for her judgment. She pulled back his sleeve and ran a finger over the braid around his wrist, sensing Aeliana’s essence in it, feeling how it reached through time, marking her identity in ways the others couldn’t sense.
“Is there a significance to your bracelet?” Orra asked quietly so the others wouldn’t hear.
Gaeren stiffened, and Orra knew his noetic skills were bringing back every detail of the moment he’d asked about her own braid.
“It wasn’t a gift, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said.
“That’s not what I’m asking.” Orra released his wrist, and he covered the braid before leaning his forehead against the bars oncemore. The little she could see of his face in the shadows was lined with concern. “There’s no shame in admitting she’s more than a bondmate.”
“You said he was more like a brother.” Gaeren glanced at Orra’s own braid. “I can’t see her as a sister. Not like I did when we were children.”
“There’s no shame in that either.” Orra held back her smile, worried he might feel mocked. “She’s your other half. Maybe because of your childhood. Maybe in spite of it. You have to figure out what it means. It might not mean the same thing for you as it means for me. Unfortunately, it also might not mean the same thing for her.”
He reached under his sleeve and twisted the braid. “Our paths keep crossing, but it could be a long time before they fully align. What if it simply means I’m supposed to protect her?”
“There’s no shame in that either,” Orra said softly.
Disappointment flitted across the young man’s face. He’d have to figure it out on his own. She turned away, leaving him to his brooding so she could face Rildan, Marnok, and Emeris instead, the plink of water from a drain in the corner the only sound carrying between them. It brought back memories of Orra’s days in this prison as Captain Redwood, and she wrapped her cloak tighter around her, scanning the stone floor for rats.
“It’ll be all right.” She said the words for the others, but more for herself. “They can’t ignore us in here forever.”
“Will your father give us another hearing?” Emeris asked wearily. When Gaeren didn’t answer, Orra turned to find his head angled their direction, brow furrowed as he studied a greenish puddle by his boot.
“He won’t give you another hearing, but he’s likely to hear me out. I suppose that’s what Enla saw that made her tell me to vouch for you.”
“There’s some of that broader perspective,” Orra murmured.
He let go of the bars to bang them with his fists instead, then flopped down on the ground. He immediately stood again with a grimace, wiping at the damp spots on the back of his trousers. “I didn’t even think they used this place anymore.”
“They probably don’t,” Orra said. “But then they’ve never captureda Wyndren before. Only a handful of kings and queens have used this place.”
“It’s probably been here since Queen Amaya ruled,” Gaeren muttered.
“No,” Orra corrected. “It was built at least a hundred years after.”
He squinted over at her. “I suppose you would know. You were probably around when she ruled. Riveran and I wondered if she was a descendant of yours. Her statue looks like you.”
Orra raised an eyebrow. “I don’t remember the name of every persona I’ve taken on, but some are impossible to forget.”
His face blanched and his mouth swung open. “You were Queen Amaya?”
The others gave startled gasps, making Orra regret the admission. How was it this group of Recreants managed to make her give up details of her past that she’d always preferred to keep hidden?
“I guess that makes you some sort of great-great-great—and then some—grandson of mine.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting wildly as he put the pieces of her past together. “And that’s why the Elanesse line has so much magic. Not because your son killed a Star, but because he already had such a high concentration from you.”
Orra lifted a shoulder. “Both factors played a role.” She’d been newly grounded in those days, floundering in her grief. She’d felt old instead of ageless, but after hundreds more years stuck on the earth, she looked back, and her former self seemed so young and foolish.
Despite being lost, she’d risen in the ranks quickly, catching the eye of the sad and lonely king whose parents had expired in the War of the Great Divide. Ruling the people had been a way for her to maintain some of the authority she’d been stripped of. It had felt right, even though now she knew it wasn’t. That authority had been removed for a reason.
“How does Aeliana fare?” Emeris’ tentative question startled both Gaeren and Orra.
