Page 217 of Salt in the Seas
She took another swig, and Aeliana’s mother blinked again, frowning. It wasn’t working because the winex fluid was counteracting it, which meant a dollop or two wasn’t going to be enough.
But how much would be too much?
Mayvus turned back to her soldiers, giving instructions to bind them all and take them to the dungeons. They were out of time.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, before using her dagger to smear two more dollops on her mother’s wrist. She prayed it wasn’t too much, and she prayed it was enough. When her mother fell limp against one of the guards, Aeliana bent forward, frantically checking for a pulse.
This time, when a moan escaped Mayvus’ lips, she fell into the chair she’d used for balance. She nearly dropped the flask as she lifted it to her lips, and her words came out garbled. “Take her to the apothecary.Empty her stomach. I don’t care how. They’ve given her something, and you need to get rid of it.”
The soldier nearest gathered Emeris up in his arms to carry her from the room, and Aeliana saw all their hopes being carried out with her. Chaos broke out as the others attempted resisting capture without their starlocks. They were dependent on their combat training, and Aeliana knew they couldn’t last against the progeny soldiers. But it was enough to force the soldier carrying Emeris to set her down to defend himself. On a whim, she kept out the valerian cream and dipped her dagger in it, smearing large portions on the soldiers who tried to capture her. They dropped like flies, and she had no time to wonder if she was killing them or merely incapacitating them.
A burst of light flashed through the room, the familiar shield shocking Aeliana because it hadn’t come from her hands. As her eyes adjusted, she saw Marnok rushing toward her, then pulling her into the safety of his light shield’s circumference.
“How are you—?” She didn’t bother finishing her question. They’d never understood where Marnok’s power came from because they’d never been able to find a starlock on him. And yet here he was, a master of the magic she thought she’d lost. His ability to create a light shield was no more or less confusing than her own ability to create one in the apothecary.
“When did you discover you could do this?”
“Your mother’s memories showed me I could do a lot more than I remembered.” He pulled her through the crowd, attempting to grab their friends along the way. But he was just as likely to bring Mayvus’ soldiers into the sphere. They were halfway to the exit by the time they’d collected Sylmar and Iris, along with two soldiers Aeliana dispatched using the valerian cream.
“It’s not enough,” Marnok said, even as they added Cyrus and Gaeren to their protective barrier. “I can’t save them all. At some point, we need to cut our losses and leave.” His voice broke with the admission.
How would they know when to stop? Who would be the last person they saved and the first person they abandoned?
Gaeren placed his hand on Aeliana’s arm, and a memory rushedthrough her mind at double speed, showing Mayvus placing his blood in her left pocket and all the starlocks in her right. When the memory cut off, he raised his eyebrows, angling his head toward Mayvus, whose eyes fluttered as she slumped in her chair.
“It’s not worth the risk,” Cyrus said, following their gazes.
Tears streamed down Aeliana’s cheeks as she watched Lukai and Kendalyhn fighting for their lives outside Marnok’s light shield. She couldn’t even see her father or Brogdon in the fray. How could she stay in the safety of Marnok’s magic and hope Mayvus would show mercy on the others?
“You have to go get my mother,” she told Marnok. Even though saving her mother could potentially save the others, right now the request felt selfish. She just wanted him to keep her mother safe.
“She’s right,” Sylmar said, lessening some of Aeliana’s guilt, and as one, those in the light shield began inching their way toward her mother’s limp form.
Except for Aeliana. She grabbed Gaeren’s hand and nodded toward Mayvus. He grinned, accepting the challenge, and together they dove out from the safety of Marnok’s light shield, ignoring the other’s protests. They wasted no time cutting Ahmranans down, Gaeren with his sword and Aeliana with her poisoned dagger, but the dais felt impossibly far, and it would only take one progeny to best them both.
“How can we get through the line?” Aeliana shouted, drawing Gaeren’s attention to the soldiers guarding the dais.
Before he could respond, a rumble filled the air, making the entire room pause. Glass shattered from one of the windows, revealing leathery skin and claws. When the paw receded, a fiery eye replaced it.
“Durriken,” Aeliana breathed out, then grinned as panic ensued.
The soldiers before them all crouched, as if the dragon’s fire might go over them.
Gaeren slid across the floor on his knees, then placed his hands on the ground. “Jump, Daisy!”
She obeyed without thought, running to leap on his back and then over the heads of the soldiers. A sword flashed near her feet, but she cleared the line, practically falling on top of Mayvus, whose eyelidsfluttered. Aeliana shoved her hand into Mayvus’ pocket, triumphantly pulling out all the starlocks.
She didn’t hunt for her own. Instead, she tucked them all against her chest, letting her starlock find her and heat against her tunic. She let her light shield spread out brighter and farther than ever before, like a wave that rippled through the room. It knocked the nearest soldiers to the ground, allowing Gaeren to leap onto the dais with her.
As he grabbed his blood from Mayvus’ other pocket, Aeliana glanced across the room, where Velden’s spurts of water fended off soldiers near Emeris. They were more like pathetic showers compared to his normal power, evidence that the water he wielded was part Sayhleen heritage and part starblood magic.
When Sylmar pulled Emeris into Marnok’s light shield, Aeliana felt a burst of hope, but her mother grabbed the front of Sylmar’s shirt, whispering something in his ear.
He pulled away, his eyes softening with regret. Time slowed as he pulled a dagger from Marnok’s belt.
“No!” Aeliana screamed, but she was too far away to stop him from plunging the dagger into Emeris’ chest.
Beside her, Mayvus gasped, her eyes opening wide with shock. Blood burbled from her chest, and her hands fought to bring the flask of her winex tonic to her lips. “Please,” she murmured.
