Page 38 of Salt in the Seas
He tugged on her arm, pulling her away from Emeris and around the bend, where the maw of a cave stretched before them. Bones and animal carcasses littered the opening—more likely evidence that Durriken had been here than Mayvus or her followers. But as they stepped in farther, it became clear that fires had been situated throughout the cave. Not the kind made by Durriken’s snout, but ones strategically placed for warmth or food, evidence of more than just Mayvus having been here.
“There was flesh”—Holm reached out to an empty spot on the ground—“just here. And over there…” He pointed in a corner, but faded off, either unwilling to describe the horror he’d seen or too confused by the inconsistency.
Iris patted his arm. “We’ve all been under stress, love. If she still has some brands available to her, that sort of illusion would be simple. Especially since you had no way of sifting it for truth.”
He frowned and pulled away, uncharacteristically rejecting his wife’s comfort. “I know what I saw.”
They spread out, examining the ground for any clues, nudging at the embers with their swords.
“It looks like whoever was here left a week or so ago,” Kendalyhn said.
Aeliana glanced at Brogdon, whose grim face left her wishingthey’d let him stay behind. Obviously, cutting out his brand had initiated Mayvus’ departure.
“I thought maybe she’d escaped using the stone starbridge,” her mother murmured, “but clearly she was here. And now she’s strong enough to leave, but not strong enough for a confrontation. She expected we would come.” Her mother almost sounded pleased, even though this meant there was another dead end. She kneeled down and placed her hands on the coals, then shook her head. “I wish I’d been strong enough to come right away. We can’t learn anything from being here.”
Still, the others continued searching while the winex dropped to all fours and sniffed their way through the cave.
“How can she even be alive after Durriken…” Lukai shuddered, not bothering to finish his question.
“I don’t know how it works, but I think she used fluid from the winex eggs,” Aeliana said.
A round of whimpers started from the winex, echoing through the chamber and making everyone wince.
“Maybe that helped her heal faster,” Emeris said, “but it was the curse that kept her alive.”
Sylmar grunted. “How exactly are the two of you cursed? I’ve only ever seen witches use their magic with that purpose. You keep saying you’d be dead if she were dead, but that’s not how bonds and brands work. I don’t even think there’s blood magic that can connect people in that way.”
Emeris hesitated. “It’s possible the witches did something. But I also wonder about our parents. We were split up as children. Never told about the other. Not until our mother died and Mayvus came to live with our father and me. Then Mayvus had a lot of questions. Questions about magic and witches. Our father never answered them.”
Hearing this family history left an uneasy feeling sliding through Aeliana’s gut. Her family was even more broken than she’d realized. But was any of this even true? Or was it more of her mother’s confusion?
“We were drawn to each other,” Emeris continued. “I thought it was some sort of sister bond, whether manufactured by magic orforged by the Sun. We were two parts of a whole. There were times when I felt her pain. When I was slapped, her cheek turned red.” She placed a hand over her cheek as if recalling the memory.
Aeliana expected Sylmar to scoff, but a strange look of understanding came over his face.
“The bond we felt as sisters faded quickly in favor of Mayvus’ obsession with power. I wish I could go back to those years right after she came home. Perhaps I could have kept her from turning to such darkness.”
“There was something strange between you,” Sylmar admitted. “But nothing that could keep her from dying. At least not back then. Maybe she did something to enhance it with her blood magic. She’s always been obsessed with immortality—was it possible, could she manufacture it—those were the kinds of questions that kept her up at night. She was never very concerned about growing followers. She just sort of assumed that would come with the territory once she found a way to give us the longevity of the Stars.”
“Obtaining immortality and being under a curse aren’t mutually exclusive,” Orra murmured, but no one else seemed to hear her.
Aeliana leaned in. “What?”
Orra tugged on the braid at her wrist but didn’t raise her voice. “One might argue they’re one and the same.”
“Either way,” Sylmar said, “we know she’s alive and growing stronger.”
The air grew thick with the silence of fear until Velden awkwardly broke it.
“Well, the good news is that Durriken hasn’t been here either.”
“He’s been down in Islara for the last few weeks,” Aeliana said, “mourning over those he killed.” She left off the friendship he’d been forming with the little boy, still not sure what to think of this new side of the dragon.
“Mourning?” Kendalyhn’s voice held disbelief.
“He was branded just like me,” Brogdon said. “If I can mourn the things I did under her control, why can’t he?”
Aeliana’s heart swelled with gratefulness that anyone would defend the dragon she was beginning to admire. Perhaps she couldcome to a point where she admired or at least understood Brogdon as well.
