Page 51 of Salt in the Seas
“Who?” Sylmar asked.
“You call him Marnok.” Emeris glanced at Rildan, and a look passed between them that made Gaeren certain Rildan knew just as much about Marnok’s identity as Emeris.
“I thought he went in search of his past,” Aeliana said slowly. “Because of things you showed him in your memories.”
“It’s complicated,” Emeris said, “but his past isn’t mine to share. He’s looking into elements of his past, but he’s also attempting to learn if the witches know anything of a curse.”
Sylmar’s eyes narrowed, and Gaeren sensed the old man was about to wrestle a truth from Emeris that he had no right to hear, let alone the rest of the people in the room.
“Actually,” Gaeren blurted out, “I might have a lead for the silver fish.” The words came out with a wince.
Riveran glanced his way, eyes wide. He was the only one who’d been there when Gaeren had made a deal with the sprite.
“I agree that Pacran might have the iron cutlass.” He glanced at Orra, remembering her story of Pirate Redwood handing it over to her husband and letting it pass down the generations. It was just the type of thing a collector would hold on to. “But I also heard rumors of thesilver fish being down in Andel. Supposedly it’s aboard some fisherman’s boat, mounted on the wall of his cabin.”
Velden raised his eyebrows. “I was raised near Andel and spent my naval days there. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of fishermen’s boats. That’s not exactly a prime lead.”
Orra’s hands went to her cheeks, her voice breathy. “Maybe not, but it’s the first clue I’ve had for the silver fish since my search began.”
Gaeren couldn’t help wondering when that search had begun. Was it a thousand years ago when she’d first been grounded?
“You never considered this a clue?” Velden held up his webbed fingers, wiggling them for all to see.
Orra’s eyes grew troubled. “I recognized your heritage from the first time I met you, but your mother forbade you from seeking out Sayhla Island. Any hint at where the silver fish ended up died with her.”
Velden’s face paled. “I’ve never told that to anyone,” he murmured. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to find Sayhla Island after she died, but I did search her cove. The starbridge never turned up. I assumed it was lost in the water with her.”
“Then how does Gaeren know where it is?” Cyrus asked.
Gaeren’s face heated as one by one everyone’s gazes rested on him. He opened his mouth, then closed it.
“If he can’t even say where the information came from, I don’t trust it,” Holm said.
Iris smacked his shoulder. “You’ve been speaking your thoughts far more than usual these days.”
“Still, Holm has a fair point,” Sylmar said. “Is it a reliable resource?”
Gaeren’s mouth went dry. Could he honestly answer that? Who trusted the sprites? They were slippery creatures, bent on tricking everyone who sought them out, but they weren’t known for lying. Their deals had a prophetic nature to them, and he’d never heard of anyone avoiding the fate presented by the sprites. Which was what terrified him.
He forced a smile. “Even though I got the information when huntingdown the starbridges to find Aeliana, it wasn’t a typical treasure-hunting source. The instructions given to me were as trustworthy as my sister’s visions.” Several people’s eyebrows rose since Enla’s skills as a pneumatic progeny were widely known. Good thing they didn’t know about her recent decline in being able to control those skills. “But my source also said I’d be better off finding the fish before the cutlass.”
Sylmar let out a huff. “And you just… believe everything someone tells you when you’re hunting for treasure?”
Gaeren and Riveran exchanged a glance. “Not always,” Gaeren conceded. “But this time I did.”
“As much as I like the idea of helping Orra find the starbridges and keeping them from Mayvus”—Aeliana shot an apologetic look toward the other woman—“I think we’re getting distracted. We need to find out what connects my mother and Mayvus so we can get rid of it. We can watch for starbridges along the way, but we need to choose what’s best for the danger at hand.”
“Which is why Pacran and the cutlass are the better bet,” Sylmar said, his tone turning dry, “despite Gaeren’s mysterious insistence that it would be better to find the fish first.”
“The Seer’s connection with a soul’s destiny is far more valuable than a collector’s horde,” Velden argued. “She can show us where and when we’ll discover the strange connection between Emeris and Mayvus. She can show us where the iron cutlass is. She can show us how to defeat Mayvus.”
“And we can also come away completely destroyed by what she tells us.” Aeliana had grown quiet, her face almost green with trepidation, but now a tinge of pink came into her cheeks. “Don’t leave that part out of the story. You said some people come away unhinged because of what she shows them. You said people had to be desperate to go to her.”
Velden shrugged. “What do you call our circumstances if not desperate?”
Normally Gaeren would agree with anything Aeliana said. They shouldn’t go to a woman whose magic seemed to spread her madness. That was reasonable. And yet the sprite had said he’d have better luckseeking the fish first, which meant he’d have more of a chance at crossing the barriers and protecting Aeliana.
He tried to push the thought away. She didn’t need his protection anymore. But did that mean he couldn’t even offer it? And did he even want to? The sprite had also said if he took the deal and got Aeliana across a barrier to protect her, Enla would pay the price. For all he knew, if he made an effort to cross the barriers with Aeliana, he could be sealing whatever fate the sprites had in store for Enla. Maybe he should be thinking about how to protect Enla, especially after he’d left under less than ideal circumstances.
