Page 6 of Salt in the Seas
The owner snatched it up fast enough to prove he’d been waiting for it. “I might be able to remember that if a man named Rilban shows up.”
Gaeren stiffened, then added a final coin to the bar. “Ril-dan,” he emphasized.
The owner grinned and palmed it. “Yes, that.”
The door behind them swung open, filling the darkness with the Sun’s light. Riveran stepped in, scanning the room until his gaze landed on Gaeren. “We’d better get going.”
The tavern owner grumbled something about bird poop under his breath as he eyed the brown and white hawk sitting on Riveran’s shoulder. Gullet squawked right back at him, and Gaeren pursed his lips to hold back a grin. For once, the bird hated someone else more than him.
“Gahldric Valley’s Stargazer. Rildan.” Gaeren backed away from the tavern owner, trying to gauge if the man would actually remember.
“It might be easier to remember if you buy a drink,” the owner said.
“I gave you enough for five.” Gaeren was tempted to pull the man’s memories of the conversation and feed it back into his mind, but most of the humans in Lorvandas had been too frightened by his half-light magic for that to be useful. It gave Gaeren a new appreciation for how Aeliana had grown up here. She’d spoken about her kidnappers forcing her to do unspeakable things with her magic, but she hadn’t even mentioned the constant need to hide who she was.
The tavern owner waved him away. “I’ll remember. Just get that smelly pet out of here before he sullies the room.”
Riveran opened his mouth to argue, but Gaeren tugged on the sleeve of his tunic and pulled him through the open door before all Gaeren’s hard work came undone.
“That pub wasn’t clean enough for Gullet to nest in,” Riveran mumbled, getting a gentle nip on his ear from the hawk. He pulled off his hat, then used a small cloth to wipe the sweat off his nearly shaved head.
The motion drew Gaeren’s eyes to the black X marked on his friend’s forehead, the symbol of the lowest of criminals back in Vendaras. The Lorvandans here might not know what it stood for, but it still made them uneasy. Guilt pricked at Gaeren’s conscience. That mark was there because Riveran had helped him. Riveran plopped the hat back on, hiding the mark once more.
“Let’s get out of this place,” Gaeren said. “No one here seems keenon giving up information.” He led the way to the edge of town, where they’d agreed to meet Cyrus.
While they walked, several of the people eyed them strangely, their gazes lingering on Gaeren’s short brown hair and the weapons they carried. Pants and long sleeves hid most of the deep tan of Gaeren’s and Riveran’s skin, but when people drew close enough, it was unmistakable. The people didn’t trust them because of the differences they saw. How would the people react if they knew of their starblood? If they knew Gaeren and Riveran hailed from Vendaras?
They passed through the small city’s gate, eager to leave it behind.
“There you are,” Cyrus called, scrambling up from his place at the base of a tree. His face broke out into a grin, shifting all his freckles into a new constellation. “I’m dying for the apple pie I know is waiting back home.”
Riveran elbowed him. “You sure you’re not dying to see the young priestess who made it?”
Cyrus rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t marry a woman just because she makes a good pie.”
Riveran snorted. “She would marry you just to make you more pie.”
Cyrus’ face turned red, but he merely shoved Riveran aside and twisted his hair into a knot while they walked. The slightly younger man still kept his red hair long like the way of a Lorvandan priest, but lately he’d taken to tying it up, claiming the summer heat was taking its toll.
After two moons of traveling around Lorvandas, they still weren’t any closer to finding Rildan. They’d sent letters to Stargazers in the far corners of the country but made personal visits to those within riding distance from Cyrus’ home. The excitement of being across the barrier and seeing a new part of the world had faded as their goal seemed more impossible. Daisy’s kidnappers had claimed Rildan was dead. What if they hadn’t been lying?
“How many cities do we have left?” Gaeren asked.
“Dozens,” Cyrus admitted, brushing off his brown priest’s robes, which he’d taken to wearing again after returning home. “We’ve only hit the northeastern regions, which is where Aeliana said she spentmost of her life, but they traveled all over. And if Rildan didn’t know where they were, he likely traveled just as much if not more.”
“We should split up,” Gaeren said. “Cover more ground.” He avoided looking at Riveran, who had refused this idea every time Gaeren brought it up.
“I was actually wondering if one of us should return to Vendaras,” Cyrus said. “I don’t want them to worry. It would be good to give them an update and to get one in return.”
“What if the starbridge drops us off at Bamboo Island again?” Gaeren asked.
The only way across the barrier dividing Lorvandas from Vendaras was by using the golden arrow starbridge. Gaeren still didn’t understand how it worked, but when Aeliana had used it several moons ago, it had brought her from Gahldric Valley in Lorvandas to Bamboo Island in Vendaras. And when he, Cyrus, and Rildan had used it last moon, it had taken them from the Myndren Mountains to an island on the east coast of Lorvandas.
“It would take weeks to reach the Myndren Mountains,” Gaeren added. “If Rildan shows up here, we’d be stuck waiting for someone to return just to make the trek all over again.”
Cyrus grimaced. “Maybe we take Gullet? He could send word?”
“That would be a difficult distance for him,” Riveran said. “Possible, but not ideal.”
