Page 9 of Salt in the Seas
Gaeren frowned and tapped his lips. “What else did you say Sheen did?”
Cyrus shook his head. “I don’t think we’ve talked about her before.”
Gaeren felt certain they had, but he couldn’t place when he’d heard her name.
“If I could only have one,” Cyrus said, “I’d pray for truth. I’d rather get the truth even if I didn’t like it.” He kneeled in the dirt and bent forward until his nose touched the ground.
Gaeren kneeled beside him. “Sort of like how you’ll come around to admitting the Stars are subject to the Sun just like we are?”
Cyrus’ voice came out muffled from where he bent forward. “Exactly. If that’s the truth, I want to know it.”
“Well, then, maybe I’ll ask the Sun to have Bryton shed some light on my purpose.” Gaeren winced at the vulnerability of his confession. But this sort of admission happened often with Cyrus. If he didn’t tell the priest-in-training now, he’d tell him eventually. “I’m no longer a prince and Aeliana no longer needs my protection, so there must be something the Sun wants me to do. I’d like to figure that out.”
Cyrus sat up, his gaze back on the Stars, and Gaeren thought he’d leave the conversation there. It was unusual for Cyrus, who always had an answer or a question for everything.
“Sometimes I think the harder thing is the timing of the truth,” Cyrus finally said.
“What do you mean?” Gaeren asked.
“Sometimes the Stars give us the truth, but not when we’re expecting it. So we either latch on to a lie while we’re waiting, or we miss it completely.” Cyrus smiled. “Maybe the Stars, or the Sun, want you to take some time figuring out your next purpose. Maybe that’s part of your purpose.”
Gaeren frowned. He didn’t like that at all. How would he know when he had the right purpose?
“Sometimes we’re too eager to act when we need to sit still and listen. Like how the people were so determined to go to war. When they didn’t stop to listen, the Stars were forced to intervene, to divide the lands by waters and barriers for our protection.”
“You mean the Sun,” Gaeren murmured. “And it was a punishment.”
But his mind was traveling back, calling up the memory he’d misplaced, and he found himself back in the hammock of his hideout, poring through a book detailing the Great Divide.
“It was Sheen,” Gaeren said. “She was the Star who thought she was supposed to split the people.”
Cyrus’ gaze turned wary. “According to your book,The Sins of the Stars.” He spit out the name like the words were painful.
Gaeren stood, his mind racing. “I know, but if that book is right, the Stars divided the lands in the Great Divide, not the Sun, just like you’ve said.” His words came out too loud, and a few worshipers cast him strange looks.
Cyrus rose, pulling Gaeren to the side of the Stargazer and out from the atrium. Cool air kissed their skin, a warning that Harvest Day and winter were around the corner.
“The Starsdiddivide the lands,” Cyrus said, “but your book claims the Stars were wrong to do that, and the Stars can’t be wrong.” His words didn’t hold any conviction.
“It also claims Sheen was punished for her actions. She was grounded to the earth. So she wouldn’t be up there for us to pray to.” Gaeren gestured to the sky. “Perhaps praying for her mercy is futile.”
Cyrus frowned. “That’s a lot of claims. If there’s a Star roaming the earth, where has she been all this time?”
“Can’t you think of someone who has unexplainable power andwisdom, someone who exudes mercy and seems ageless? Someone who claims she’s not a Star because she doesn’t take to the skies?”
Understanding made Cyrus’ features go slack. “Orra,” he breathed out.
“She never even lied about it. She just kept redirecting our questions.” Gaeren laughed and ran a hand through his hair. Then his smile faded, and he shook his head. “Even if it happens to be true, it doesn’t change anything. Not really.”
“What do you mean?” Cyrus tugged on his robes in agitation. “It changes everything. She could tell us if the Sun created the Stars or if it’s just a place that holds the Stars’ power. She could tell us what really happened in the Great Divide.”
“But her power has dwindled to that of a half-light’s. She still needs our help finding the starbridges.”
“And we will help her.” Cyrus straightened. “For now, you and Riveran can head back. See if they found the stone starbridge, see if Emeris and Orra are stronger. See what they need.”
Gaeren raised his eyebrows. “I thought you wanted to go.”
Cyrus glanced at the sky. “I think Andreas has given me my answer. I’m more useful here, for now. I’ll find Rildan.”
