Page 36 of Blood of the Stars

“We’re starting one,” Velden said. “It’s the only way we can rescue Aeliana’s mother from Mayvus.”

“Meeting up with the army to take the trade route would be ideal,” Sylmar said, “but we might have to take it slow for now. The Pass is a shorter way through the mountains, and it will allow us to meet up with the army farther east beyond the mountains without having to keep their pace. Traveling with Aeliana will require extra stops and training periods.” Sylmar turned to her, his scars deepened by the shadows in the lantern light.

She squirmed under his attention.

“She’ll need to be weaned from blood magic.”

A wave of gasps traveled through the others, Aeliana’s uneasiness deepening. Sylmar glared at them, and the flurry of activity resumed. Even Iris and Velden moved away to help pack.

Sylmar turned to Aeliana and Cyrus. “I’ll do my best to answer what questions I can, but some will have to wait for the road. I’m not sure what reinforcements Arvid and Vera have here. The island has seemed empty this last year. But Mayvus always seems to be a step ahead of us. If she doesn’t already know you’re here, she will soon. We need to be long gone before that happens.”

“Why? Aren’t you trying to go after her?” Aeliana asked.

“We need to meet with her on our terms, not hers. With our army behind us.” Sylmar hesitated, his impatient gaze scanning the group’s progress. “You should know that Mayvus and Emeris are sisters.”

“Sisters?” Aeliana echoed. “So this woman is my aunt?”

“Yes. An aunt who imprisoned your mother to gain more power. She’s risen to control all the Sungazers in the nation by the unholiest of tactics, including blood magic—more specifically, branding.”

“She imprisoned her sister?” Cyrus asked, his face screwed up in horror. With his ten siblings, he probably had a better understanding of family than Aeliana, but even she found the news disturbing.

“I’ll admit it’s not a widely accepted story.” Sylmar’s eye twitched in irritation. “Emeris has been missing as long as Aeliana. Anyone who claims to have seen her in the eastern provinces also goes missing, which only confirms the rumors instead of putting a stop to them. The rest think your mother’s grief over losing you and Rildan made her go mad. They think she’s dead, or that she’s run off. But that’s because they don’t know she sent you both away for your safety. And they weren’t there to witness her capture.”

“But you were?” Cyrus pressed.

Sylmar’s scars puckered with his frown. “Some things don’t need to be witnessed to be known. The point is, we are on the brink of war. Mayvus’ supporters couldn't care less if she kidnapped Emeris. In their minds, their high priestess can do no wrong. They’ll find a way to justify her actions. They tell the royal family they’re Loyalists, but the Recreants know they consider themselves Zealots.”

“Recreants?” Cyrus asked.

“That would be us,” Sylmar said. “Loyalists think of Recreants as dissenters and traitors. It’s a bit of a political term for people who oppose the Elanesses—the royal family. It may have started out that way, but as Mayvus rose to power, the Recreants supported Emeris’ efforts to stop her sister more than they opposed the Elanesses.”

“How is she rising to power if there’s a royal family?” Aeliana asked.

Sylmar snorted. “The royal family is too busy levying taxes and planning parties to see what Mayvus is up to. They consider her a spiritual influence for the country, but they’ll probably hand over their crowns before they realize what’s happened. Most Loyalists are honest when they support the Elanesses. They just don’t realize the royal family is slowly relinquishing power to Mayvus and her Zealots.

“Before Emeris disappeared, she was working on a way to suppress Mayvus’ growing power. She’d discovered something just before Mayvus kidnapped her. We were hoping Rildan could tell us what it was.” He frowned again. “Either way, she knows how to defeat Mayvus. We’re determined to rescue her and expose Mayvus for the fraud that she is.”

“You and the ten thousand soldiers you mentioned?” Cyrus asked. “What kind of army are you up against?”

Velden joined the group, slipping a pack on Cyrus’ back without waiting for permission. The others followed, having already made quick work of packing up the entire camp.

“Mayvus’ supporters are nearly equal to ours,” Velden said, “but there’s probably five times that in the eastern provinces who have no interest or opinion on the matter. If we could expose her and sway them…”

A few others grunted their agreement, showing they’d all been carefully following the conversation.

“Well, it’s not likely,” Velden said. “I don’t know what Lorvandans are like, but Vendarans prefer turning blind eyes to the trouble at hand until those eyes are ripped out and eaten by Durriken.” He pressed two fingers together near his eye, then popped them apart with a squelching sound.

Cyrus shuddered, making Velden laugh.

He smacked Cyrus’ arm with his sticky webbed fingers. “By the time all of Vendaras admits there’s a war, it will be too late.” His humor faded, and the others grew somber as well.

Cyrus took a step closer to Aeliana. “Who’s Durriken?”

Velden leaned in to whisper, “You don’t want to know.”

“Time to go,” Sylmar said.

Aeliana still hesitated. She trusted these people more than she did Arvid and Vera, but there were too many gaps in the story. “So we rescue my mother, and she stops Mayvus?”

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