Page 143 of Blood of the Stars

Still, she was supposed to be here for something else.

Her attention fell on Aeliana once more as the young woman wrapped a protective arm around the large beast who had previously tried to rip out her throat. Even saving the winex and coddling him was something Orra couldn’t have factored in. It put Aeliana on a new trajectory with different outcomes, some better than before, some far worse.

Orra had thought that Gaeren was the one who could help her, but now she wondered if it might be Aeliana. Or maybe the Sun’s prophecy had fooled her into thinking it was only one.

If Orra was wrong about them, she needed to be ready to sever ties. The thought sliced through her with more dread than she’d anticipated, but Aeliana and Gaeren were finite. Long after they were gone, Orra would still hunt for the pieces she’d lost. The arrow needed to matter more. She drew the braid to her lips, wishing it still smelled of hyssop and juniper.

“I won’t fail you,” she whispered into the night.

CHAPTER 58

As they drew closer to Elanesse, Aeliana sensed the wary mood brought on by Marnok’s and Felk’s presence shift back to a relaxed camaraderie. Felk became less of a threat as the new moon approached and he became an old winex, spending most of his time resting curled up near Aeliana’s bedroll.

Her desire for friendship allowed her to set aside the confusing secrets surrounding her family line. Each night she asked Jasperus for more stories or begged Lukai and Kendalyhn to spill each other’s childhood memories. Jasperus and Lukai were far more compliant than Kendalyhn. Their stories gave her and Cyrus a better understanding of Vendaras, even though it didn’t change her lack of desire to rule.

Marnok never regained his memories, but he formed new ones, discovering his penchant for detail and a great knowledge of the body. They suspected he’d been a healer, and when they tested his skills, it was clear he was a somatic progeny, despite their inability to find a starlock on him. Each night she trained, he’d watched from a distance, occasionally flexing a hand or closing his eyes in concentration, giving Aeliana the impression he was learning, or relearning, right along with her.

Finally, Marnok stepped forward, offering slight corrections to Lukai’s instructions, bringing Aeliana ten times further in her somatic training with a handful of simple tweaks. Her light shields grew to protect her midsection, then her whole body, and eventually a companion—all without needing threats to motivate her.

Even Sylmar had trouble hating him after that.

She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose her memory. To have no recollection of who she was or where she came from. As much as she longed to be rid of her memories of Arvid and Vera, it sounded disconcerting, like a ship without anchor.

Gaeren even spent time with her, teaching her to use her light shield to stop him from tuning in to her memories or how to defend herself with a dagger. They kept to safer topics, like Starspeed or Cyrus’ theological debates, rather than addressing their complicated history.

After two weeks, they finally reached the outskirts of Elanesse. Aeliana watched Gaeren adjust his pack as she brushed down her horse. He’d be leaving that night for the palace to secure his ship and ask his sister for reinforcements, and he’d be taking Riveran and Marnok with him.

He took out almost everything, sorting supplies into piles to be left for the rest of their party. Riveran helped him without comment, the two working in tandem as if they had all their lives. Aeliana knew things weren’t right between them, but she hadn’t ever figured out why. She gave her horse one last pat, then made her way over to Gaeren and Riveran.

“I hear that Orra isn’t going with you.”

“She was never really with us.” Gaeren grinned, the familiar tilt of his lips no longer resembling a smirk. Had his smile changed? Or just Aeliana’s perception of it? “She does her own thing, and if it lines up with what we’re doing, she’ll allow us to participate.”

Riveran nodded at Aeliana before heading toward Lukai with a stash of bandages and medicines. The X on his forehead stood out in the glow of the Sun’s descent. They’d kept him hidden most of the trip, knowing what other travelers would assume. Would he get a chance to see his wife and baby before joining them on the boat? She supposed Gaeren would be eager to see his bondmate as well.

“Are you offering to take her place?” Gaeren’s question startled Aeliana out of her thoughts.

“Whose place?”

“Orra, who else?” He eyed her strangely. “Gullet always likes to have a lady around.”

Even though there was a teasing tilt to his smile, she shook her head. She toyed with the end of her braid, and his gaze followed the motion.

“Gullet’s probably the only one of you I’ll miss,” she said. “Besides, I’ll wait until we have proof that your parents hold no ill will.”

His grin faded. “Either way I’ll be back to help you. I know you don’t want my help. Maybe you don’t even need it. Not like you used to.” He looked away.

Aeliana’s face heated, and she glanced at Felk, curled up next to her bedroll with a hand over his wrinkled face. “I didn’t mean it when I said that. That I didn’t want your help. I just—I was mad that night.”

He scanned her face as if evaluating the truth of her words. “Either way, I’m with you until we eliminate Mayvus as a threat.”

Aeliana envied the confidence in his face, the certainty in his eyes. His goals for justice went far beyond the Recreants’ plan to save Emeris. Or at least the plans she knew of. Sometimes Gaeren’s eagerness reminded her of Cyrus. Those were the moments where she could think of him as a friend—the moments she wanted to think of him as a friend. Why should the history of their families get to dictate whether or not they could get along?

“And then what?” Her question came out as a whisper, but she knew he heard.

His jaw tightened, either holding in his answer or acknowledging that he had none. He pulled out his dagger, turning it and offering her the hilt. “I want you to have this.”

She took a step back and laughed to cover her discomfort. “I already have a dagger.”

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