Page 168 of Blood of the Stars

“Now you’re confusing the price of freedom versus the taste. But I think it’s safe to say that all these men are willing to pay that high of a price. It’s why they’re here. Even the pirates.”

Gaeren frowned down at the crew even though it was Larkos who rankled him. “Sometimes I think you take jobs from me just to see how far you can push me when we’re out at sea.”

Larkos snorted. “Only sometimes? We just left. I can turn around if you’d rather go back to planning parties with your sister.” He used his stocky frame to lean on the wheel, and Gaeren felt the pull against Starspeed’s rudder.

“I haven’t reported you for treason yet, and I listen far more than you might think.”

Larkos adjusted the wheel back, his beard shifting with his grin. “That’s what I’m counting on. Besides, something tells me we’re not getting paid this time.”

CHAPTER 68

Aeliana leaned her back against Cyrus, absorbing his warmth as if it might shield her from the night breeze floating in from the sea. He pushed back as though it were a game, something to distract them during their midnight watch.

It had been almost three weeks since they’d left Northpoint, but the water to the north and the desert to the south had remained unchanged. Felk had been born again, much to Sylmar’s irritation, and was in his arrogant adolescent phase, though still as loyal as ever.

The next day they’d be abandoning the never-ending grainy coasts of the Northern Sea to head for the canyon separating them from the Myndren Mountains. Supposedly the smooth pebbles would give way to dark rocks, and the hills full of brush would be replaced by treacherous cliffs and caves. But for now, all they saw on the horizon to the north, east, and west was water and sand, and all they saw to the south was the Bahlric Desert. Aeliana shivered, pulling her cloak tighter.

“How is it still so cold when we’re only a week from Summer Solstice?” she asked.

“We’re not far from the glaciers and icebergs in Ahmranas,” Cyrus said, his voice muffled from behind her. “Velden says you can see them from the beach on a clear day, but I wonder if people are seeing the shimmer of the barrier. Still, I should start watching more closely. I could be the first Lorvandan to see the coast of Ahmranas.”

“Unless my father saw it,” Aeliana whispered, wondering where her father was—if he was dead like Arvid had said or if he still lived, like her mother. Was it truly possible for her to meet her parents after all these years? What would she even say to them?

“I know you’re sending me back.”

Aeliana frowned, then turned to catch Cyrus’ profile. He toyed with the leather necklace, the lump under his shirt still a mystery to Aeliana. Not that the shape of his fake starlock mattered. Only… maybe it did. If he chose it as representation for his life, it could be full of rich meaning.

“Sending you back?” she asked.

“To Lorvandas. When we get the golden arrow.” He angled to see her too, his eyebrows raised. “I know you asked Gaeren to take me. Even if he never shows, you’ll want me to return home.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“I want to go home to check on Gamps. Maybe find your father. But I can’t promise I won’t use the arrow to come right back here. I’m not sure I can stay away after being a part of all this.” He gestured toward the beaches. “There’s so much I can learn from the Vendarans. Maybe then I can take it back to my family—my people.” He didn’t hold her gaze, and his eyes flashed with something unfamiliar. Apprehension, maybe guilt?

“You’re considering their worship of the Sun, aren’t you?”

His gaze rested on the sand at their feet, his jaw tightening. “I’m willing to research it further. Even if I continue to disagree, their perspective will give me context for my own faith.”

Aeliana hid her smile. Gaeren just might win the unofficial bet he’d placed with her. She reached for the dagger, running her thumb along the daisy on the pommel. “I would be grateful if you sought out my father. I worry about the dangers of Vendaras being too much for someone without magic, but I suppose most of the people here are just like you, only they have inactive starblood.”

He nodded, the hint of a smile on his lips.

“Is it wrong for me to want Lorvandans to be right?” Aeliana asked.

“About the Stars?”

She nodded. “The Sun the Vendarans worship sounds frightening, whereas our Stars are friendly.”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter what we want. We should desire to find the truth.” He gazed across the desert. “We haven’t always liked everything we learn about Vendaras, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“That quote you recited, when I was healing Lukai”—Aeliana swallowed down her shame—“was it from The Song of the Stars?”

He hesitated. “No, actually. It was from The Sins of the Stars.”

She nodded more to show acceptance of him quoting such a book than because she understood. She’d never read the book, and the words had seemed familiar. Was it something her parents had read to her as a child?

Kendalyhn and Holm came to relieve them of their watch, and Aeliana was slow to ready herself for bed, the thoughts Cyrus had shared weighing on her mind. She fell asleep debating her own faith but woke to the sound of shouts and growls.

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