Page 183 of Blood of the Stars

“It would make you too vulnerable.” Gaeren stepped forward, his eyes darting between Aeliana and her starlock. “You can’t go into battle without it.”

A few nodded, but most everyone turned to Sylmar, awaiting his response. The longer he stared at her starlock, the higher Aeliana’s anxiety grew. With painstakingly slow movements, he bent forward and picked up the leather cord.

“You are so much like your mother,” he said in wonder. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a second cord, an unfamiliar starlock hanging from it. This time everyone bent forward, taking in its dagger shape. Despite being less than the length of Aeliana’s pinky, the dagger had intricate vines wrapping around its base, and Aeliana sensed its pointed tip could do significant damage.

“That looks…” Marnok trailed off. “I feel like I’ve seen that before.”

“Is that my mother’s?” Aeliana asked.

Iris cleared her throat, blinking fast while staring at the starlock. “When Mayvus came for her, Emeris asked me to take it. She suspected Mayvus would brand her, so she made herself a less valuable prize.”

Aeliana reached for the starlock, her mind racing. She ran a finger along the smooth shaft of the blade, then the bumps of the vines and grip. “What if she’d used it to fight instead? Mayvus might not even have her.”

“I think we’ve all asked ourselves that question,” Sylmar said. “Which is why I don’t think it’s wise for you to do the same thing she did.” He handed Aeliana her starlock, the warmth of the star in her left hand contrasting the cold metal of the dagger starlock in her right.

“But if my mother had used it, and Mayvus had still caught her…” Aeliana trailed off, imagining the horrors that could have brought. “Mayvus could already be in full power, dominating the entire country. Then we would have been asking ourselves what would have happened if my mother had given it up. We could go in circles playing this game.” She tucked her mother’s starlock in her pocket, unwilling to let Sylmar carry it a moment longer.

“The fact is,” Sylmar said, “Jasperus is ready and willing to make his sacrifice. We could hide you in the woods or leave you here at the camp, but Mayvus has ways of finding you. Eventually she will brand you.”

She closed her eyes. She wanted no part of this new plan.

“If we keep you with us, you’ll have better protection,” Sylmar said. “We can intervene quicker if she brands you, and there’s more chance of her staying in her tower if she suspects that you’re heading her way. If she brands you and senses you’ve stayed behind, she might leave, ruining our chances of finding her.”

Others in the group nodded, all his points making sense even if Aeliana didn’t like the inevitable outcome.

“So I come with you,” she said, “but only on the condition that I’m willing to let Jasperus sacrifice himself.” She pushed down the rising heat. She was being manipulated to allow something she didn’t want, and it felt strangely similar to the ways Arvid and Vera had forced her to give them her blood. Promises that it was for the best, not because it truly was, but because they were threatening to do something worse if they didn’t get their way.

Sylmar’s beard shifted as his jaw tightened. “I told you that you wouldn’t always like my methods.”

Aeliana glanced at Jasperus, who gave her an encouraging nod.

“There has to be another way.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

Lukai cleared his throat, then pulled a vial from his coat pocket. The entire room went still as the glass glinted in the torchlight, drawing attention to the deep brown substance within it.

“There is another way,” Lukai said, unable to hold Aeliana’s gaze. “I got—this is—” He shook his head, his face turning red as beads of sweat broke out on his face.

Sylmar took the blood from Lukai’s outstretched arm. Sharp pain shot through Aeliana’s bond mark, and Lukai winced, scratching at his palm as he hunched over the table.

“It’s hard to admit the ways you’ve betrayed your bondmate, isn’t it?” Gaeren’s voice held a hardness Aeliana hadn’t heard since they’d first found him, back when he couldn’t trust the Recreants.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“He gave me your blood.” Sylmar’s eyes shone, but his face remained stoic, whether to avoid looking smug or because even this couldn’t make him happy.

Aeliana turned to Lukai, whose face pinched with guilt. “How did you?—?”

“Training. We often cut each other to practice healing.” When Lukai practically choked on the words, Kendalyhn put her arm around him, but he shrugged her off with a moan, as if that interaction sent his bond mark’s retaliation over the edge.

Aeliana’s palm stung, and when she glanced at it, the skin around the mark appeared red and inflamed. “You would both use my blood without my permission?”

There was a stillness to the air as everyone collectively held their breath.

Sylmar frowned and tossed the vial to the ground, where it bounced on the grass. Then he brought his staff down hard on the vial, breaking the glass and spilling the blood. “No. Even that’s a line I’m not willing to cross. It has to be your choice.”

A sob broke from Lukai’s throat. “Every fiber in me fights to protect you. You have to understand—I don’t want to cross that line either, but I want you safe.”

Gaeren shook his head, muttering something about bonds that Aeliana couldn’t catch.

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