Page 22 of Blood of the Stars

She looked away. “Perhaps. Or perhaps it means more.”

Her words stirred hope he hadn’t realized he’d been guarding. “But you’re saying that’s part of it. That someone came across the barrier?”

“Four someones.” Her eyes rolled in her head, as if she might pass out. Even so, the hope in Gaeren’s chest grew, blossoming into something big and fragile, making him feel far too vulnerable.

“Who? Humans? Half-lights?” He leaned forward, supporting her even as he wanted to shake the answer out of her.

“Two beasts using blood magic. A young woman named Aeliana?—”

He sucked in a breath, nearly dropping her as she slumped against him.

Daisy.

“Ah, perhaps I was wrong about what you seek.” The woman’s eyes fluttered open, her head lolling back so she could look at him. “A ‘someone’ is a far more motivating goal than a ‘something.’”

Daisy was back. The idea flipped all of his plans on their head. He no longer needed to cross the barrier. He simply had to find her. Except… he’d been there when her mother sent her across the barrier for her protection. He’d seen the couple Orra referenced, the ones who used blood magic. He’d always suspected and feared they’d been too powerful for Daisy’s father to keep her safe. If the people using blood magic had brought her back, that wasn’t good. Because something, or someone, on this side of the barrier was even more dangerous for Daisy.

Suddenly the questions surrounding Orra didn’t matter. If she could help him find Daisy, he could put up with her mysterious magic and presence.

“I’ll take you.” He helped Orra into his hammock as her eyes closed. When his hands brushed her skin, he tuned in to her soul, fumbling with his less developed skill along the pneumatic spoke.

Few progenies developed a second spoke. With all of Gaeren’s and Enla’s mentors’ training combined with their high concentration of starblood, the royal siblings each had one. Still, neither of them had developed their second spoke enough to consistently use it. Someday it would give them access to the elemental magic on the rim of the Wheel of Magic. For now, it was more like a trick they could occasionally pull out.

Gaeren’s starlock burned with the effort to discern if Orra was lying, but he sensed nothing. Either his second spoke was too underdeveloped, or the mental wall she’d erected was too difficult to breach.

The woman’s hand gripped his arm, her nails digging in until Gaeren winced. “Don’t ever try that again.”

“I wanted…I was just trying to help you.” Not exactly a lie. If he trusted her more, he’d be more likely to help her.

She relaxed her grip. “Take me to the island. That’s the only thing I need from you.” Her eyes closed, and her hand fell back in her lap, her body limp. He couldn’t just leave her here, unguarded and half dead.

He stared at her a moment longer in indecision, then pulled the desk closer so his waterskin would be within reach. He patted down his pockets, pulling out some of the honey bars Enla insisted he keep on him. They weren’t much better than hardtack, but they’d saved him from hunger on more than one occasion when he avoided socializing with nobility.

Her eyes darted beneath her lids, but it didn’t seem like a restful sleep. What if she was sick? He reached out a tentative hand, placing it on her forehead. The same instant, her hand circled his wrist, and her eyes flew open, the warm tone of her skin carrying that eerie glow.

“Don’t touch me. I only need you to get me to Bamboo Island. Nothing else. I’ll be fine by the Sun’s peak.”

He lifted his hands in surrender, stepping back and straightening to his full height. It went against everything in his nature to leave a woman alone, injured, but if that was what she wanted…

Besides, he needed to get moving if he had any hope of bumping up their departure. Larkos had done well finding a crew on such short notice, but he’d been expecting three more days to secure stragglers and supplies. Somehow, they’d have to get out of here tomorrow. Well, tomorrow night. They’d still have to leave in the middle of the night to avoid Enla’s wrath.

He swore under his breath. His parents had made a lot of foolish decisions lately. Giving his sister increasing authority was not one of them, but placing him under that authority as the future throne warden? It was like they wanted a family feud.

Unless… Enla might agree now that the circumstances had changed. Now that he’d seen the flash of light and met this woman. Both carried unknown magic, and any unknown power was a potential threat to the throne.

“Stay here,” he told the woman’s still form. “I’ll come back for you when I have things ready.”

Her fingers lifted in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Gaeren.”

He paused at the use of his name, which he’d never given. The question hung on his lips for a moment, but then her breathing shifted as if she already slept.

CHAPTER 11

Aeliana’s stomach churned after the transition from solid earth to emptiness back to solid earth. She reached out, grasping only empty air, unsure which way was up or down. She lost her grip on the arrow, uncertain if Arvid or Vera ended up with it. Her eyes attempted to adjust to the lack of light, and awareness of her surroundings trickled in like her senses were being awakened one by one.

Muggy, stale air with a hint of sea salt filled her nose and drenched her in sweat. Her cloak became suffocating instead of warm and protective. Dense foliage lay before them, with wooden shoots poking out from a carpet of moss.

A fresh ocean breeze, still almost too thick and wet to breathe, provided a brief respite from the heat. To her front and sides, a forest of unfamiliar hardwood trees mixed with bamboo came alive with exotic bird calls. Strange vines twitched as unseen creatures moved through them, and leaves and moss carpeted the ground. To her back, beyond a cliff’s edge, water stretched on as far as she could see, which meant little with the full moon barely visible between clouds in the night sky.

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