Page 146 of Lore of the Tides

“Well, out with it. Let’s hear some more ideas,” Aunty Eshe ordered, giving each of them a hard stare.

Finndryl held his hands up before him. “Don’t ask me. It’s not my place.”

She nodded her head and moved on to the next person.

Which happened to be Lore.

Aunty Eshe smiled encouragingly. “Lore, it’s only fitting that we hear yours next, since the council gifted you with the honor of making the final decision on our new name.”

Oof.

Did she want to even voice an idea when everyone was in this kind of teasing mood? Yes, because she had an idea. She’d been thinking about it for weeks now... and every time she did, she couldn’t think of anything but this one name. She glanced toward the skyglass by the window. Their sacred skyglass, the one each and every human looked into on their eighth nameday ceremony. There was no chapel on any of the ships, so they had decided to put it in the Lantern Room. One entire wall was windows; if you angled it right, you could see the sky at night.

All eyes were on her when she turned back to the table.

“I was thinking... we could call our new countryZiara. After our skyglass.” She bit her lip, suddenly shy as she waited for ribbing, or something snarky to pop out of Hazen’s or Grey’s mouth, but the only sound was the crackle of the fire in the hearth.

Aunty Eshe reached out and clasped Lore’s hands between hers, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It’s perfect.”

One by one everyone nodded, even Grey.

Uncle Salim’s voice was gruff with emotion. “Ziara. For our refusal to keep our eyes cast to the ground.”

“Ziara. All our searching of the celestial, and it would lead us home after all.”

Finndryl squeezed Lore’s thigh under the table, his grin filled with pride for his lover. “Let’s toast.” He lifted his glass. “To Ziara.”

“To Ziara,” they cried, their glasses clinking.

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