Page 16 of Sea of Stars

He glanced over at me with his eyebrows furrowed, but I didn’t have anything encouraging to say. I had my suspicions about why Chinook was acting the way that she was, but I couldn’t discuss them with Breghton. I had to figure out on my own if he was trustworthy. So I simply shrugged my shoulders. During our exchange he had stopped humming for a moment. Chinook quit eating mid-bite and started to growl. Breghton immediately resumed his humming so that Chinook would start eating once again.

This was going to be a long journey with the two of them not getting along. With my mom being an owl now, it wasn't as if the three of us could sit down and talk it over. I mouthed the words “I’m sorry,” to Breghton.

He smiled and swooshed his hand through the air, making it seem like he wasn’t worried about it. When Chinook was finished all the blumberries, I stood up and walked over towards her.

“Mama,” I said awkwardly.

Chinook looked at me with a kind expression, the exact opposite of how she’d been staring at Breghton since yesterday.

“I need to find out what’s going on. Please help us find some of the elder divinares.” Chinook shook her head and then nudged it towards Breghton.

“Come on Chinook, I can see you pointing at me,” he said. “I can help find them you know. They told me of the other villages that exist.”

Chinook just shook her head once again.

“Well that only leaves us one option,” Breghton said. He was beginning to sound annoyed. “We’ll just have to walk there.” He pulled his loose fitting shirt over his head, put his vest on, and swung a knapsack similar to mine over his shoulder.

When he grabbed my hand, I didn’t dare let go. I wasn’t going to lose Breghton again. The thought of losing anyone else from my life was unbearable. If he really did like me, then I could trust him and so could Chinook.

“Come on, Mama,” I pleaded. I was happy to hear her hopping behind us.

By the time the other side of the island came into view the sun was high in the sky. Chinook circled above, waiting for us to make our way to the water. Breghton held my hand as we ducked under some foliage that created a tunneled walkway. Darkness immediately engulfed us. I could hear Chinook’s distressed call when she lost us from her sight. The path seemed worn below us, so I hoped that Breghton knew where he was going. Ever since I had been placed in that basket by Mortwar, dark

, confined spaces always made me nervous. We walked on. Every now and then I would get pricked by some of the thorns that jutted out from the vines wrapped into the foliage walls.

“Breghton, where are we going?”

“To the docks. Unless you have a better way to cross the ocean,” he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Suddenly the darkness around me was no longer a concern. I slid my hand from his and stopped in my tracks. “It’s not my fault that Chinook won’t take us,” I hissed, anger rising inside of me. All day I had been thinking of Chinook’s reaction to Breghton. It seemed to have all started when he picked up my dagger. Chinook wasn’t upset that Breghton liked me. She was upset that he was a liar.

“You’re the one that picked up the sword she gave me. It wasn’t yours to hold,” I said.

“I was just picking it up to hand back to you.” His voice sounded strained, like he was trying hard to stay calm.

I searched for his facial expressions in the darkness, but I couldn't make them out. After a moment I added, “Chinook can read those symbols Breghton. Whatever the blade said when you held it wasn’t good.” My body was shaking. I needed to get out of the tunnel.

“Well I can’t read them. Mahlia, I don’t know what it said, you just have to believe me.”

My eyes finally adjusted to the dim lighting and his face appeared before mine. His eyes were wide. I had found him out. He was trying to look surprised by the accusation. He wasn’t the least bit trustworthy. I had made a mistake, and I needed to get back to Chinook. I stormed by him, purposely running into him with my shoulder to push him out of the way. Before I was a step beyond him I felt his hand wrap hastily around my arm.

“Breghton, let go of me!” I screamed, and tried to pry his hand off of me. He still had that dumb look on his face. All I wanted to do was punch him. I heard Chinook hooting loudly from above us.

“Mahlia, you’re glowing,” he said in awe.

I immediately stopped fighting him. The whole tunnel was filled with the strange blue light. He relaxed his grip on my arm. I saw my cloak lying on the ground behind us. I must not have noticed the strings untie in my anger. The blue symbols had grown so bright that you could see them through the dozens of holes the thorns had torn in my clothes. His wide-eyed expression suddenly made sense. He wasn’t in pretend shock from my accusation, he was just surprised by the strange glow emanating from my body. I had been keeping it a secret from him. I suddenly felt embarrassed. I walked over to my tattered cloak and wrapped it back around my shoulders, dousing the light. The darkness of the tunnel once again surrounded us.

“Breghton, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest...” My words were cut off when he placed his lips upon mine.

I had dreamed of him stealing my first kiss countless times. My dreams had caused me to miss my opportunity to kiss the man I truly loved. My first kiss should have been with Jeremody. Not with Breghton. Not like this. I pushed my hands against his chest. "Breghton, I can't." I looked up into his eyes. I wanted to tell Breghton about Jeremody. He needed to know that I had just lost the most important person in my life. I wasn't sure if it was even possible to love someone else as much as I loved Jeremody.

"Right," he sighed. "I get it." He ran his hand through his hair and looked down at the dirt.

If there was one thing I had learned from Jeremody's death, it was to live in the present, not the past or the possible future. Jeremody was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. And Breghton was wrong. He didn't get it. He didn't understand at all. And I'd be lying to myself if I told him I didn't like him, because I did. If I missed out on reciprocating Breghton's feelings, I'd regret it nearly as much as never realizing I loved Jeremody. I put my hands on the sides of Breghton's face and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him back. He grabbed my waist and pulled me close. Now I was the one holding too securely to his body, my arms wrapped around the back of his neck. His lips tasted like blumberries, and just like when I was eating them earlier, all I wanted was more. But his lips didn’t linger nearly as long as I wished they would. He moved his head slightly and this time placed a kiss on my forehead. It was the same thing Jeremody had always done. I blinked back my tears. For some reason, instead of feeling guilt, I felt relief. My temper had blinded me. Because I felt safe in Breghton’s arms. I was worried I’d never have that feeling again. I had been wrong not to trust him.

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there like that, breathing in each other’s exhales, before he broke the silence.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” he said as he stared deeply into my eyes.

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