Page 18 of Sea of Stars

Breghton crouched down beside me and studied the maps. “The people from my village that were able to escape the brutarians said they were heading west,” he said, pointing towards the far left side of the map. “I’m not sure if they’d be able to help though. I don't know if any of the elders survived the raid.”

I thought about the old lady who had died in front of me. She would have been able to help. I should have forced the ocean water on her wounds instead of listening to her speak. “You said there were a few villages though,” I reminded him.

“There are,” he said and continued to stare at the map. “I used to hear stories of the different villages. The very first divinare village was somewhere near the end of this mountain range,” he said and paused. "It's where there's a portion of your map missing." He pointed to a chunk that was torn from the bottom left of my map. “Well, I should really call it the divinare castle. It was built up over the ages of the divinare rule. Divinoira it was called." He pointed to it on his map. "When divinares were struck down from power the kingdom was abandoned. Our people were no longer safe behind those walls. But I’ve heard rumors that there are small numbers of divinares hiding there again. That’s where the divinares from my village were heading.”

I felt uneasy that he was talking about a portion of the map that Swishel may have intentionally ripped off of mine. At first I thought that she had torn away parts of the map to make sure I headed in the right direction. But what if she had been warning me to avoid the places that weren't pictured? There was a huge span of terrain between here and the old castle, mostly made up of the Tragere Desert. I wasn’t sure we’d survive walking around in a barren wasteland, and if we traveled the distance there on these cliffs we'd surely be eaten by mountain dwellers. “Is there anything closer?” I continued to question him.

“I’ve also heard rumors of divinares fleeing to the mountainsides.”

A spark of hope went through me. There were only three mountain ranges on the map. There was no way that any divinares would want to live in the Forge Mountains, so close to Mortwar and his brutarian brothers. The Siegarl Mountains were far away to the right, but there was a human town at the base of it. It would be difficult for the divinares to live in close proximity to the humans, because they seemed just as dangerous as the brutarians. So that just left the Azure Cliffs, which we were currently on.

“If I was to guess where they’d be, I’d guess here,” he pointed to the very right edge of the mountain range we were on. “If you were scared of being attacked by the brutarians in their homeland in the north or in your homeland in the south, wouldn’t you flee as far east or west as you could?”

I nodded my consent. I looked at the other islands speckled at the bottom of the map. The Great Ravage must have occurred at one of those other islands. My family and I had spent my whole childhood journeying to get as far away from their old home as possible. It made sense that divinares of the past also thought it would be safer the farther away they traveled from their home.

“It’s worth a shot,” I said. I was beginning to feel hopeful. The new symbols on my body were growing brighter and I needed to know what they meant. If something else bad was about to happen, I might be able to prevent it. I didn’t want any more people to die on my behalf. “Besides,” I added, “I think we can manage to get there by foot. It should only be a few days journey.”

“I agree,” he said, rolling up the maps and handing them back to me. “Let’s go find them.”

Chapter 7

The cool, salty air rushed around us, threatening to pick us up into the sky. Breghton’s fingers intertwined around mine. I was excited that I might finally be getting close to divinares who could help me read the symbols appearing on my body. They could clear up all the confusion about me being the "wished for child." I wasn’t who they were waiting for. All I really wanted to do was stop. I just wanted to be with my mama and Breghton. When I had found out about Jeremody I had felt so alone. But when I was with them I wasn’t as numb anymore; I was happy. I felt Breghton’s palm pressed against mine and I smiled to myself. He stopped abruptly and I ran into him. He laughed his enticing laugh and pulled me close to him. My head was pressed against his chest, and I could feel it rise with every breath. I didn't want him to ever let go. I let my hands explore the muscles on his back.

“We have a small obstacle ahead of us,” he said, pulling away.

I looked up and saw that the mountain had grown before us. We would have to climb. Chinook reminded us of her presence by hooting in the air. All day, whenever we would pause to catch our breath, she would unsubtly remind us that she was nearby. I was so happy that she was there, but in that moment, I tried to ignore Chinook and looked up into Breghton’s eyes. I stood up on my tiptoes and leaned in to kiss him. When his eyes closed I pulled away.

“Race you to the top!” I yelled, already starting the climb. I turned around just in time to see a smile spread across his face.

“Cheater!” he called after me as he followed my lead.

I climbed as fast as I could, but Breghton soon passed me. I felt Chinook lift me by the back of my shirt. Just as Breghton was about to reach the summit she dropped me casually at the top of the mountain. I laughed at Breghton’s shocked face when he finished the climb.

“But how?” he started to protest before he saw Chinook. “You really are a cheater, Mahlia,” he said, and collapsed from exhaustion.

“And you, sir, are a sore loser,” I laughed and sa

t down next to him.

“The mountain range isn’t nearly as large as I thought it was,” he panted. “I think we’re almost halfway there.”

I stared down at the rocks below us. “I wouldn’t mind making camp for the night.”

He rolled over on his side and looked up at me. “The sun’s still out.”

“I’m pretty tired, though.”

He stared at me skeptically.

“What are you going to do after we get there?” I asked. My journey with Breghton would be over once he got me to the elder divinares. He didn't know of my plans to go back to the Iron Gates and free the rest of Mortwar's prisoners. I still wanted to take Mortwar's life. I didn't want to involve Breghton, though. So many people had already died because of me, and I really cared about Breghton.

“If you’re worried about me leaving, trust me I’m not going anywhere.” He had a playful smile on his face. “You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried.” He had one eyebrow raised, almost like he was daring me to try.

“I don’t want to get rid of you.” I stood up and walked over to the ledge. I crossed my arms and kept my back to him. “Breghton, I wished my whole life that you would somehow miraculously be alive. When I first met you, my parents were all that I had. They were everything to me. When I lost them, or, well, you know what I mean...” I gave Chinook a smile and looked back out at the mountains beneath me. “...Well, you were there to help. You tried to save my life. You were brave when I needed it the most. Mortwar took everything from me. He took my parents, my courage, my freedom, my friends. And he took you.” I was quiet for a few moments. I heard Breghton coming over to me. I turned toward him and he reached out and wiped the tears that had started to fall from my eyes. “I used to fantasize about things that could never happen, sometimes about you and me. You probably think I’m crazy since I barely knew you, but you don’t know what it was like to live there. The only freedom I had was my dreams. Breghton, I...” I paused, searching for the words. “I…”

He had an odd expression on his face, a mixture of happiness and sadness. His Adam’s apple rose and then fell. “I’ll never leave you again,” he said, filling in my gap. “Can’t you see how much I like you?” He was staring at me so intently it felt like he could read my soul. “I thought you were brave and cute the first day I met you. And it had nothing to do with the fact that I was pretty sure you had the power of the Moira. I had a little crush on you. Every day I felt sick to my stomach thinking of the horrible things that were happening to you, hoping that you weren't still imprisoned. And you consumed my nights. My dreams were you. I figured after all these years I just built you up in my head. But here you are. You’re stunning. There's still that fire in your bright blue eyes. Everything about you is alluring. I can't even stop looking at you. And I know you’re scared. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t brave.”

I tasted the salt from my tears. I couldn’t stop crying. I was just going to ask him not to leave me again, but his words were even better. He pulled me close and I once again could feel his chest rising and falling.

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