Page 66 of Sea of Stars

Vellswar picked up Harish and tied his unconscious body onto the back of one of the mountain dwellers. Then he sat down on the largest mountain dweller and pet his head affectionately. “It’s time,” he said, looking at Augury and Achates.

The two divinares were huddled together. Achates rose and pulled Augury to her feet. Augury put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Four of the owls flew down from above. Using all his strength, Achates lifted Chinook into his arms and hobbled over to the nearest owl. He kissed the top of Chinook's head, placed her on the largest owl’s back, and motioned for Augury to come sit with her. Chinook hooted softly. I wasn’t sure whether it was from the pain of her burns or the pain of losing her daughter.

Before walking over to the owl, Augury turned to me. “Breghton,” she said, her voice wavering. “Please take Mahlia.” She continued walking to the owl that was carrying Chinook. The owl bent low and Augury climbed on. She held Chinook close and patted the side of the owl that was going to transport them. The owl flew into the sky, taking Chinook and Augury with him.

Achates took one more glance at his granddaughter and jumped onto an owl by himself. This owl flew into the sky, chasing after Augury.

Denton glanced at me. I nodded at him. It was the best I could do. I had snapped at him earlier and I was sorry. But I just couldn’t talk about what had happened yet. He looked deeply concerned. He took a slow breath, hopped onto the owl closest to him, and flew into the sky.

I walked over to Mahlia’s body and lifted her into my arms. Her skin was no longer cold or pale, it was burnt from the sun that shone brightly. Her temperature finally matched the heat around her. But she was still dead. I didn’t want to look at her anymore. The owl in front of me bent down and I climbed onto his back, still carrying Mahlia’s body.

“Why did they all come?” I asked Vellswar.

“Mahlia was a queen. She needs to leave the earth as one.”

Before I could register what his words meant, the owl beneath me took off into the sky. I dug my heels into the sides of the owl, so that I wouldn’t fall, and leaned forwards. The wind rushed around me and I breathed it in. I tried hard not to look down at Mahlia's expressionless face. My owl reached the others and they all began to fly forward. I peered over the side of the owl and saw the mountain dwellers charging on the ground below.

From above I knew why Chinook and Mikado had called for the others. I understood Vellswar’s words. We had formed a beautiful funeral procession. It would be a funeral that was fit for a queen. The owls weren't flying as fast as usual in order to keep pace with the mountain dwellers. It would be a while before we arrived at the divinare castle. My gaze ventured back to Mahlia’s face. I was surrounded by animals and people but I felt alone up in the sky. I was all alone, period. But I didn't feel sad anymore. I was just angry. I let my mind wander to Jeremody. I wanted to save Mahlia to honor him. And I had failed. I pulled Mahlia’s body into mine. I closed my eyes and let the wind swirl around us.

Suddenly her chest rose, hitting mine. I let her body fall onto the owl's back. Her eyes shot open. My relief blew away in the wind around us. Mahlia was alive…but she looked like she was about to kill me.

* * *

Thank you for reading Sea of Stars! Book 2 is still in the works, but if you liked this book, you’ll love Be Careful What You Joust For! Get it FREE for a limited time on KU!

The airship voyage was supposed to be Herovinci’s greatest achievement.

And it was…until his ships were smashed and his crew was slaughtered.

Now an ancient evil is following him home.

So all of the kingdoms of Pentavia are

setting aside their differences and uniting to face… Who am I kidding? No one cares about some long-dead god. Lords and ladies have better things to do with their time than worry about fairy tales.

Especially Isolda. By day she is the Duchess of the Shield, preparing for the joust, ensuring the castle operates smoothly, and making sure her inept husband doesn’t bankrupt the kingdom. You know, standard duchess stuff.

But by night, Isolda assumes her other identity: Lady Marsilia, the most notorious crime lord in the kingdom. She doesn’t do it because she likes breaking the law - okay, maybe she likes it just a little - but mainly she does it because tapping into the criminal underworld is the only way she’s ever going to unmask the man who assassinated her father. He’s been dead for twenty years, and not a single clue has been found…

Until now.

The only problem is that the clue points right to her husband.

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Or if you can't even wait, just keep reading for a special sneak peek:

Be Careful What You Joust For - Prologue

Herovinci

"Almost there!" yelled Herovinci from the quarterdeck. If his calculations were correct, and they always were, his fleet was minutes away from passing the island that his contemporaries believed marked the edge of the world.

Their claims weren't entirely without merit. It was true that no sailor on record had ever reported sailing this far east into the Mysteric Ocean. It was also true that many ships had left port with the express intention of sailing farther east than Edge Island, and none of them had ever returned.

To the other great minds at the University of Techence, those facts meant that it was impossible. To Herovinci, those facts were an invitation. An invitation to do the impossible and prove everyone else wrong.

Herovinci achieving success would not be unprecedented. At the age of ten, he had created a series of gears that could track time as accurately as the sun's movements, and that was just the first of many inventions that his peers previously thought only possible through magic. His crowning achievement was the invention of the airship, of which he now commanded a fleet of three on a journey to prove that there was land beyond Edge Island.

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