Salt in the Seas (The Half-Light Chronicles #2)

Chapter 1

Aeliana hurried down the empty hall of the fortress, counting the doors as she followed along on her scribbled map.

When she reached the eighth door, she prayed her mother’s memory had been accurate as she pulled the heavy oak door open with a creak.

An old servant’s room lay before her, the hall windows revealing dust and derelict objects.

She glanced down the abandoned hall once more, then breathed a sigh of relief as she let the door click shut behind her in the room.

Tucking the parchment in her skirt pocket, she held out her hands and let her starlock burn warm against her chest. Its energy joined with that in her blood, then spread to her hands, where a small light sputtered and flickered.

She frowned, unsure why her magic seemed to be fading even though Sylmar still required her to train on a daily basis.

Shoving the concern aside, she held her palms out to shed light on the rest of the room, ignoring the remains of whoever had stayed there last, likely decades before.

Instead, she tapped on the stone walls and looked for unnatural seams in the grout. Her mother had been certain this was one of Mayvus’ hiding spots.

Sure enough, the third wall made a hollow sound, and Aeliana slid her fingers along the grout until she felt one stone give way. She pressed harder until it released a spring mechanism that brought the hidden door open.

“You were right, Mother,” she whispered with a grin. Before she could examine the contents of the closet, footsteps and voices carried down the hall.

“Why is Sylmar so bent on cleaning all the rooms when the outer walls still need to be rebuilt?” Kendalyhn’s complaint carried through the thick oak door as if she stood directly beside it.

The bitter young woman already had it out for Aeliana; she was the last person Aeliana wanted finding her here.

She pulled the hidden stone wall door open wider, then wedged herself inside the tight space, her back pressed up against a shelf.

“He has soldiers working on the wall, love.” Iris’ soft maternal tone gave Aeliana some comfort.

The older woman had been her mother’s maidservant for years, and while Aeliana still didn’t want to be caught, Iris would at least understand Aeliana’s desire to help her mother.

“With Mayvus gone, there’s no rush. He’s determined to use these rooms to provide refuge for the families left without husbands and fathers from the battle.

At least until things turn around for everyone. ”

Aeliana pulled the stone door back just as the latch on the oak door clicked. She closed her eyes, praying they wouldn’t notice the inconsistency of the wall. She was too scared to shut it all the way in case she couldn’t get it back open.

“Ugh,” Kendalyhn groaned. “I don’t even think Mayvus used these rooms.”

“Salvage what you can,” Iris said. “But don’t be afraid to toss anything that’s beyond repair. After we get through this hall, we can bring families in to help us clear out more.”

An itch started on Aeliana’s leg, one that felt suspiciously like a spider crawling up under her skirt. She batted at it while gritting her teeth to keep herself from screaming, but then her heel bumped the shelf behind her, and something glass clinked to the floor. She froze, holding her breath.

“Did you hear that?” Kendalyhn asked.

“That tinkling? It sounded like the winex laughing again,” Iris said. “We should probably block this hall while we’re working; otherwise, they’ll try to help, which is more harmful during this early phase of the moon.”

Their voices faded as Kendalyhn bemoaned the number of rooms down the hall, and after several moments Aeliana felt confident they’d shut the door behind them and moved on. She let out her breath and allowed the light to flow back into her palms.

When she tugged her skirt up, she found a large spider bite swelling on her thigh.

With no sign of the spider, she shuddered, wondering if it was still tangled in her skirts.

But then her gaze caught the glint of glass, and she bent to find a vial of blood at her feet, along with dozens more on the shelf.

She bit her lip in indecision. She was already going to be late for her training session with Sylmar.

What harm was a few more moments? She pulled out the parchment, then used the back side of the map to make a careful list of all the labels on the vials, name after name, along with where their magic landed on the spokes and rim of the Wheel of Magic.

All people that Mayvus had either branded or planned to brand by fusing their blood to her body, essentially making them puppets she could control—taking their magic for her own.

After each one had been documented, she stuffed all the vials in her skirt pockets, wincing when they clinked together as she stepped from the closet. She pressed them against her thighs to immobilize them while she opened the oak door and peered down the hall.

“What are you doing?” Kendalyhn whispered at her back.

Aeliana let out a yelp before turning around.

The other woman was a few years older than Aeliana, but her petite build, impish grin, and short black hair made her look far younger. Right now, her smile held more of a smirk, and her eyebrows rose. “Were you spying on Iris and me?”

“No, I—” Aeliana paused, trying to think of what she could say to a woman who could sift her soul and pick apart her past motives. “I’m avoiding Sylmar.”

Kendalyhn snorted. “Aren’t we all?” She eyed Aeliana disdainfully. “But in your case, he still has a lot to teach you, and you’d be foolish not to learn from him.”

“You already think I’m foolish,” Aeliana muttered, then pushed past Kendalyhn before the other woman could agree. She concentrated on keeping the vials of blood silent against her legs, despite knowing her walk would appear stiff and awkward.

Sylmar was going to have her hide, but she still had to dispose of the blood; otherwise, he might think she was delving into blood magic again.

She grimaced when she realized she only had time to dispose of them in one of the privies.

Sequestering herself away, she broke the vials one by one and dumped them down the chute into the cesspit.

She gagged as the metallic scent mixed with feces and urine, permeating the confined space, but she felt a sense of accomplishment when she was able to mark off forty-two vials having been destroyed.

Her mother would be proud.

She smiled and tucked the parchment back in her pocket before exiting the privy and rushing down the hall to the training room. She was sniffing the sleeves of her blouse, hoping no one else could smell the blood on her, when she rounded the corner and skidded into the training room.

Velden grinned at her from the space they’d cleared for sparring.

The tattoos dancing across his skin and the fish hooks dangling from his ears made him look more like the pirates she watched for every day, but his webbed hands were proof that he belonged in the water, not floating on it.

Holm, his opponent, turned to follow his gaze, then gave Aeliana a small wave.

Velden’s lanky form was no match for Holm’s height and bulk, so he used the other man’s distraction to get in a blow.

Sylmar cleared his throat from where he stood in the room’s center. He leaned on his staff to glare at her. “Well, what happened this time?” His guttural voice matched the harsh scars lining his face.

“I’m sorry. I lost track of time.” She hurried to stand before him, smoothing down her skirt.

She held back a grimace when she found a drop of blood on it, then caught sight of a cut on her palm.

How had she not noticed one of the vials had cut her?

She tucked it in the folds of her skirt while picturing the broken skin mending, willing her starlock to heal the wound.

Except that part of her magic seemed to be failing lately too.

Sylmar placed a hand on Aeliana’s shoulder. “What were you doing that had you so distracted?”

“It was my turn to help Iris with the winex after lunch. You know how needy they are these days. It took longer than I anticipated.” The first part had been the truth.

His eyes narrowed, and he gripped her shoulder tighter. “Why are you lying?”

She went still, but her heart beat faster. Why had she let him touch her? Sifting the truth of her words was his secondary spoke and something he could only do with a point of contact. She’d been foolish to let her guard down.

“Give her a break, Sylmar,” Velden called from the sparring ring.

“You were young once. Or have you forgotten? At her age, I had plenty of secrets and private affairs I didn’t want to share with my elders or mentors.

Nothing nefarious, just the normal reckless life of a youth. Let her live a little.”

Velden winked at her, then grunted when Holm jabbed him in the stomach with his fist. The two resumed their wrestling, while Aeliana turned to Sylmar with a sheepish smile, her face too hot and likely red.

Sylmar placed his hand back on his staff and hummed his disapproval, but then directed Aeliana to a chair, apparently willing to let it drop for now.

A flutter of relief rushed through Aeliana.

Her secret errands for her mother hadn’t been discovered.

Until they had solid evidence, Sylmar wouldn’t be willing to listen to her mother’s theory that Mayvus was alive.

Not when Mayvus’ assumed death gave everyone else comfort.

“Today I want you to try connecting with Durriken,” Sylmar said.

Her anxiety returned. She ran a hand over the detestable mark on her right hand. “I don’t want to bother him. He lost his freedom for years, then I severed his paw. I think the last dragon alive deserves to be left in peace.”

“I’m not asking you to control him through your brand, but as long as you have it, you can see if you can tell where he left Mayvus’ body.” The eagerness that rolled off Sylmar made Aeliana hesitate.

At one time, Sylmar had been Mayvus’ bondmate.

He’d been willing to use blood magic to brand people, taking over their will and replacing it with his own.

Such evil was the reason Aeliana had never wanted to brand Durriken in the first place, but desperation had overruled her desires.

It had been the only way to weaken Mayvus.

She shook her head to dispel the suspicion. Sylmar was faithful to the Recreants’ cause. He simply wanted to find Mayvus’ body to reassure everyone she was no longer a threat. Aeliana didn’t always like his methods, but she could trust him with information.

“All right.” She’d only caught glimpses of Durriken’s location or hints of his thoughts in the past. As long as she refused to impose her will on him, maybe it wasn’t as intrusive as it seemed.

She closed her eyes and pressed on the brand mark, focusing on the massive dragon as she’d last seen him, his azure and amethyst scales fading into the night sky as he flew off with his prize: Mayvus.