Chapter 43 #2
She patted his arm. “Vendarans are strange creatures.” Then her gaze caught on something, and she stood on tiptoe.
“Oh, look! There’s Aeliana. The two of you should go near the dais.
Soon the music and dancing will start.” She winked and gave him a light shove.
“It would be a good test for these so-called bonds that you have with other people. And make sure you watch for the light show. The Stars always show their blessing over these affairs. You’ll never catch them dancing like it any other time. ”
He headed toward Aeliana, glancing at the sky and wondering what the Stars’ blessing might mean.
Did the Stars approve of their Awakening celebration?
Did they approve of their worship of the sprites?
His mind was still too muddled by the memories he’d taken from Nori’s mother.
It was difficult to find something solid to hold on to, especially when he saw Nori and Gellen standing at Aeliana’s side.
“I don’t know how I lost you.” Gaeren stood a little closer than necessary to Aeliana, unsure how close Gellen needed to be to access his thoughts. He stared at Nori, who was very much alive, trying to fill his mind with her vitality instead of the possible death he’d seen.
Aeliana smiled up at him, a question in her eyes. “Gellen and Nori introduced me to a couple of the elders. It went well.”
He glanced at Gellen, and as much as he couldn’t stand the Sayhleen, he prayed to the Sun that Gellen would find a way to marry Nori and keep the second path in Aquana’s vision from ever happening.
“You just have my parents left to meet.” Gellen’s eyes drifted over Gaeren’s shoulder, and he called over a couple with a sleeping baby. Aeliana stood a little taller, receiving an almost imperceptible nod from Nori.
“Welcome to Tideholm,” the man said, nodding at both Gaeren and Aeliana.
She gave a slight bow, reminiscent of the submissive stance Nori often gave the elders. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”
Gaeren mumbled something he hoped was appropriate, but his gaze was on the baby. Was this the baby in Aquana’s vision? He glanced between the baby and Gellen and then the baby and Nori with a frown until Aeliana cleared her throat, shooting him a death glare.
“How old is your son?” Aeliana asked.
The woman’s face lit up. “Ten moons. We’re grateful the sprites blessed us with him.”
Gaeren’s jaw clenched, and Aeliana placed her hand on his arm. He knew it was meant to hold him back, but Aquana’s visions combined with his hatred for the sprites overrode her warning. He was proud of the controlled way his question came out. “Do you have any sprites on this side of the barrier?”
Elder Perla’s lips pursed, and his wife answered for him. “No. There haven’t been any sprites here for ages. Almost as long ago as when the Stars stopped communing.”
“So you worship them unseen?” he pressed.
She laughed lightly. “Just because they’re not visible doesn’t mean their presence can’t be felt. During the night, your Sun goes away. Does that mean it doesn’t exist in the night? It wouldn’t be faith if they were always seen.”
Aeliana smiled. “What an excellent way to describe it. You would enjoy talking to Cyrus. He’s a Lorvandan priest-in-training, and he’s eager to compare people’s experiences with their faith.”
The woman smiled, and her baby chose that moment to stir in her arms, his eyes opening to reveal a brilliant shade of blue that Aeliana leaned in closer to examine.
His mother noticed Aeliana’s interest. “Would you like to hold him?”
Nori nodded eagerly behind Elder Perla’s back, and Aeliana took the boy into her arms, tapping his nose with her finger, stroking his cheek, and then letting her finger rest under his chin, where she tickled him ever so slightly.
Gaeren’s lingering frustration melted away as he watched Aeliana’s face light up.
The baby giggled, and blue scales popped up along his face and neck, startling both Aeliana and Gaeren. The parents merely smiled their approval.
“He’s beautiful,” Aeliana said.
“Perhaps the two of you will be just as blessed by the sprites,” the woman said as Aeliana handed him back.
“Oh, um.” Gaeren stumbled over his words. “We’re not…” Really? Twice in one night? He scratched at the bond mark on his palm and noticed Aeliana doing the same.
“Gaeren’s bondmate is back at his family’s palace, and mine is in the hut,” Aeliana clarified.
“Oh.” The woman looked horrified at her blunder. “The elders made it sound like the two of you are next in line to rule.”
Aeliana and Gaeren exchanged a glance. “It might be more accurate to say there are two different factions who each want one of our families to rule,” Aeliana said.
The woman looked uncomfortable as she settled her baby on her hip. “Well, then, I hope the sprites bring peace to your nation and between your factions.”
Gaeren gave a half snort before catching himself and turning it into a cough.
Aeliana shot him a dark look, but the damage was already done.
“Do you not think the sprites can grant such peace?” Elder Perla asked.
“It’s more that we think the factions don’t desire peace.” Aeliana tugged on Gaeren’s arm, clearly ready to make her escape. Even Nori and Gellen moved to leave, but then Gellen paused, his brow furrowed as he neared Gaeren.
“He disagrees,” Gellen mused. “He can’t imagine the sprites pursuing peace because the ones he’s met… he thinks they’re unkind.”
Gaeren’s starlock heated as his defenses rose.
He let his mind go blank, then pictured a river running, the gentle hum of its power drowning out his background thoughts, leaving room only for the conversation at hand.
“I think the one I met in Vendaras was unkind. But that’s why I wondered about the sprites on Sayhla Island. Maybe they’re much nicer.”
Elder Perla’s eyes narrowed, and his wife took a small step back, casting a nervous glance at Aeliana and Nori.
“Perhaps it has less to do with the sprite’s kindness and more to do with a lack of worth they found in you.” The elder’s words came out flat.
Gaeren blinked in surprise, then laughed, making the others chuckle nervously too. “Maybe. They wouldn’t be the first to find me unworthy of something. But they did lead me to the silver fish starbridge, which led me here. So you could say our presence here is guided and blessed by the sprites.”
Aeliana held her breath as the elder considered Gaeren’s words.
“We don’t worship the sprites for their kindness,” he finally said.
“We don’t expect kindness. We worship them for their power.
Our existence comes from that power, and regardless of any…
kindness, or lack of, we are grateful to them.
The last two sprites on this side of the barrier worked closely with our Seer until they had a disagreement.
The Seer foresaw their deaths but promised they would return. We await them.”
Despite Gaeren’s need to escape the dangerous ground of the conversation, he couldn’t help being intrigued. “You await the return of those two sprites? Or any sprites?”
The elder hesitated. “We’re not sure. It could even be their spirits alone, returned in some form we don’t recognize.”
Gaeren focused on the river running in his mind, but Gellen saw through his tactics and reached out to grab his arm.
The Sayhleen frowned. “He wants to know if we’d still worship them if they returned as dark spirits.
He wonders about when the sprites died—he wants to know if people saw dark spirits rise from them. ”
Aeliana inhaled sharply.
“How could you know that?” Elder Perla asked, his face holding more surprise than concern.
Gaeren’s gut twisted, both at this revelation and the precarious position it put him in. Answering this question would be difficult. He shook off Gellen’s hand and asked one of his own instead.
“Are there other dark spirits on Sayhla Island? Do your people call them with blood magic and fuse with them?”
The elder’s face paled and he stepped to the side, placing his wife and son behind him. His voice rose, drawing attention from those nearby. “Blood magic? Of course not. And what do you mean by fusing with a spirit? Is that something Vendarans do?”
Gaeren shook his head. “Only our enemies do that.”
The elder looked momentarily placated. “It sounds…awful. But how did you even know our sprites became dark spirits? Has the same happened to sprites in Vendaras?”
Gaeren glanced at Aeliana, longing for her to say something to get him out of this. What could he say that wouldn’t push this Sayhleen over the edge?
Gellen frowned. “He’s hiding something. He’s blocking me.”
Before Gaeren could guess what they might do, Elder Algaen slapped a hand on Gaeren’s wrist, his face going momentarily blank. All Gaeren’s efforts to block the intrusion fell apart, the river in his mind draining to expose his encounter with the sprite.
Elder Algaen wrenched his hand away, nearly tripping over his wife in his haste to leave Gaeren’s side.
“Murderer,” he hissed. Then his voice rose over the crowd. “They killed a sprite!”