Chapter 44
As soon as the three of them were tossed back in the hut, Aeliana turned on Gaeren, her face a mix of exasperation and rage. “What were you thinking?”
“I tried blocking them.” He shook his head, still baffled over the turn of events. “I kept Gellen out, but Elder Perla was too strong.”
The conversation about the sprites had started as a way to keep thoughts of Nori and her mother’s visions out of his head and, in turn, out of Gellen’s mind. But he’d simply swapped that out for a far more condemning revelation.
“What happened?” Sylmar asked.
“He decided to get into a theological debate with one of the elders by insulting their worship of the sprites,” Aeliana spat out.
“What?” Cyrus’ face paled, making his freckles stand out. “Even I wouldn’t risk that.”
“I want answers about the sprites just as much as you.” Aeliana started pacing in the little space not occupied by the others. “But this wasn’t the time to get them. You should have saved your questions for Orra.”
Gaeren held up his hands in defense. “Wait—that’s not how it went. I wasn’t questioning their beliefs. I was asking them to tell me about their experience with sprites. And only because they snuck into my head and asked me about mine.”
Riveran placed his hands over his face. “That’s even worse,” he moaned.
Guilt pricked at Gaeren’s conscience. If they went after anyone, it would be Riveran. And it was Gaeren’s fault. “They know you killed one,” he warned his friend.
Velden, who’d been strangely quiet, finally chimed in. “That probably wasn’t the best thing to tell them.”
“I didn’t tell them,” Gaeren said. “I didn’t know Elder Perla could see memories.”
“It’s your spoke,” Kendalyhn said. “You should assume anyone out there possibly could. We all should.”
“Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to help anything right now,” Iris said. She cocked her head in the direction of the guards. Nori had told them the guards had no magic, but that didn’t mean they weren’t listening in.
Holm nodded, and they all leaned in to catch his words. “Escaping the hut won’t do us any good unless we have the starbridges.”
“Did you figure anything out before you set us up as their enemy?” Aeliana asked.
Gaeren huffed his irritation but latched a hand on to Aeliana’s and Sylmar’s arms. He showed them the box under the floorboard, making sure to cut off the memory before Nori’s mother relived her time with the Seer.
He dropped their arms and looked away, his mind full of Nori’s lifeless eyes. He shuddered.
“What else did you see?” Aeliana asked.
When he glanced back at her, the anger had receded, and concern filled her face.
“Nori might be in danger. I don’t know.” He rubbed his palms against his eyes.
“I saw something in her mother’s memory.
I think they’re trying to get her to marry Gellen to protect her from an alternate future in which she dies. ”
The room grew even quieter. Nori had only taken Velden, Aeliana, and Gaeren out of the hut, but after she’d delivered meals and given them bits of information, they’d all grown to see her as an ally.
“Even if that’s true,” Sylmar said, “she’s not likely to believe us at this point. We may have to leave that problem to her and her people.”
The thought didn’t sit well with Gaeren, and when Aeliana bit her lip and stared down the hut’s door, he knew he wasn’t the only one.
Loud pops filled the air, and bursts of light shone through the nooks and crannies of the hut.
“A celebration like this would have been an excellent time to make an escape,” Sylmar muttered.
“We don’t have time to wait for another one,” Aeliana said. “Nori told me they only have one of these every couple of years, and I doubt we’ll last a couple more days.”
“For now, we should rest up,” Iris said. “We’ll all think more clearly in the morning, and maybe Nori will bring us food. We’ll get a better sense of our odds after talking to her.”
“If she’s even willing to talk to us,” Kendalyhn muttered, her glare centered on Gaeren.
They all found places to lie down. No one seemed eager to be close to Gaeren or Riveran, but with their cramped quarters, Cyrus eventually ended up on Gaeren’s right. His tossing and turning made it clear he was having just as much trouble sleeping as Gaeren.
“What do you think of the Sayhleens’ worship of the sprites?” Gaeren whispered.
Cyrus didn’t respond at first, making Gaeren wonder if what he’d assumed to be insomnia was actually nightmares.
“I think we’re all genuine in our worship, and that’s something to be admired. But we can’t all be right.” Sorrow colored Cyrus’ words, making Gaeren wished he’d kept his questions to himself.
“And you think I’m just as wrong to worship the Sun as they are to worship the sprites?”
Cyrus sighed. “I wish I’d taken the time to talk to Orra before we left. Everything happened so quickly. But if she’s a Star—or was a Star—I can’t imagine why she would worship the Sun… unless the Sun is what you believe it to be.”
Gaeren stilled, recognizing this was what made Cyrus sad. Not that they couldn’t all be right, but that he’d come to the conclusion that he hadn’t been.
“Go ahead,” Cyrus offered. “You can say ‘I told you so.’ You were right, both about me being afraid and about me being wrong.”
“Do you think I’m that heartless?” Gaeren cringed. “I’m sorry things didn’t turn out to be what you thought.”
“I’m not,” Cyrus said. “I’m only sorry that I led people astray.
That my family’s Stargazer is a farce. I feel a burden to take this knowledge to Gamps, to help him understand and spread the truth throughout all of Lorvandas.
But I can’t do that until I understand it and learn it for myself.
I need to get answers from Orra, and I need to make sure others know the truth, even if I don’t like the answers I get.
” His whispers grew heated with his passion.
“And if I feel burdened for the Lorvandans to know the truth, why not the Sayhleens? But how can I help them understand if they worship the sprites?” He shuddered.
“Especially if the sprites turn into dark spirits like you suspect.”
Gaeren hesitated, unsure if Cyrus wanted advice, especially from the likes of him. “Orra once told me that so much of what we do wrong isn’t in our actions, but in our decision to act without consulting the Sun. The burden you feel, if it’s from the Sun, you should act on it.”
Cyrus hummed. “I guess it doesn’t do me any good either way if we can’t get out of this hut.”
Gaeren’s guilt returned, and he wasn’t sure what else he could say.
“I still have faith that there’s more for us to do,” Cyrus said. “Whether it’s by the power of the Sun or the Stars, there’s a way out of here for us. I look forward to seeing how it’s possible.”
The next morning came quickly, but Nori didn’t come with it.
They continued discussing their options in hushed tones, but outside of using Sylmar’s staff and magic to melt a hole through the hut, which probably wouldn’t get them past the strange seaweed net, and making a mad dash for Elder Algaen’s home, which would result in most of their deaths, they had very few ideas.
“At some point, they’ll need to take us out,” Sylmar said. “Whether to put us on trial or to execute us. That’s our best chance to make a move.”
“Or they could just burn us down in this hut,” Kendalyhn said, making several others wince.
“What if I offer myself as a sacrifice?” Riveran said. “They know I killed the sprite. I’m the one—”
“No,” Gaeren interrupted. “It was self-defense. Or at least, you were defending me. I won’t let you take that fall for me.”
“Not even if it saves everyone else here?” Riveran asked.
Gaeren glanced around the room, his gaze resting on Aeliana. He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, letting his finger run across the braid on his wrist. His jaw tightened, and he didn’t answer.
“It’s noble of you to offer,” Iris said, laying a gentle hand on Riveran’s arm. “But we’ll make every effort to find a way for all of us to survive this.” As she spoke, the rattle of the door met their ears, and everyone straightened, anxiously awaiting who might be on the other side.
A sliver of hope bloomed in Gaeren when Nori peeked around the door’s edge. She squinted at the prisoners, letting her eyes adjust, before glancing back out at the guards. “I’ll just be a moment,” she said and shut the door behind her.
She smiled hesitantly. “They wouldn’t let me bring food. But I did bring a poultice for Velden’s injury.”
“My wha—?” he started.
But she held up seaweed and repeated again, a little louder, “This is for your injury, Velden.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Thank you.” He shouted his words toward the hut entrance. “Oh, it hurts. This will make it so much better.” He wrapped the seaweed around his arm, then whispered, “Actually, this does feel really nice.”
Aeliana rolled her eyes, then stepped closer to Nori. “Do we have any hope?” she whispered.
Nori sighed. When her gaze landed on Gaeren, it held more curiosity than animosity, but she still shook her head. “The elders are discussing your fate, and unfortunately, Elder Perla has shared your memory with all the others.”
Gaeren and Riveran exchanged a glance.
“I’m the one who murdered the sprite,” Riveran said. “The others are innocent.”
“I suspect they’ll find you all guilty by association, but I don’t know.” She bit her lip and glanced back at the hut entrance. “They’ve said they’ll give an answer tomorrow, but they’re still deliberating. Everyone seems confused as to why they haven’t already condemned you.”
Sylmar’s gaze turned thoughtful. “So you think their verdict might not be that cut and dry?”
“I think I don’t want to wait to find out. If I knew where your starbridges were, I would bring them to you.”
“Why are you willing to help us?” Gaeren asked.
Voices sounded outside, and Nori’s whisper picked up its pace.
“Look, I don’t think it’s right that you killed the sprite.
But your culture is different from ours.
I don’t know that I can hold it against you either.
And while tradition in itself isn’t wrong, forcing people to do things isn’t right.
I’m ready for a change, but I don’t think my people are. ”
The door opened, and Nori straightened.
“What’s taking so long?” one of the guards asked.
“Nothing,” Nori said. “I’m done.” Her eyes held an apology that made Gaeren’s decision.
He grabbed her arm and fed her the memory of the box under the floorboards. The guard pulled out a dagger and rushed forward, but Gaeren held up his hands.
“I was just thanking her,” he said.
“You’re welcome,” Nori whispered, her eyes bright with hope. The guard dragged her out and slammed the hut door shut.
“What did you show her?” Aeliana asked, her voice surprisingly grim.
“The starbridges.”
“Did you show her the futures her mother saw?” she demanded.
Gaeren shook his head. “I don’t trust memories within a memory. I don’t want to scare her into doing something stupid.”
Aeliana’s eyes brimmed with tears. “You just challenged her to go against her parents’ authority and find the starbridges to free us. I think you’ve already given her something stupid to do.”
He squirmed under the truth of her words and prayed to the Sun that she was wrong.