Page 52 of Blood of the Stars

Aeliana smiled faintly as Iris joined them.

“Who’s all soft inside? You’d better not be spilling my secrets.” The older woman poked Holm in the gut, then pecked his cheek when he doubled over. During lunch, Aeliana had spotted their bond marks and had watched them ever since. If this was how things could someday be with Lukai, perhaps the bond wasn’t such a terrible thing.

“He was talking about Kendalyhn,” Aeliana said.

“Ah, give it some time.” Iris’ wrinkles smoothed out as her gaze softened. “I was a bit like her when I was young. Took a lot of time healing from old wounds.”

“I might have helped things along,” Holm said.

She swatted him, then turned back to Aeliana. “You’ll have to earn her respect, love. Your starlock helps.”

The word stirred up anxiety and fueled her curiosity. “How does it work?”

“It’s a bit like oil in a lantern,” Holm said, still rubbing his side with one hand while wrapping the other arm around Iris. “It keeps the fire of the magic lit. But eventually it runs out until it can recharge in the light of the Sun.”

“So it’s like our blood?” She tried not to let her disgust taint her willingness to understand.

Holm angled his head side to side, as if weighing the accuracy of her words. “In function, yes. But a starlock also strengthens the magic of your blood tenfold, maybe more.”

Tenfold? Aeliana shuddered. This was what her guardians had been watching for. Not just for her to realize she could do magic, but for her to come into a far greater power. She stuck her hand in her pocket, testing out the tiny sharp edges of her starlock.

“How do the Stars decide who gets a starlock? And when?”

Iris clucked her tongue. “The Stars can only do what the Sun asks of them.”

Aeliana winced, forgetting their differences in faith. “But why an Awakening? Why not just give them a starlock?” She really wanted to ask if others saw visions and memories in their Awakenings. But Iris and Holm didn’t have starlocks, and Sylmar had made it sound like the experience of receiving one was something to keep private.

“Sometimes the Sun uses the Awakening to test the recipient’s character in the present,” Holm said. “Or the Sun might use an Awakening to reveal aspects of one’s future.”

Aeliana squirmed, wishing she could remember more details from her visions. They’d grown more blurred in her mind, like a dream that faded the longer she was awake.

“Sometimes the Awakening is used to call them out on their past,” Holm continued. “There’s a purpose even if we don’t understand it. Some half-lights are chosen but don’t survive the experience. To be chosen and to survive…it’s a gift.”

Despite the muggy air and the warmth of the nearby fire, coldness swept through Aeliana’s limbs. Out of habit, she searched the skies for dark spirits. It didn’t feel like a gift. Still, even through Holm’s quiet explanation, Aeliana sensed awe, maybe longing.

She glanced at his bare neck. “Can you not do magic?”

“No.” He frowned. “I never developed any skills. Those who do often start training to prepare for their Awakening, but it’s difficult to learn much before receiving a starlock. Only one in ten of us get them. Or we used to. It might be more like one in twenty these days.”

Iris nodded her agreement at his estimate.

Aeliana raised her eyebrows in surprise. “So this group is unusual.”

Iris laughed. “Very much so. Outside of the schools, there’s probably not another group with this much training or experience.”

“Maybe with Mayvus.” Holm’s face puckered in irritation.

“Well, I didn’t mention the witches either, did I?” Iris pulled away from his grasp. “I thought we were talking about progenies worthy of respect.”

“Witches?” Aeliana asked.

“Progenies who use blood magic and worship the Stars,” Holm clarified.

Iris smacked him again with a guilty look at Aeliana. “You’re nothing like them, love.”

She nodded even though it sounded exactly like the way she’d been raised. Instead of evaluating her discomfort, she redirected the subject. “I thought anyone with starblood could be chosen.”

“Most of the chosen have a higher concentration of starblood, but sometimes people have that and still don’t receive a starlock.” Holm shrugged. “My family has never had much. My mother’s parents pushed her to marry a man with a higher concentration of starblood. They thought she’d have more chance of bearing children who would get chosen.” His smile was more of a grimace. “That didn’t work out so well.”

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