Page 6 of Blood of the Stars

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have.” Riveran’s last step off the roots brought them eye level, a strange sensation since Gaeren usually towered over everyone else.

“Did you bring the book?” Gaeren asked.

“I’d heard you’d taken to treasure hunting since I’d left. Did you grow into your family’s greed?” Riveran’s sneer was punctuated by hard lines and fresh scars on weathered skin. He’d traded his easy life among the nobility for a hard one, aging him far faster than Gaeren. Or maybe he looked like he’d been to the Deep and back because he’d cheated on Enla, been stripped of his starlock, and fathered a child with his new bondmate.

Gaeren bristled at the accusations coming from his former friend but didn’t bother correcting them.

“Or maybe you’re still looking for the girl.” Riveran’s face softened. “After all these years.”

Gaeren pursed his lips. “Do you have it or not?”

Riveran’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t answer right away.

Riveran was the only person Gaeren had told about Daisy. He hadn’t even told Enla, mostly so she wouldn’t search for the girl in his future. He wouldn’t be able to accept it if she wasn’t present in any possible paths.

When Gaeren was eight years old, his mother had sent him to a Sungazer on the eastern shore for his dedication year. The priestess watching over him had been well loved by the people, but more importantly, kind. While living in her home, Gaeren had sworn to protect Aeliana, the priestess’ barely weaned daughter, whose love of daisies had sealed her nickname.

Daisy had been Gaeren’s constant companion that year—until she’d been taken by a bright light.

Riveran pulled a small volume out from his leather satchel. Gullet’s brown and white wings flapped as he leaned over to peck at it, but Riveran kept the book out of the bird’s reach. Gaeren forced his hands to remain relaxed at his sides, even though he itched to grab it out of Riveran’s grasp.

Riveran frowned at the book. “You think she was taken across the barrier, don’t you? To one of the other lands? That’s why you’re looking for information about the Great Divide.”

Gaeren stiffened, not wanting to rehash his plans with an enemy. Even if he was the only one who might understand.

“The bright light you saw when she disappeared,” Riveran said. “You think it was from a starbridge?”

Gaeren’s silence was as equally condemning as his answer, but he stubbornly kept his mouth shut. What did it matter if Riveran knew his plans?

“The Sun split our land for a reason,” Riveran continued. “Even if the starbridges are real—even if people and places exist across the barriers, it’s not likely a child could survive what you witnessed. You might not like the answers you get on the other side of the barrier.”

Gaeren tried not to care what Riveran thought, but part of him felt hope that his old friend took his quest seriously. Most people didn’t even believe the starbridges existed. They were the only objects that could supposedly cross the barriers. Legends of their existence had been passed down orally, growing until no one knew if they’d ever been real in the first place. Feathers that turned a man into a bird so he could fly over the barriers. Scales that turned a man into a fish to swim under the barriers. Entire contraptions that housed a person and took them to another land. Tiny objects the size of a button that served as a conduit to a matching object in the other lands, with instantaneous transport.

But every known story of starbridges included mention of a bright light. It was the only way Gaeren could explain what he’d seen so many years ago. So far, every lead had had a dead end, but he’d hoped this book could change things.

Riveran rubbed the back of his head, eyes hard. “Fine. Keep your silence. The book won’t tell you anything you don’t already know, anyway.”

Gaeren raised his brows. “Then you won’t mind lowering your exorbitant price.”

“On the contrary. I’ve raised it. On top of the regular risks I took to procure the book, you picked a location rife with death traps.”

“If a croc found you, it would be more merciful than how I’ve envisioned your death.” Gaeren’s words finally broke through Riveran’s confident demeanor, but he wasn’t sure if the other man’s pained expression was from guilt or fear.

Gullet squawked in the awkward silence, and they both flinched.

After haggling over the price, Riveran finally passed the book off to Gaeren, who counted out and tossed a bag of coin at his former friend. The clink of silver felt like the close of their conversation, so Gaeren turned on his heel.

“How is Enla?”

The soft question made Gaeren pause, heat billowing through his body. A cloud of hatred rose around him like steam releasing from Mt. Vescano when it threatened to erupt. He didn’t bother turning around to respond. “If I ever hear her name leave your lips again, it will be the last word you speak.”

CHAPTER 3

Instead of heading back to the dry lands, Gaeren grabbed his dagger and traveled northwest until he reached an especially tight grove of trees. He squeezed through a narrow opening, then climbed higher until he reached a hole in the canopy that let in the fresh air for his hideout.

The perilous deck he’d crafted a few years ago during summer’s peak was comprised of twelve boards. It held a small table and chair with a dozen books, a pillow and blanket, and a few other bare necessities for him to escape. Enla would be hurt if she knew he considered this home. She worked harder to make their parents’ palace a home for Gaeren than she did for her new bondmate, which made no sense since she and Croft were next in line to rule. The palace was their future home, not Gaeren’s. Thank the Sun.

He settled in a hammock made from discarded fishing nets and examined his newest book, The Sins of the Stars, which was softly lit by the light of the moon. As he rocked back and forth, he flipped through the pages, studying the drawings. The maps and art revealed nothing new, so he started back at the beginning to read the words.

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