Page 8 of Blood of the Stars

She batted his words away with her hands. “There are no more Wyndrens. Grandfather took care of them fifty years ago.”

Gaeren cocked his head. “Isn’t it my job to figure that out? Every three generations, the line seems to pop up again, pushing us off the throne. We’re due for some usurpers.”

Enla gave him a scathing look. “You can send out hired investigators. No need for you to sail there yourself. Besides, the sprites are just as likely to curse us as they are to aid us.” Enla folded her arms across her chest. “They’re too unpredictable. I’d much rather you rode inland to Islara. They’ve been threatening to defect with the Recreants in the southern provinces for the last year.”

“I have no interest in going on some diplomatic mission, especially on land.” Gaeren grimaced. “I’m also the worst person to send on a mission like that. I’m more likely to widen whatever rift has formed between us.”

“Sailing as far south as Valorian and trekking to Lovers’ Falls would take weeks. I need you back here as my throne warden.”

This time, Gaeren looked away. He couldn’t hold her gaze when she assumed his mission centered on him helping her uphold her place on the throne. Throne warden was yet one more title he’d been given without being asked. Defending Enla would always be second nature, but it wasn’t the same as protecting the throne.

He couldn’t tell her those things. And he definitely couldn’t tell her why he really wanted to go to the sprites. Even if Enla knew about Daisy, she wouldn’t approve of him asking the sprites to help him find a girl.

He closed his eyes, recalling the feel of her chubby little arms around his neck, the tiny crown of daisy chains in her hair. An innocent soul he’d sworn—and failed—to protect.

Someday, his title of throne warden would become official, but how could he protect the queen of his nation if he couldn’t protect one little girl? The last thing he wanted to do was to abandon his search for Daisy, and that was exactly what he’d have to do if he settled in Elanesse as throne warden.

Before he could come up with a decent argument for taking his voyage, a burst of light shot through the night sky. They both paused, their focus swinging left to right to follow the trail of stardust. Gaeren sent an automatic prayer to the Sun on behalf of the progeny who’d either received a starlock or recently died. The sight was both sobering and inspiring, and Gaeren’s starlock burned warm against his chest, knocking all the fight out of him.

Enla sighed, placing a hand over her starlock, and she gave him a sheepish smile. Her eyes were a perfect match for their mother’s: a blue so deep it could only be caught in certain skies or seas. So were Gaeren’s, but that was where the similarities ended. He was tall like their father, his bulk from days at sea the forerunner to the paunch he’d probably inherit from his father, whereas Enla had gained their mother’s short and slim frame. His skin, which had always been darker than hers, almost had the warm brown hue of the southern Vendarans after his time at sea, and hers seemed even paler with the additional council meetings these last moons.

It wasn’t worth adding to her stress. Not when they’d never come to an agreement anyway.

The croak of frogs and the chirp of crickets were the only sounds in the night as they resumed their walk past the hedge wall and through the side gate. Magnolia and gardenia scents replaced the sulfur lingering in Gaeren’s nose, but he still longed for the salty wind of the sea.

The guards nodded at Enla and Gaeren’s approach, their darting eyes the only hint at their surprise. Tomorrow, the king and queen would be sure to hear about Enla and Gaeren’s excursion sans guards, and Gaeren would likely have extra attendants for the following moon.

“I still expect you up with the Sun’s morn to weigh in at the council meeting,” Enla said as they took the stairs to the side door.

He made a face, earning him a light tap from her fist against his jaw. A second pair of guards opened the door, giving the siblings another set of curious glances. When the door shut behind them, firelight from the hall sconces lit up Enla’s eyes, and they paused where their paths through the palace diverged.

“If you can’t learn to love the council,” she said, “at least learn to hide your thoughts.”

“Father never had to.”

They both grinned, and the memory of the king’s face turning a deep purple over the council matters he found so trivial sprang to Gaeren’s mind. It was the one way he and his father saw eye to eye.

“See you at the Sun’s morn,” Gaeren promised, the lie tightening his throat as he planted a kiss on the top of Enla’s hair.

She headed toward her rooms, seemingly satisfied, even though if she used her pneumatic spoke to sift through the future of his soul, she’d see it wasn’t true.

He didn’t want to plan the trip to Lovers’ Falls behind Enla’s back, but he had to go, with or without her permission. It was his best chance at finding Daisy. Which meant tomorrow he’d have to prepare Starspeed if he wanted to be on the seas within a quarter moon.

Enla expected him in the council meeting at the Sun’s morn, but she was going to be disappointed. He’d be deep in the heart of Elanesse securing crew and cargo long before then.

CHAPTER 4

“Have you come to worship?”

Aeliana flinched at the greeting. A wrinkled woman in a simple brown robe held out the customary cup of water blessed by the priests and priestesses. The woman’s hood remained lowered as she stood in the dry space under the eaves of the outer building. Most of her grey hair formed a simple wreath braid, and the remaining locks nearly reached her knees.

“Yes—and no.” Aeliana took the offered cup, trading it for the paperwork falsifying her admission as a priestess-in-training. She drank the water, watching the reaction of the priestess over the rim of the cup. The woman’s eyes lit up, her smile creating more wrinkles that somehow softened her face. She scanned the paperwork, her lips moving as she read.

“Celeste?” She lowered the papers. “What a beautiful name. Are you from the southern provinces?”

“Eastern.” Who knew where the other girl had been from? But Aeliana’s guardians had spent the last five years in the eastern provinces, which meant she could stick closer to the truth when she inevitably had to lie.

The woman clucked her tongue, tucking the papers in the folds of her robe. “So many Stargazers closing down in that region. We get shipments often with artifacts needing a home.” The woman placed a hand on Aeliana’s back, guiding her farther into the gardens. As the rain ceased, Aeliana pulled back her hood, soaking in the gentle murmur of worshipers and croaking frogs.

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