Page 99 of A Lick of Flame

“I feel like we’re missing something,” I say. “Like I’m missing something,” I mutter.

“What about that business about the North Star?” Maya asks. “It feels significant, somehow.”

I look up into the night sky at the thick blanket of stars. It is easy to find which one is the North Star. “It’s over there.” I point it out to Maya. “That’s the North Star.”

“How do you know?” Maya asks, her eyes looking upward in the direction I am pointing.

“Astronomy was one of the many tedious subjects I had to study,” I tell her.

Xander chuckles softly. I suspect that he had his fair share of classes, too. “It’s a good technique used for navigation,” he says, confirming my suspicions about his education.

“The North Star is particularly important because it is easy to find and can even be visible during the day,” I explain. “It’s a fixed point that never moves. And as the name suggests, it points to the north.”

“That’s interesting, but what does it have to do with us?” Maya shrugs. “Does the star look any different to you tonight?” she asks me.

“No,” I say; my voice is flat. “Not at all.” I sigh.

“Again,” Xander says, “she’s probably messing with you.”

“Why is the tether unbreakable?” I ask, feeling something prickle on the very edge of my memory. “What is going on?” The memory won’t come to me. Was it something I studied about? Something I read…or that someone said once? It feels important, but I can’t seem to recall.

“She wants us to sit here stressing about the whole situation,” Xander says, his eyes narrowed with distrust. “I’m sure she fully expects us to return tomorrow to demand answers. Perhaps she’ll have a trap waiting.”

That thinking doesn’t feel right, and yet…what other explanation is there?

“We’re not going back,” I say.

“We might have to,” Maya adds, her eyes wide. I note that she hasn’t eaten much of her food.

“I’m telling you that she’s up to no good. What was that all about? Why did she scream that out as we were leaving? What does Polaris have to do with anything?” Xander sounds upset.

“Polaris,” I whisper, my heart beating faster.

“What is Polaris?” Thesha asks.

“It’s another name for the North Star,” Xander says. He says something else, but I am too deep in my own thoughts to hear what he is talking about.

“What is it?” Maya takes my arm.

“It’s just a thought, but it’s crazy. It’s…no…it’s impossible,” I say under my breath, my mind still working. I’m trying hard to recall the exact facts.

“What thought?” Her eyes scan my face; they’re filled with hope like I might have all the answers.

Hope can be cruel.

I can’t tell her my thoughts because I am probably way off base.

I mean, what if I am wrong?

No, I know that I am. There is just no way.

“I’m going to call to Delphine,” I tell them. “You said that Raila is desperate to have you near to her. Perhaps we need to go back. We can both ride on Delphine. If Raila is as desperate to see you as you say, then Delphine will allow it, I am sure.”

“Now?” Maya says, then she nods. “Actually, I would like that. I’m feeling so on edge, and it isn’t what happened with that witch. I just feel that…I…I can’t put it into words.”

“I understand.” I lean across and kiss her quickly. “I think your tether has come back stronger somehow. You’re more connected with Raila this time around.”

“I think you’re right,” she says.

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