Page 107 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

“Perhaps you two don’t because you are gods now and not the mortal beings as you entered as.”

“Something must be wrong.” Ranis squinted to listen to what The Priestess was saying to his mind. “I’m getting cut off. And energy here must be blocking us.”

“How do we get back?” Minha asked, frantic edged in her voice.

“The same way you came,” Palto said. “Holding hands and the stones, but no need to lie down.”

“Wait.” Calroy glanced between Minha and me. “Who has Palto’s stone?”

“I do.” I held it out toward Palto. “You’ve been making it hum every time I touch it. You’ve been trying to reach me.”

Palto’s form flickered. “Since the moment you took it from the cavern, I felt you carrying me. I was afraid you would put me down.”

“It hummed for me too,” Calroy said. “I thought it was recognizing Yeri’s energy.”

“It recognized divine energy,” Palto said. “Whatever stone you held, Calroy, it belonged to that god. They felt you carrying them. The dead are always aware of who holds their soul. Even in sleep.”

“If I may interrupt?” Ranis stepped between them, glancing upward as though he could feel something pressing down from above. “The Priestess is urging us back again.”

“Then let’s not waste time.” Calroy looked at each of us. “Revive Palto and let’s get out of here.”

I glanced around one last time. The waterfall, the bone-white trees beyond this cavern, the gate, the fog that had swallowed me whole. This land of the dead had changed me. I’d come here as Star. I was leaving as a goddess with my memory back.

Whatever came next, at least I knew what I was fighting for. And who I was fighting beside.

Gods help us if Calroy and I had made a mistake in trusting Rowhan and Palto.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The dark engulfed us, then released us back to our bodies.

I gasped for air, hands still locked with Theron’s on one side and Minha’s on the other. The cottage ceiling came into focus, the smell of herbs, the low fire, the shelves of jars. The stone floor cool beneath the blanket.

We let go of each other’s hands and sat up. Rowhan and Palto stood before us with their eyebrows furrowed, taking in the cottage they’d never seen before.

“It’s about time,” Fraya said, giving us a curt nod. “It was awkward having unexpected company. I was about to attack them until The Priestess stopped me.”

The Priestess stood beside them, hands folded, expression unreadable. She looked at Rowhan, then Palto, at each of us in turn. “I’m going to assume you have good reasons for their resurrection.”

“We do.” Calroy pushed to his feet, then helped me up.

Jina embraced me before I heard her coming. “You were gone so long. I counted every breath.”

I held her tight. “I’m here, sister.”

She didn’t know. She still saw me as Star, and that was how it would stay for now. I’d tell her when the time was right. When we were somewhere safe enough for that kind of truth.

She pulled back, grabbed Minha, then Ranis, then turned to Calroy, whose arms dangled at his sides like he’d forgotten what to do with them. She hugged him anyway. Warmth flickered across his face, surprise, then softer.

The Priestess waited to speak until Jina stepped back.

“The Seelie queen knows you went to the land of the dead.” Her pale eyes moved across all of us. “She knows who you both are. She has been expecting you to come to her. And she is making sure you will. She holds Nam and the girls in the dungeon. She is counting on you to come for them.”

“She’s right,” I ground out, fists clenching.

Calroy said nothing. But his jaw tightened.

“We have to get them out.” Minha’s hand went to her dagger.