Kingdom of Sea and Stone

by Mara Rutherford

  It was difficult to ascertain how much the people in New Castle knew of what had transpired between Ceren and me. It was no secret that Ceren had kept me in the dungeon and bled me repeatedly for “research,” but I couldn’t imagine him telling everyone he’d been drinking my blood. It wouldn’t do much for his image to admit that the person who nearly killed him was also the person who had made him strong.

  “It wasn’t for lack of trying,” I said finally.

  She barked a mirthless laugh. “No, I suppose not. We were all shocked by his miraculous recovery and the discovery of the bloodstone vein. I must say, your people are so hardworking. Even the elders and children.” She pushed away from my chair and walked back to her seat, then steepled her fingers, clicking those awful claws together.

  I glanced at the other ladies. “How did you become members of the war council?” I asked, figuring I might as well find out whatever I could while I was here.

  “I was raised in Galeth,” Lady Poppy said. “I came to Ilara when I was still a girl, but King Ceren finds my knowledge useful.”

  Lyra lifted her chin. “I have something of a knack for design and building. I’m helping with weaponry.”

  “I learned strategy from my father, who was general of the king’s guard before Prince Talin,” Dree explained.

  I tried not to let my concern show on my face. Ceren was surrounding himself with the right people, much to my surprise.

  “Speaking of dear Prince Talin,” Hyacinth said. “I could have sworn you’d be married by now. And yet here you are, wearing your old clothes, sleeping in your old room. Even dining with the man you tried to assassinate.”

  “I am loyal to Talin and to my family,” I ground out. “I came to free them, not to help Ceren.”

  “Ah, but he’s already had more of your blood. So you have helped him, haven’t you?”

  She knew he was drinking my blood, then. They all did. “You’re one to talk about helping Ceren,” I growled, no longer able to pretend I didn’t despise her. “You head his war council.” Why question my loyalties, I wondered, when she knew they were in exact opposition to hers?

  Unless they weren’t. I stared at Lady Hyacinth for a moment. “You said I was free to ask anything I want,” I began.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “What exactly do you want for this kingdom?”

  “We all want the same thing as you: a strong Ilara, united and whole.”

  My pulse began to speed up, and I wondered if somewhere in the castle, Ceren felt it. I glanced around the room to see if there were any of the spying holes I had in my chambers, the ones Ceren or his guards could use to listen in on me. This had all the makings of a trap.

  Know your enemy, she had said when I asked why she invited me. And she had implied that I was helping Ceren, perhaps willingly. Did that mean she thought I was on Ceren’s side? If so, would that make me her enemy?

  Hyacinth glanced at the other ladies, who all gave tight nods. “Tell me, Nor. How much do you know about the bloodstones?”

  I wasn’t about to tell her about Adriel’s book and the spell we had uncovered, but I also couldn’t pretend I was completely ignorant, or she would know I was lying. “I know they come from the blood of Ilarean royals and only Ilarean royals can use them.”

  She nodded. “That’s true. But it’s also true that King Xyrus had a few pieces of bloodstone jewelry that were never destroyed by Queen Ebbeela, and they never worked for him—or Ceren, for that matter. You might recall a ring he used to wear, with a red stone in it?”

  I thought back to when I’d first met Ceren. I vaguely remembered a ring of that description, though it had meant nothing to me at the time. “I think so.”

  “It wasn’t until after he drank your blood that the stones began to work, Nor.”

  That was new, and definitely interesting, information. “But why? I’m not an Ilarean royal.”

  Hyacinth sat down next to me, so close our thighs were touching. “No, but the Varenians are the only people in our kingdom, as far as we know, who still have a spiritual and physical connection to the natural world. Your blood is special, Nor.”

  Where are all the bloodstones now? I had asked Ebb once.

  Gone, milady. Scattered to the edges of the world. They say there was once power in the blood of men, but we abused that power, and the gods took it back.

  I thought of Adriel, how her people buried their dead to grow the bone trees, with their deadly fruit. If the Galethians had magic, they would never know it as long as they burned their dead.

  “So you’re saying that without my blood, Ceren would have no command over the bloodstones?” I asked. I knew he needed my blood to remain strong enough to wield so many stones, but I would never have suspected that he couldn’t use them at all without me.

  “That’s correct. Ceren is the last of the pure-blooded Ilarean royals. If he dies, the bloodstones die, too.”

  I had considered that before, but if my blood was part of the equation, that meant we didn’t have to kill Ceren; we merely had to break the blood bond. Which meant, no matter what, I had to get a vial of his blood back to Adriel.

  My pulse was beginning to race, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I didn’t want Hyacinth to suspect my plans. But if she was trying to trick me somehow, this was a strange way to go about it. Ceren already knew what I thought of him and that I would never help him willingly. Nothing I had admitted today was new information to him.

  But Hyacinth had given me useful information. I looked at the other women, who were watching me coolly for a reaction. Was it possible I had allies in this castle after all? “Can you get me a key to Ceren’s study?” I asked.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

  “Do you want my help or not?”

  She glanced at Dree, who nodded. “I’ll get you the key,” Hyacinth said.

  Finally, I was getting somewhere. “Good. I only have one more question.”

  She gestured for me to go on.

  “Why are you helping me?”

  Her eyes glittered behind the kohl like cut gemstones. “Have you ever stopped to consider that there are other women besides Talia who are tired of having a kingdom, Nor? That this place has slowly deteriorated with men in power? It’s only a matter of time before Ceren gives us a choice: wear the bloodstones or die. At that point, it will be too late.”

  * * *

  I was summoned to dinner again that night, and the thought of spending any time under Ceren’s shrewd observation was rattling me. I had information I could use against him finally, and I needed to keep it close.

  Ceren had ordered me to wear the red gown again, though I wasn’t given a reason why. Tonight, I let the maid curl my hair and arrange it with a few gold pins.

  “All finished, my lady,” the maid said behind me.

  I turned to face her. “What’s your name?”

  “Elspeth,” she replied without hesitation. She had the high forehead and narrow face of a lookdown fish, with ash-brown hair and a sallow complexion. I wondered how she had ended up with the task of caring for the Varenian traitor.

  “Where are you from, Elspeth?”

  The frozen smile widened. “I’m from a little village near the Lakes, my lady.”

  It was very likely her family would be impacted by the impending war, if they weren’t already. I felt a stab of pity for her, and a wave of gratitude that Ebb had managed to escape this fate. “How did you come to work at New Castle?”

  “My parents couldn’t pay their taxes, so they sent me instead.” The smile wobbled slightly; the bloodstone pulsed faintly at her throat. It was a painful reminder of what the bloodstones did to people, how she couldn’t even experience her true emotions while Ceren had control of her.

  “What if I asked you to do something for me, Elspeth? Would you be able to, d
o you think?”

  “As long as it doesn’t go against the king’s orders, I’d be happy to help you, my lady.”

  I hated using a human being like this, but while I was at dinner with Ceren, it was the perfect time for Elspeth to get the key to Ceren’s study. I gave her instructions to retrieve a package from Lady Hyacinth without telling her what it was and made my way to dinner.

  I was surprised to find the long table set for just two people. Ceren sat at the head, idly twirling a small box in his fingers and ignoring the few servants who milled about on the periphery of the hall.

  I cleared my throat and Ceren immediately put the box in his pocket, then rose from his seat and bowed. His silken blond hair fell forward, obscuring his features.

  I curtsied out of habit and went to my chair, but Ceren insisted on pulling it out for me. I watched him from the corner of my eye.

  “Thank you for coming,” he said as I sat down. “And for wearing the gown.”

  I turned to look up at him. “Where is everyone else?”

  “Perhaps I sent them all to bed without supper,” he retorted. “What does it matter?”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t.”

  He took his seat and waved one of the servants forward. She filled his wine goblet without him having to ask. “I have some bad news to share, unfortunately. I’m afraid Talia has decided not to wait any longer to start this war. She’s bringing her canons up to the base of the mountain as we speak.”

  My stomach sank at his words. I had hoped we would have more time, that Talin might convince Talia to delay. “Then what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be preparing for battle?”

  He tossed a long, silky lock of hair over his shoulder. “I have plenty of time for that,” he said, draining his goblet of wine and rising from his chair. “I have a gift for you.” The small box was in his hand again, procured from his pocket when I wasn’t looking.

  I turned my head to look at him. “I don’t want any more gifts from you.”

  “But I had it made especially for you.”

  Just as I started to rise, he lifted his hands over my head. I saw a flash of something stretched between them, like a rope, and I was sure he was going to strangle me in my seat. I surged backward, hoping to catch Ceren off guard, but he pressed me down with his forearms. A scream died in my throat as I felt cold metal against my breastbone, and a matching chain against my neck. I reached up to touch the pendant, my fingers finding the facets of a jewel.

  I peered down at my chest, where a red gem pulsated with light.

  “Before you ask, I’m not going to use it on you,” Ceren said. “But I wanted you to have it.” He pulled my hair away from my neck, out of the chain. The cold slide of his fingers on my bare skin sent a chill down my spine. “You’re free to take it off yourself. But you should know it looks beautiful on you.”

  I could feel something thrumming in my veins, like the distant crash of waves on shore, a sound I’d only heard briefly in my life. Ceren went back to his seat, still gazing at me intently. The servants stood like statues against the walls, clearly under Ceren’s control, their bloodstones pulsating in a slow, rhythmic beat, in time with my heart. I wondered if they felt the same warm rush of blood through their bodies that I did, as if there were a dozen hearts in my chest, instead of one.

  “Nor.”

  The voice sounded far away. I struggled to focus on it.

  Ceren was smiling at me. “It takes a bit of getting used to, I know.”

  I shook my head, trying to clear it. “What are you doing, Ceren?”

  His long, pale fingers were reaching across the table for mine, and it was as if I was watching from above, no longer in my own body. “I thought you hated me when you stabbed me in the crypt. I was going to find you and kill you no matter what it took. But then the visions started, and I saw your memories of what you went through as a child. I started to realize that we weren’t so different after all. I was wrong to try to force you to marry me. I knew it then. But I didn’t believe there was any other way.”

  The pleasant buzz in my head was beginning to recede, replaced by a sick feeling in my stomach. “Ceren—”

  “You wouldn’t have come back if you hated me, Nor.”

  It was an effort not to close my eyes and succumb to that lovely thrumming in my veins. “I didn’t come back willingly,” I whispered. “You forced me.”

  His fingers circled my wrist, immediately finding my pulse. Whatever he found there seemed to satisfy him. “I was so relieved when you returned. I hated seeing you weak and starving in the dungeons.” His eyes met mine. “I hope you know that I would do anything for you, Nor. I would give you the blood in my veins, if I thought it would help.”

  Something about his words cut through the fog in my mind. Moving was like struggling against a tide, but I forced myself to my feet.

  Sit down, Nor.

  It was a command, not a request. He was trying to control me with the bloodstone, despite his promise. But if he was using the same force on me as he did everyone else, it wasn’t having the desired effect. I reached up to my neck and fumbled at the chain, searching vainly for the clasp with numb fingers.

  “Don’t you understand?” I asked, though my voice sounded slurred in my head. “This isn’t how it works. You can’t force someone to love you.”

  “You think I don’t know that? If I could, Talia would have loved me like the mother I never had. Instead, she despised me.”

  It was easy to think of him as the same Ceren I’d known before, weakened by the mountain. But he loomed above me, a mountain in his own right. I could see the frustration on his face as I began backing toward the exit, as if he was mentally commanding me to stop. But his voice in my head was nothing but a low buzz, and with every step, I pushed it farther away.

  Some of the feeling was coming back into my limbs. I glanced around at the guards, but they were still frozen in place. Two stood before the exit, blocking my escape route.

  “So you attempted to kill Talia for not loving you?” I asked, trying to distract Ceren from controlling his men. He may not be able to stop me with his mind, but Ceren was still physically capable of overpowering me.

  “I lived with that woman for years knowing she despised me. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant, everything could have gone on that way forever.”

  I stared at him, my mouth open as I searched for words. “So you decided to kill your own sibling? You didn’t even know it was a daughter.”

  “Talia always knew it was a girl. And whether or not anyone else would believe that girl had a legitimate claim to the throne over me, my father would have. He was always going to choose Talia over me.”

  He had stepped within a foot of me, and though he towered over me, I could still see the broken child in his eyes, begging to be accepted and finding nothing but rejection. I could have loved that boy.

  But I could find nothing but disdain for this man.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, as I turned to leave.

  The guards at the door drew their swords.

  I turned back to Ceren, more weary than surprised. I was tired of fighting, of giving this man chance after chance to do the right thing. I should have realized long ago that he never would. “Don’t do this.”

  “You’ve given me no choice, Nor.”

  Tears spilled free of my lashes as the memories of all the horrible things Ceren had done washed over me. Threatening me, bleeding me, killing Lady Melina, cutting off my family’s water, imprisoning the Varenians. It had been foolish to hope there was some scrap of compassion left in Ceren.

  But he had been foolish to underestimate me again.

  I reached out to the guards with my mind, following the warm tether of our heartbeats. It was the strangest sensation, but I knew that we were all linked through this bloody web. How was Ceren wielding hundreds of these string
s daily? It must be taking everything he had not to go mad.

  I had no idea if it would work, but I was out of options. Hesitantly, I sent out my first command.

  Stop him.

  The guards turned their swords on Ceren. His wide eyes went straight past them to me.

  “Goodbye, Ceren,” I said. And then I ran.

  30

  I clutched the bloodstone in my fist, still reeling from the fact that the guards had followed my command. I knew that the bloodstone wasn’t working on me as Ceren had hoped. Otherwise, I would never have been able to walk away from him. Lady Hyacinth had been right: whatever powers Ceren had were in my blood, too. Not only that—the guards had defied a direct order from Ceren and obeyed me instead.

  But as I ran, I could feel my control over the men I’d left behind slipping. I didn’t know if it was the lack of proximity or that I was too panicked to focus my thoughts, but soon I heard Ceren behind me, his boots ringing out on the stone floors. Even if I could command the people guarding the exits, I wasn’t going to leave without my father, and Ceren knew it.

  “Nor,” Ceren called, his voice bouncing off the stone walls around me. “You’re trapped, silly bird.”

  I hadn’t made it far before I was knocked off my feet by a tremor that seemed to shake the entire mountain. I landed hard on my hip and rolled onto my back, the wind knocked out of me. Talia’s assault on New Castle had begun, and any hope I had that she would take precautions to prevent casualties was gone. Talia didn’t want New Castle at the end of all of this; she wanted Ceren dead.

  I pushed shakily to my feet and stumbled through the great hall toward the massive doors leading to the stairs down from New Castle. There were more men posted there, and I saw the bloodstones flare to life as I neared, but whatever command Ceren had given wasn’t working. They stayed where they were as I passed them and shoved my way through the small door.

  I found myself on the very same platform where Lady Melina had died and Talin had given up the throne to save me. The wind was always strong this high up, and it whipped through my hair and skirts icily. I ran to the edge and looked down at the field that stretched from here to the main road leading to Old Castle.