The Stone Eater (The Magic Eaters Trilogy Book 3)

by Carol Beth Anderson

  The king nodded slowly. They were on the short walking loop they often took, and they’d almost reached the gate again. He stopped and faced Ovrun, gripping his arm. “You know Nora quite well, don’t you?”

  Dread came into Ovrun’s chest. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “Do you think she’s still coming after my crown?”

  Ovrun’s brows drew together. By the stone, he hoped so. And oh, he wished he could be with her when she confronted him. Not with her romantically; his weeks here had confirmed how much he hated royal life. Even without a dome over his head, the palace, with its politics and procedures, would be an awful place to live for years on end. But what he wouldn’t give to be part of Nora’s team, working every day to get her a crown she deserved to wear.

  The grief of being separated from everyone he cared about, of being stuck in a stifling dome, of constantly pretending to love a king he despised, hit him all at once. Tears came to his eyes.

  “Did you hear my question?” Ulmin asked.

  A sob broke free, filling the space between Ovrun and the king.

  “Oh, dear boy!” The king’s other hand came up, and now he was gripping both of Ovrun’s sweaty, uniformed arms. “What is it?”

  Ovrun couldn’t hold back the tears, so he surrendered. But the part of his mind that was constantly focused on his goal—to protect his friends—whispered to him that he had to justify this show of emotion. “I . . . I . . . ” He couldn’t seem to speak.

  “It’s okay, son. Have a seat.” Ulmin guided Ovrun to sit on the warm, dead dirt. Kneeling before him, Ulmin said, “Calm yourself. Breathe. Then you can tell me.”

  Ovrun took the advice, drawing deep, shaky breaths, broken by sobs. In a couple of minutes, he was able to talk. “Your Majesty . . . I’m sorry.”

  “As I said, it’s fine. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “It’s Nora. I . . . I don’t know if she still wants your crown. I just wish . . .” Ovrun let more tears turn his voice thick. “I wish she saw you the way I do. If only she knew how good you are for our nation. She . . . she’s young, Your Majesty. Even younger than me. I hope you’ll be kind to her when you find her. Please . . . she’s got a good heart, she’s just . . . impulsive.” That part was true, though less than it had once been.

  The king tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “I’m sure you miss her.”

  Ovrun’s chest tightened with fear. He was always trying to find the right balance between truth and lies. Had he gone too far in pleading for Nora’s safety? “I miss who I thought she was, Your Majesty.” He met the gaze of the man in front of him, letting his eyes fill with what he hoped looked like fervent admiration. “Before I knew who you really are.”

  “Oh, son.” Ulmin’s shoulders dropped as he sighed. “I miss who I thought she was too.” He stood. “Let’s get you back to your post.”

  Ovrun rose, and they returned to the gate. A couple of guards gave him curious looks—he’d been close enough for them to hear his loud sobs—but he ignored them.

  “It was a pleasure speaking with you,” Ulmin told Ovrun.

  Ovrun gave him a big smile. “You too!” If he’d only let his tongue hang out of his mouth, he’d look just like the king’s favorite caynin. By the stone, it was hard not to hate himself after these interactions.

  As Ulmin turned away, a woman outside the gate called in an out-of-breath voice, “I have a message for the king!”

  Ulmin halted, stepping farther into the shadows but clearly listening.

  “What is it?” a guard outside the gate asked.

  “The princess—she and several others rode dragons into my town yesterday. She’s traveling around, building support. She’s planning to steal the crown!”

  Ovrun stiffened.

  Ulmin turned to the highest ranking guard, who stood near Ovrun. He spoke softly. “Once I’m safe at the palace, let her in. Take any weapons she’s carrying, and find out what she knows. When you’re done, lock her in one of the security office cells. I’ll speak with her there.”

  As he walked away slowly, Ovrun heard him murmur, “If she’s gone public, I have to do the same. We’ll find her, and we’ll stop her. We’ll find her . . .” He shook his head, seeming to realize he was talking out loud. Squaring his shoulders, he walked briskly through the thick, warm air toward the palace.

  21

  Ulmin invited me to spend all day at the palace with him. When we arrived, he had a surprise waiting: two master lysters—soil and stone—waiting to tutor us. I ate more fuel than I’ve ever done in a single day before. But I also learned more in eight hours than I used to learn in weeks of magic classes back home.

  -Letter from Ambrel Kaulder to Dani Kaulder

  Dated Barna 6, 180 PD

  Nora woke with a gasp from a dream in which she’d poked her head inside the large oven in the palace’s residential kitchen. She groaned and flipped over, then realized she was genuinely hot. Which made no sense on an autumn night.

  A blast of steamy air puffed into her tent, ruffling her hair and practically searing her scalp. She sat up, muttering, “What?” and bumped her head against . . . something. Her hands came up and contacted a warm, rock-hard substance.

  Next to her, Sharai woke, mumbling. Nora ignored her, because the voice in her head was louder. Get up. Now. It was Vin.

  All at once, Nora knew it was his skin she’d connected with, his breath that had nearly broiled her. Why the hell is your head in my tent? She usually tried to stay on his good side, but after such a rude awakening, she didn’t have any politeness to spare.

  I called, but you did not wake. He sent a picture into her head: fifteen riders on orsaback, some of them carrying torches. They are approaching us, Vin said. You must move. I shall return to the air to keep watch.

  At once, Nora was wide awake. She’d been traveling for over two weeks now. According to reports they’d gotten in several towns, Ulmin and a group of guards were tracking them. Taking advantage of the dragons’ speed, Nora’s party had kept their route unpredictable. So her father had changed his strategy too. No one had heard from him in a full week. Krey suspected the king was hiding somewhere, waiting to hear that Nora was close.

  How much time do we have? Nora asked Vin.

  Very little. Leave the tents here. Go!

  Nora cursed. “Sharai, wake up! Grab our blankets and bags. We have to go.” When she was sure Sharai had heard, she darted from her tent and spoke to Joli, who was on watch duty. The two of them woke the others. Moments later, the team rushed to Osmius and Gild and crowded onto their backs. Both beasts lifted into the air.

  Osmius, please take the lead, Nora said, sharing the thought with all three dragons. Find us another campsite, far from here. She shifted her thoughts, sending them only to Vin. Why were you awake? With all the flying the dragons did, they weren’t expected to keep watch at night.

  I woke feeling hungry. I took to the air to hunt, and I saw the group.

  Thank the sky for that.

  A few minutes later, Vin spoke to her again. When we arrive at our new camp, I shall have a gift for you. His tone was a bit ominous.

  A gift?

  Vin sent a memory to her mind. He was flying high, surveying the camp and surrounding area as Nora and other tiny figures rushed to the dragons. Perhaps half a clommet away, the king and his party had just dismounted. Two of them remained with the orsas while the others walked toward the camp. Orsa hooves were too loud when you were trying to be clandestine.

  Movement in the scene caught Nora’s eye: a feather lyster, flying off to the side. So that’s how her father had targeted them in the middle of nowhere. As she watched, the lyster changed direction, speeding directly toward the camp.

  She saw Osmius and Gild rise into the air, carrying Nora and her friends. She knew this was a memory, knew she was safe, and yet her heart pounded as her father’s feather lyster flew over the tents her team had vacated moments before.

  Then the perspective in her mind sh
ifted so fast, Nora nearly threw up. Vin was diving from the sky at a terrifying speed. His strong claws extended and grabbed the feather lyster out of the air.

  The memory ended. Did you kill him? Nora demanded. They’d all agreed to keep violence to a minimum. She wanted the populace to trust her, not fear her.

  No, I am holding him carefully so you may interrogate him.

  That didn’t excite Nora as much as Vin seemed to think it would. Her only experience with interrogation was when she’d confronted a spy in Deroga. It hadn’t gone well. She sighed and spoke to Osmius. Let’s find a place to land so Vin doesn’t accidentally crush that flyer.

  He alighted behind a hill, followed by Gild. Everyone dismounted. Osmius held a ball of white fire in his mouth, illuminating the area. Vin soon arrived, dropping a wide-eyed, hyperventilating man into the grass and pinning him there with a single, large claw.

  “Take your foot off him,” Nora said aloud.

  Vin’s maroon, faceted eyes fixed her with an expression she assumed was a glare.

  “Vin, he can’t even talk to us until he catches his breath. Let him sit and calm down. He knows if he tries to run, he won’t get far.”

  Vin did as she’d asked, but not until after he’d puffed hot air onto his prisoner.

  The man sat up. He was probably in his fifties, with silver hair and whiskers. A round belly pressed against his buttoned coat. He was panting, clearly terrified.

  “Breathe,” Nora said. She came closer, and a smile took over her face. “Master Kadin?”

  He nodded.

  She let out a short laugh. He was one of the most talented feather lysters in Cellerin and had often visited the palace. He’d always been kind to her. “Sorry to meet you under these circumstances.” Seeing that he was still too panicked to talk, she said, “I have no desire to hurt you. Really.”

  At last, he calmed enough to ask, “What are you going to do to me?”

  “Ask questions.” She sat in the dirt in front of him.

  “You know I can’t answer any.”

  She sighed. “I suppose my father will find out everything that happens here if you return to him? Whether you choose to tell him or not?

  Kadin’s lowered eyes were all the answer she needed.

  “You don’t have to be controlled by him anymore. Stay with us.”

  A long sigh filled the space between them. “Nora . . .”

  “That’s Your Highness to you, Kadin.” The voice belonged to Sharai, who’d approached quietly.

  “Your Highness,” Kadin repeated, performing a bow. His gaze lifted to Sharai, then returned to Nora. “I’m impressed you’ve got a minister with you.”

  Sharai’s presence boosted Nora’s confidence. Maybe a master lyster would listen to the former Minister of Lysting. “She doesn’t work for my father anymore,” Nora said, her voice calm and firm. “He fired her months ago, because he’s lost his mind.”

  Kadin didn’t try to defend the king. He simply said, “If I stay with you, he’ll kill me.”

  “Not if I take his crown.”

  Kadin chuckled. “You and what army?”

  “You might be surprised.”

  “Your Highness, don’t do this. If you confront your father, you’ll lose. Don’t underestimate the power of the loyalty he’s built up over the years.”

  “Don’t underestimate the power of the truth. I’ve visited dozens of communities in the last two weeks. Do you know how many mayors didn’t allow me to enter their towns? Three. We know some people will remain loyal to a madman who’s controlling minds and forgetting about his responsibilities to his subjects. But not many.”

  “He has an army, Nora!”

  When Sharai tried to correct his casual address this time, Nora held up a hand to stop her. “I know he does. But an army is just people. If given the chance to follow a better leader, I think they’ll say yes.” She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. “Stay with us, Kadin.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. Not willingly, anyway.”

  She sighed, sensing nothing she said would break through this man’s fear of his king. Vin, please pick him up again. Do your best not to injure him. Drop him off safely a couple of clommets away from my father. While you’re gone, the rest of us will find another place to camp tonight.

  Moving remarkably fast for such a large beast, Vin grabbed Kadin around his middle, eliciting a scream.

  Nora stood. “Go back to my father. Tell him I won’t stop until I’m wearing his crown. If he wants to make this go easier, he can surrender it to me.”

  “He’ll never do that,” Kadin said through panting breaths.

  Nora’s throat tightened. “I know.” This might be the only chance she had to send her father a message. She’d want to look back and know that she’d tried. “Tell him anyway.”

  “Please don’t let him leave yet!” Sharai cried.

  Nora turned.

  “A word, Your Highness?” Sharai asked, her eyes wide in the light of Osmius’s white fire.

  Brow furrowed, Nora asked Vin to stay. She led Sharai off to the side, where no one would hear them.

  “He has information,” Sharai said softly. “He could tell us what the king’s plans are, how many people guard him at night, how likely—”

  “But he won’t,” Nora said.

  “Not willingly.”

  Nora blinked. Was the woman she’d grown to trust—and even sort of like—suggesting torture? “There are lines I won’t cross, Sharai.”

  To her surprise, Sharai smiled. “I know. That’s why I follow you. All I’m suggesting is that you threaten him. He’s scared to death of that dragon. Use that fear.”

  Nora looked down, considering the advice. It was pragmatic. Efficient. Maybe even wise.

  All at once, a scene from a recent nightmare returned to her mind. She’d seen her father as a red-eyed, horned monster, carving up Ovrun with a sickle. She’d woken up terribly frightened, not of the dream’s hyperbolic elements, but of the truth underneath the symbolism. Her father was indeed a monster, albeit without horns. And it was entirely too possible he was really terrorizing Ovrun in one way or another.

  Nora’s eyes found the former minister again. “Sharai, I trust your experience. Most of the time, I agree with your advice. But you’re talking about ruling by fear. I know someone who does that, and I don’t like the results.” She sent a message to Vin: Go.

  When the dragon’s wings snapped open, Sharai spun around. “Wait—!” Then she caught herself, her mouth snapping shut. The dragon soared away, carrying Kadin.

  Sharai turned to Nora. “I want you to win.”

  “So do I. But not like that.” She couldn’t quite read Sharai’s expression. She hoped it was grudging respect. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get back on the dragons and find a safe place to sleep. I have big plans for tomorrow.”

  22

  Today was Queen Onna’s birthday, so she reserved an entire restaurant for “a quiet family dinner.” She invited Uncle Quin and me to join them.

  Our carriage arrived at the same time as Onna and Ulmin’s. As I stepped out, a man on the sidewalk looked me up and down with the creepiest eyes you can imagine and said, “I’ll show you a better time than you can get at this place.”

  Before I could respond, Ulmin pushed through his guards and grabbed the man by his lapels. He said three words: “That’s enough, asshole.” Then he sent the man away with a glare that was sharp enough to cut someone in half.

  I’m falling for him. Hard.

  -Letter from Ambrel Kaulder to Dani Kaulder

  Dated Barna 7, 180 PD

  Nora was the first to wake the next morning, which pissed her off. Her body had grown too used to rising with the sun. After tossing and turning a bit, she sat up, cocooning herself in her blanket. Osmius, bless him, had found a cave in the side of a hill for them to stay in. It was a good alternative to the tents they’d left behind.

  Bits and pieces of the last sixteen
days of travel flitted through her tired mind. Tales of her tour had spread throughout Cellerin. All over the land, eager eyes gazed at the sky, wondering if they’d be the next to meet the princess and see the dragons.

  Nora hadn’t been lying about only three communities turning them away. In fact, most visits ended with at least some of the populace bowing. In the past eleven years, citizens outside the capital had suffered more than the naïve princess in the palace had ever realized. People were hungry for change.

  Nora’s gaze swept across her sleeping companions. They’d all played their roles on this tour. Sharai offered experience and royal legitimacy. Sarza’s visions often guided them to their next location. Krey’s knack for strategy was invaluable. Plus, Nora appreciated his friendship more than she wanted to admit. Joli had good instincts about connecting with rural populations, and she used her organizational skills for numerous tasks, like stocking supplies, recording the names of community leaders and their reactions to Nora, and scheduling nightly watch shifts. Kebi carried her bow, acting as a loyal guard. And Zeisha brought a calming influence to all of them. Perhaps at some point she’d even tap into the Well’s power, but only if she could do so secretly. Sharai and Joli still didn’t know of her abilities.

  Gradually, everyone woke. The humans relaxed while the dragons hunted. Then they all took to the sky again.

  It was their longest leg of travel yet. Hours later, they landed well outside of their next destination: New Therro. Visiting the occupied city was an important part of their strategy, and after almost being caught last night, Nora hadn’t wanted to wait any longer.

  When she became queen, making peace with New Therro would be one of her top priorities. She’d once hoped the negotiations would be easy. After all, she’d built goodwill by getting New Therroan men released from the Cellerinian Army after the battle for Deroga. But that was months ago. Since then, her father had oppressed their city in ever-crueler ways. For all Nora knew, whatever trust they’d given her had dissolved long ago.