Crown of Coral and Pearl

Had the king even tried them, or was Ceren keeping all the pearls to himself? Clearly it wasn’t the king who was lowering the value of the pearls. It was Ceren, and he was doing it to make himself stronger. If he ate one every day...that was nearly four hundred pearls a year, roughly eight times what my family had gathered last year, when the oysters had been particularly scarce. And those were just the ones he was consuming. I thought of the bowlful in his lab, of the creams and ointments he’d probably made, not to mention the rest of the market’s demand. Once he started using his devices, the pearls would be gone within months.

Things here were so much worse than Sami and I could have ever imagined. And it might already be too late to turn back the tide that Ceren had set in motion.

“I heard you spoke with Lady Melina,” he said, tearing my thoughts away from the pearls.

He has spies everywhere. “I did, briefly, in the library.”

He clucked his tongue. “A future queen shouldn’t associate with her kind. If it were up to me, I’d have been rid of her years ago.”

“Rid of her?” I asked in disbelief. “She’s a person. You can’t just toss her out like a pair of worn slippers.”

He flashed a brief, wolfish grin. “Thank you for putting that so eloquently, my dear. That’s exactly what she is. Damaged. Used. Worn.”

Heat flamed in my cheeks. “If you despise Varenian women so much, why did you bring me here? Why not marry an Ilarean woman, like your father and grandfather? It’s obviously worked out very well for them.” I immediately knew I’d gone too far, and the way his features slowly hardened frightened me. I rose and stepped backward, but he quickly closed the space between us.

“Do you think I want you? Do you think I find you beautiful? I could have any woman in Ilara if I wanted.” He took my chin in his hands, squeezing it between his thumb and forefinger. “My father was a fool to marry for love. My mother was beautiful, perhaps, but she was also frail. Her family had spent too many years at New Castle, just like my father’s. Their love, and this cursed mountain, have put our kingdom in jeopardy. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a vessel for the future king, and nothing more.”

I tried to struggle free, but his grip was like iron. Finally, the truth was out. I had been brought here to bolster the royal bloodlines. My beauty had never mattered to Ceren at all. He only wanted a Varenian bride for her strength.

“How terrible it must be for you,” I said through gritted teeth, “to marry someone you despise.”

His hand dropped to my throat before I could scream, the hate in his eyes unmistakable. How could I have ever thought he was emotionless? I clawed at his chest, my feet scrabbling against the stone as he lifted me off the floor. I could feel my strength starting to go, and with all my remaining effort I lashed out with my right foot, sweeping one of his legs out from under him.

He fell to the ground in a heap, and I dropped back to my feet, leaping out of his reach. I gasped for air, my hands on my knees, my throat raw and searing. I moved toward the doorway, wanting to run, but afraid to take my eyes off him.

Ceren climbed slowly to his feet. “If you ever do something like that again, I’ll have you thrown off this mountain.”

“I would rather die than marry you,” I spat, and gave in to my urge to run.

* * *

The marks Ceren’s hands left on my neck faded quickly, but I still felt their crushing weight on my flesh. I went to Melina’s chambers late that night, despite Ebb’s protests and Ceren’s threats. I needed to find a way to delay his progress, at least long enough to warn Sami.

Melina’s room was far down in the mountain, where it was even colder than the main floor. I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head as I passed a guard and eventually came to the room Ebb had described. A maid answered the door, her knit cap pulled low over her ears.

“Lady Melina is sleeping, milady. I can’t disturb her at this hour.”

“It’s urgent,” I said, sliding past her into the small antechamber. “Please wake her.”

The maid wasn’t lying. When Melina finally emerged from her bedchamber, her long braid was half unraveled and her cheeks were puffy from sleep. “What is it, child? It must be close to midnight.”

“May we speak in private?” I said, indicating her maid, but Melina waved off my concern.

“My maids can be trusted. I pay them well to be sure of it.”

“Is that how you know so much of what goes on within the castle?”

A faint smile lifted the corners of her lips. “Ceren isn’t the only one with spies.”

I sat down on a settee and motioned Melina closer. “I followed Ceren yesterday to the lake. I saw the device. I believe you now.”

She nodded, as if she’d expected this.

“Ceren also threatened to kill me, and he made it clear he harbors no love for you.”

“I told you he was dangerous.”

“He’s going to test the device on Tuesday, outside the castle. He’s invited me to go with him. I believe he means to conduct the test himself.”

She shifted her weight, impatient. “And how does this concern me?”

I lowered my voice further. “If I can tamper with the device somehow, ensure that his test fails, perhaps it will delay his plans.”

She arched a brow. “And possibly kill the prince in the process?”

While a part of me knew the easiest way to put a stop to all this would be to rid the kingdom of Ceren himself, I shook my head. “I’m not a murderer.” Most likely he would run out of air and swim to the surface. I couldn’t imagine any of the lakes here were that deep. And as much as I would have liked to destroy the device, doing so would mean I never had a chance to leave the castle in the first place.

“Is there a way to get a message to someone in the port market on Friday?” I asked.

Melina eyed me shrewdly. “What are you up to, child?”

“The Varenians need to know of Ceren’s plans. I intend to warn them, even if I can’t stop him.”

“If you can get to one of the villages, you can pay someone to get a message to the market. But I have no idea where Ceren is conducting his test, and I highly doubt he’ll take you to a village.”

“I have to try.”

“The prince does not make idle threats, Zadie. You need to be prepared to face the consequences of your actions.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I am.”

“Then I will help you in whatever way I can.”



      19



In order to sabotage the device, I needed a better sense of how it worked, which meant I needed Ceren to show it to me. But after our last encounter, I wasn’t sure if he would even speak to me.

To my surprise, he greeted me with a “Good morning, my lady,” as he sat down at breakfast. His eyes didn’t meet mine.

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Sleep well, did you?”

So he was going to pretend last night hadn’t happened? Fine. I almost ignored him, but Mother’s voice came to me then, reciting one of her lessons about men. Like most of her advice, it was rooted firmly in manipulation. The key to a man’s heart is his pride, followed closely by his appetite. Flatter a man, and he is yours for the taking.

Ceren claimed he didn’t find me beautiful, but I could see I’d managed to wound his pride nevertheless. I picked at a piece of honeyed fruit. “I was wondering if you might show me your device again,” I suggested tentatively. “I’m so curious to see how it works. You’ve said only that it’s an underwater breathing apparatus, but I don’t understand how such a thing is possible. It sounds miraculous.”

He spared me a brief glance from under his pale brows. “You’ll see it for yourself on Tuesday.”

I sipped my water to hide my annoyance. If flattery wouldn’t work, perhaps another insult would. “I’ve heard that the Ilareans are afraid of water. I gather you’ll test it in a shallow pond?”

He raised his chin. “My device can be used at far greater depths, I assure you.”

“But how is that possible? A snorkel only works a foot or two below the surface.”

Ceren set his fork down and leaned on one arm. “You really do have an interest, don’t you?”

I ignored the patronizing tone in his voice. “Yes.”

“If you’re so curious, I’ll show it to you now. Come with me.”

I didn’t like the idea of being alone with Ceren again, but I had to take any opportunities that were presented to me. I followed him to his study, where he unlocked the door with a heavy iron key kept somewhere in his tunic. I had no idea if there was another one, but I’d need it to get back into the study later.

“Here we are,” he said, indicating the device. “It’s relatively simple. This bag is filled with air, supplied by a double bellows. The hose is connected to the bag, and the diver breathes through the end of the hose.”

While Ceren went into more detail, I inspected the hose itself. It was nothing more than a hollow, flexible tube. A hole or kink would cut off the diver’s air supply. It seemed that everything depended on the integrity of the hose. Of course, at a depth of only ten or fifteen feet, it wouldn’t be a problem to go back up to the surface for air. But at fifty feet or more, where we found many of our oysters? An inexperienced diver could easily run into trouble.