Crown of Coral and Pearl

He thought for a moment before running his fingers along my jawline and up to my cheek. “If you heal so easily, how do you have your scar?”

The warmth that had flooded my veins at his touch evaporated. “The scar was from a far worse incident. I was lucky to survive at all.”

His finger still lingered on the sensitive spot on my cheekbone. No one had ever touched it like this before, with reverence instead of concern. “Will you tell me about it?”

“About the incident?”

“Yes. I want to know more about you.”

I twisted the long braid Ebb had plaited for me this morning over my shoulder. I wanted Talin to know more about me, too, but I’d never told anyone about the incident. Everyone in Varenia already knew. Just thinking about it brought me right back to those awful moments when I’d believed with utter certainty that I was going to die.

“It’s all right,” he said, sensing my hesitation. He traced a path across my cheek and back down to my jaw, where he hooked one finger under my chin and lifted my head until our eyes met. And as scared as I was, I didn’t break away from his gaze. I wanted to imprint this moment in my mind forever, because I was afraid it would never happen again. He lowered his face to mine, his lips brushing so softly against my cheekbone, I hardly felt it.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for ages,” he murmured against my skin. “It’s like a tiny star, marking you as something special for anyone too senseless not to know it.”

I couldn’t believe that anyone would want to kiss my scar. I had imagined that if I left Varenia, I might find someone who could overlook it, but I hadn’t dared to believe someone would ever find it special. “It’s from a blood coral,” I told him.

He leaned away from me. “What?”

“The scar. It’s from a blood coral. I hit it when I was saving my sister from drowning. I nearly died from the cut. But somehow I survived, and ever since then I’ve been able to heal almost instantly.” I gripped his hand, squeezing with urgency. “You can’t tell your brother about this. If he finds out—”

“I would never tell.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “How old were you?”

My grip softened. Talin’s composure had a way of calming me. “Ten. We were diving for pearls. Our father never said it outright, and our mother wouldn’t have admitted it, since it went against every rule she’d made for us, but we knew it was our responsibility to collect oysters. Father spent most of his time farther out to sea, hunting for bigger fish. We didn’t have brothers who could dive for us, and Mother—whose own mother was also obsessed with the ceremony, and who had plenty of sons to do the physical labor—never learned to dive. One day, Zadie and I found a massive oyster close to a blood coral. We knew how dangerous they were, of course, but the amount of money a pearl from an oyster like that could bring to our family...”

His hand closed on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea how dire things were in Varenia.”

I shook my head. How could he have known? “Zadie and I went for the oyster at the same time, and her skirts got caught on a fishing hook. I freed her, but she was running out of air, and she accidentally pushed me into the blood coral.”

He touched my scar again, and this time it didn’t feel so strange. “You love Zadie so much. How could anyone think you would want to hurt her?”

I stared at him for a moment, my eyes welling with tears. How was it that someone I’d only known a few weeks saw me so much more clearly than the people I’d spent my entire life with? I’d always wanted someone to see me for me. What if, against all odds, I had finally found that person?

And instead, I was being forced to marry someone else.

He wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “I’m going to do everything in my power to help Varenia, Nor.”

“But what about your brother?”

“Damn my brother.” He pulled me to him with an urgency I hadn’t felt in our first kiss, as if with the knowledge that this kiss would most likely be our last. His mouth was hot and rough on mine. I wanted to touch him, to feel his skin against mine, not leather against linen. His hands were in my hair, on my waist, cupping my face, everywhere. As if he couldn’t get enough of me, either. As if even a thousand kisses wouldn’t be enough.

* * *

We made good time on the rest of the journey and reached Mount Ayris by sunset. As we began the ascent, I could feel the warmth of our kiss draining from me with each stride. New Castle loomed closer and closer, and we had no idea what would be waiting for us when we got there.

Talin climbed the stone steps behind me. I felt like a small weight had been lifted, now that someone knew the truth about me. Not just who I was, but also about my scar, my healing abilities, my plans to help my people. There were no secrets between us anymore. Not on my part, anyway. And while it hurt that he didn’t trust me enough to reveal all his plans, I couldn’t help believing that anything Talin wanted was just and worthy.

Ceren greeted us in the great hall, dressed in a robe the color of a moonless sky. There was no crown on his head, and he looked even wearier than before we left. The king must still be alive.

“My lady,” he said, bowing deeply. “You’re looking well. How was the market? Everything you hoped it would be?”

“It was wonderful, thank you. Your men did an excellent job of keeping an eye on me.” I smiled sweetly at the guards. They wouldn’t be able to tell Ceren about the time I spent alone with Talin now, not without making themselves look bad.

“I’m glad to hear it. The road can be unsafe for a lady without a proper escort.”

Talin eyed his brother, but overlooked the implied snub. “How is Father?”

“His condition hasn’t improved, but it hasn’t worsened. He’s lingering. For what, I don’t know. We should see him now. He’s been asking for you.”

“I think I’ll bathe and change, if that’s all right,” I said to Ceren. “I’m a bit dusty from the road.”

I followed his gaze to the blood on the linen shirt I wore beneath my corset. “Are you hurt, my lady?”

“We were attacked by ruffians claiming to work for the woman king,” Talin explained. “The lady wears the attacker’s blood, not her own. We were lucky.”

Ceren’s mouth twisted with disapproval. “I’d like the full report. Please excuse us, my lady.” He gestured for me to go with Ebb. The hot bath waiting in my room was the only thing about New Castle I’d missed over the last five days.

Later that evening, after I’d changed and eaten a small meal in my room, I went to see the king. He might be weak, but he had never been cruel to me, and I would be sorry when he died. The king’s physician sat near the head of his bed, checking his pulse. I was glad to see they weren’t bleeding him again, at least.

Ceren and Talin arrived a moment after I did.

“Father, Talin and I are here with Zadie,” Ceren said as he approached his father’s bed. “We wanted to say good-night.”

The king’s eyes fluttered open, and he rasped out a response too quiet for me to hear.

“No, Father, that’s not your wife.” He said the word with a sneer, as though the taste of it in his mouth offended him. “It’s Zadie, as I said.”

With a great show of effort, the king raised an arm as slender as a child’s and gestured to me. I glanced at Ceren, unsure.

“Go on,” he said.

I perched myself on the edge of the king’s bed, trying not to touch the sheets that reeked of illness. “I’m here, Your Majesty.”

He held out a hand, and I took it with my free one. “Talia,” he said gently, his watery blue eyes searching for a ghost.

Tears welled in my own eyes as I saw the love written plainly across the king’s pale face. How could Ceren have been cruel enough to steal his father’s happiness by killing his stepmother? I glanced back at the brothers, who stood watching me like two statues: one carved from marble and just as cold, the other a bronze study of agony.

I kissed the king gently on his forehead, then rose to my feet. “Good night, Your Majesty.”

Ceren reached for my hand as I brushed past him. “Shall I escort you back to your room, my lady?”

“You should stay with your father,” I said. “I can find my way just fine.”