Crown of Coral and Pearl

“He said he would kill me if I refused. I managed to get away, but I got lost in the dark, and I somehow found myself in the crypt. Ceren came after me. I smashed his face in with a bone.” I shuddered again at the memory of all that blood.

“I’m so sorry. This is my fault,” Talin said throatily. “I should have known he wouldn’t give you up so easily.”

I looked up into his face. “Easily? You gave up the throne for me, Talin.”

“I only wish I could have gotten there sooner. I tried to save Melina, too, but he...” Talin broke off, his voice thick with unshed tears. “It was you or nothing.”

He kissed the top of my head, and I felt the warmth of him seep into me, pushing out the cold. He wasn’t wearing armor, just a linen tunic and breeches. Underneath, he was solid muscle, and I felt safe for the first time in weeks. I wanted to lay my head against his chest and rest in the comfort of his arms, but I had to tell him the truth.

I pulled back slightly. “There’s more, Talin. I... I stabbed Ceren, in the chest. The knife was made from blood coral.” I swallowed, trying to find the right words. “You remember what I told you about the blood coral? How a tiny cut almost killed me?”

Talin’s arms slowly slid away from my body as he took a step back. “What are you saying? Ceren is...dead?”

“I’m so sorry,” I said desperately. “I know he was your brother, and that you just lost your father, too.” I wouldn’t beg for his forgiveness. I didn’t have the right.

He sat down on a bale of hay and dropped his head into his hands. “Ceren is dead.”

“I—I believe so. Yes..” I wanted so badly to hold him and comfort him as he’d done for me, but I kept my distance. I had destroyed any hope of us ever being together now. Even if Talin could somehow forgive me, I was a murderer. I would likely be put to death for what I had done.

Finally, he looked up. “I understand, Nor. I know you’d never hurt someone unless you had no choice. And I know what Ceren would have done if he had lived.”

I sat down next to him and took one of his hands. “Then you don’t hate me?” I asked incredulously.

He pulled me to him and buried his face into my hair, breathing deeply for a long time. I knew he had to absorb this knowledge: Ceren was dead, and at my hands. Yes, his brother had killed Talia, the person Talin loved most in the world. But I knew better than anyone how strong the blood bond between siblings was, even if they did something hurtful. Talin had to regret that things couldn’t have ended differently.

At last, he said, “I could never hate you. You had no choice.”

We held each other for as long as I dared. My body yearned to stay in the warmth of his arms. I was so tired, and the thought of running now felt almost impossible.

“I have to go,” I said, smoothing my hands over his shoulders. “The guards will be looking for me.”

He lifted his head, his expression puzzled. “But you’re safe now, Nor. If Ceren really is dead, then that means I’m regent.” Talin hesitated for a moment, then added, “At least until my mother comes.”

I frowned, sure I’d misheard. “Your—”

“My mother, yes,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. Queen Talia is still alive. And she is returning to Ilara.”

I was so tired, and nothing he said was making sense. “I don’t understand. I thought... Everyone said...”

Talin sighed. “Ceren tried to kill my mother because she was pregnant, Nor. When he found out she was with child, he began to worry about his right to the throne. Yes, he was the firstborn son, but if my mother gave birth to a girl...”

“Then the kingdom would become a queendom again,” I breathed. “And Varenia’s contract with Ilara would be fulfilled.” I stood up and began to pace. “But why would Ceren assume it would be a girl? After all, there hasn’t been a princess in hundreds of years.”

“So we’ve all been told,” Talin said gravely. “But what is more likely? That no king has had a daughter in generations, or that the men who ruled Ilara were afraid to give up their power to a woman?”

I stopped in front of him, my hands clenched in fists at my side. “What are you saying, Talin? That there might have been female heirs who were murdered in their cradles?”

“I hope they were sent away to live in a village somewhere, but there’s no way of knowing for certain,” he said, spreading his hands helplessly. “Still, Ceren didn’t want to take any chances. He stabbed my mother and dumped her body in the underground lake, thinking she was already dead, and the monster would take care of her remains. But her healing abilities kept her alive. She was gravely injured, but she managed to make it across the lake despite her wounds, and escaped the same way you did.”

Ceren had described Talia as delicate as a flower, but she was far stronger than I could have imagined. “Lady Melina told me about the route. Are you saying she knew Talia was alive?”

Talin nodded. “My mother made contact with me several months after the assassination attempt. Despite their difficult relationship, Mother asked me to enlist Melina as an ally, knowing no one else in the mountain could be trusted. Ceren was young, but his will was already much stronger than my father’s. If one of Ceren’s spies found out she was alive, my mother would have been hunted down and murdered.”

“So when Melina said ‘long live the queen’...”

“She meant my mother, the rightful heir to the throne, now that my father is dead.”

All the pieces were finally falling into place. “Because Ceren is not yet twenty-one.”

Talin smiled. “She’s been in the South all these years, amassing an army. My father’s death was the call to arms. Remember when I met with Lord Clifton on the way to the market? I didn’t ask the mercenaries to fight for Ilara. I convinced them to join forces with my mother and fight against Ceren, to reinstate the queendom and restore our land to what it once was. They are marching as we speak.”

“But why did Melina get herself arrested if she knew Ceren wouldn’t kill me?” I asked.

“To tell you how to escape, since she didn’t know when I would be back. Ceren was doing everything in his power to keep me away from New Castle in case Father died. He was the one who sent the men after us on our way back from the port market. When they failed to kill me, he used it as an excuse to send me away again. If it hadn’t been for your maid’s message, I wouldn’t have made it back in time to challenge Ceren. Melina believed you needed to be the one to convince the Varenians, and the Galethians, to fight with my mother’s army when the time came.”

Melina didn’t realize how little trust my own people had in me. Fortunately, that didn’t matter now. “With Ceren dead, there will be no one left to contest the throne,” I said. “There won’t be a war. And your mother will be the woman king.”

“Not exactly,” he said with a smile. “My mother is the queen regent. Her daughter is the woman king. Or she will be, once she turns twenty-one.” He laughed at the look of shock on my face. “That’s right, Nor. I have a little sister, Zoi. I haven’t gotten to meet her yet, but she’ll be here soon.”

I grinned, imagining a little girl with Talin’s eyes. “I can’t believe it.”

He reached for my hands and pulled me into his lap. “I know that taking Ceren’s life pains you, but you spared thousands of others,” he said quietly. “This queendom owes you everything. Will you stay here, Nor? With me?”

I stared at him for a moment, hardly daring to believe this was real. I was battered and bruised, weak from being trapped in the dungeon, the bleedings, and the weight of all my fear. But as he traced my jawline with his fingertips, the exhaustion and guilt began to melt away.

This time, I kissed him. His lips were warm and tender on mine, and each gentle touch seemed to heal the wounds the past weeks had left on me. His fingers found the bare skin under my tunic, leaving blazing trails wherever they explored. I freed his shirt from the waist of his breeches and sighed as I finally touched the hard muscles of his chest and back. I straddled him, wrapping my legs around his waist to bring him closer. He inhaled sharply and caught my lower lip gently between his teeth.

“Nor,” he said, his voice low.

I opened my eyes and found him staring at me, his hands cupping my face. He stroked the sensitive spot on my cheek with his thumb. I realized that I had forgotten the stain in my room, and I knew then I would never wear it again.

“I do want to be with you, Talin. But first I need to make sure my family is all right. Things were bad when I left, and they only got worse, according to Sami. Besides, who will tell them that Ceren is dead if I don’t go?”

He nodded. “I’ll take you. The port market is in two days.”

I couldn’t believe so much time had passed since I saw Sami, even though I had spent what felt like an eternity in that dungeon, weak and worthless while my family no doubt suffered.