Kingdom of Sea and Stone

Another rider appeared, then a third. Soon, they had filled the road behind us. I stopped Titania and turned her around. Two guards lay dead in the road. I squinted to see if more would come, but only one rider came forward, slowly.

Ceren sat on a pitch-black horse, its coat providing a stark contrast to his pale skin and hair, as did his black armor and that dark metal circlet inset with gems atop his head. The red stones seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight. He looked larger than I remembered, his shoulders broader than his brother’s now, and there was color in his cheeks and lips.

He wouldn’t come closer. That much was clear. From this angle, I could see the Galethians scattered across the mountain, all clad in gray and mounted on gray horses to blend in with the terrain. At least a dozen crossbows were trained on Ceren.

Talin had ridden ahead and disappeared around a curve in the trail. The Galethians had started to fill in the road behind me, riding backward with their bows still aimed at Ceren’s heart. And still he sat impassively below the mountain, staring at me as if to say that he would see me again soon.

Titania snorted and stamped a hoof, breaking the spell, and Ceren turned away, leaving his dead guards behind to rot.

10



The Galethian riders surrounded our party without a word, escorting us the rest of the way up the mountain and down the other side. I was relieved to see that it was not the start of a mountain range, but instead the entrance to a wide valley that stretched as far as I could see, at least in the dark. The Galethians were like ghosts beside us, absolutely silent due to their lack of tack of any kind: no bridles, no saddles. The men and women were all dressed the same, in gray tunics and leather trousers. But though it was clear we were under their guard, they didn’t keep their crossbows aimed at us, and I felt safer than I had in ages. Even Ceren didn’t dare attack these people.

We crossed the lush valley single file. I could make out the shapes of horses in the dark, grazing. Behind us, on the mountaintop, was a stone fortress, but we were moving away from it. If I squinted, I could make out tiny twinkling lights scattered far ahead of us. Houses on a hillside, from the look of it.

“Where are you taking us?” Talin asked finally.

“To bed,” one of the women said, her tone as dry as sun-bleached fish bones.

Talin coughed. “Excuse me?”

A moment later, all of the riders burst out laughing. Even Osius snickered.

The woman responded to Talin when everyone had settled down. “You’ll stay in a cottage for the night. It’s late, and we’re all tired. In the morning we’ll take you to the fortress to meet our commander.”

“I see,” Talin said flatly. I shared his confusion, but I was so delighted by the idea of staying in an actual house that I nearly wept in relief.

Several of the riders broke off as we approached a hillside, apparently returning to their own homes, until the woman who had spoken was the last one to remain. She led us up to the front of a little stone cottage lit with lanterns on the outside. A stone barn stood off to one side.

“You’ll sleep here tonight,” she said. “There is hay for your horses.” She looked at Titania, then me. “Tomorrow you can explain how you ended up with Landrey’s horse.”

“I—What?”

She ignored the confused look on my face. “My name is Kester, by the way. I’ll be back at dawn to collect you.”

When she was gone, we all shared incredulous looks and dismounted.

“I don’t understand,” Zadie said. “Why are they treating us so well?”

Talin shook his head. “My only guess is they saw the flag from the kite seller and decided we must be friends. I suppose we’ll have to wait till morning to find out for certain. Nor and I will take the horses. Zadie, if you wouldn’t mind seeing if there’s anything to eat? Grig, tend to the fire. Osius, make sure the house is secure.”

The men nodded and set out to begin their tasks. I led Titania and Osius’s gelding toward the barn. It was as tidy and cozy as the cottage itself. I removed Titania’s saddle and bridle, patting her damp neck. “Welcome home,” I whispered in her ear. “No wonder you’re so perfect.”

“It does make sense,” Talin said, untacking the other horses and leading them into the small stalls. It was the first night the horses had had fresh hay since we left the port, and they all eagerly buried their noses in the piles.

I took a seat on a low bench, stretching my aching legs. “They’ll probably make me give her back to this Landrey, won’t they?”

“We’ll get you another horse.”

“Not one like Titania,” I pouted. I had never developed a bond with an animal before, and her large, warm presence had become an unexpected reassurance during our journey.

Talin sat next to me and lowered his head into his hands. “I still can’t believe my brother came all the way to the Galethian border. I know he despises me, but I didn’t think he was foolish enough to abandon New Castle for so long.”

After seeing Ceren take the Varenians prisoner, I had believed I was no longer his target. But I couldn’t deny that the visions and dreams had taken on a new meaning, now that I knew he had tracked us here. I should have told Talin sooner, but how could I explain something I didn’t understand myself?

I took a deep breath and released it heavily. “I don’t think your brother came for you.”

“You think he came for you? But why...” His furrowed brow rose slowly in understanding. “You mean you still think he wants your blood?”

I nodded.

Talin considered for a moment. “But why does he need more of it? He’s healthy, isn’t he?”

He had certainly looked healthy, and the fact that he had chased us after capturing the Varenians meant he was stronger than we had imagined. “I don’t know. But the day you came to Varenia, when you lost me in the water? I had some kind of vision. I thought it was a dream or a hallucination, but there was blood on Ceren’s mouth, and I think... I think he could see me, too.”

Talin stared at me for a moment. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I. There was another time, before you arrived in Varenia, when I cut my hand on a splinter, and for a moment I thought Ceren was right there with me. And then I’ve had nightmares while we’ve been traveling, and they always seem so real.”

He cupped my face in his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me about your suspicions, Nor?”

“I thought it was just a result of my experiences in New Castle. I thought it was normal to have nightmares after something like that.” And I didn’t want to believe that I was somehow linked to the man who had caused me so much pain and suffering.