“Look at this next line,” she said, leaning closer to me. “‘Wearers linked by mind and soul; power gives but takes its toll.’”

I rubbed at my temples. “And?”

“Ceren controls the people who wear the bloodstones with his mind, correct?”

“We assume so.”

“But it’s taking a toll on him. It has to. No magic comes without cost, especially magic of that magnitude. His power is also his weakness.”

And in order to combat that weakness, he was drinking my blood. The fact that he had come after me could only mean he needed more. “Should we be focusing on Ceren instead of his guards?” I asked. “The mind controlling the body?”

She shrugged. “Perhaps?”

“But we can’t do that from here.”

“Can’t we?”

Before I could respond, we heard the pounding of hooves and looked beyond the field to the road.

Talin.

I rose to my feet, worry coursing through me as I waved at him. When Talin neared us, I ran forward to greet him the moment he dismounted. To my relief, he was smiling.

He picked me up by the waist and spun me around, then set me gently on my feet before looking me over from head to toe, like he was checking for injuries. His eyes flicked up to my hairline and a lopsided grin quirked his lips. “Pardon, Your Highness. I didn’t realize I was in the presence of royalty.” He bowed deeply, glancing up at me with twinkling eyes.

I laughed, completely having forgotten the daisy crown Adriel had made for me earlier that morning. “A fool’s mistake. How should I punish you?”

“Time away from you was surely punishment enough.” I glanced behind Talin to Grig, who had just reached us. “Grig wouldn’t let me travel alone,” he explained.

“Good man,” I said with a smile, waving to Grig. “But what are you doing here?”

“Your hunch was right, Nor. The Ilarean guards who died at the border had bloodstones.”

My pulse sped up. Finally, something useful. “They did? How did you find them?”

“One of the Galethians who had helped recover the bodies had the stones. Roan discovered them when he noticed the woman was acting strangely.”

I sucked in a breath. “No.”

“She didn’t know what they were, only that they appeared valuable. But Roan was furious.”

I could imagine that easily enough.

“What will happen to the woman who stole them?” Adriel asked.

Talin glanced at her, clearly uneasy. “I get the sense that if it’s up to Yana, she’ll be banished to Ilara.”

“What? Why?” I looked from Talin to Adriel.

“Yana doesn’t suffer fools, or traitors,” Adriel said.

I felt something inside of me grow cold. “What does ‘banished’ mean?”

“Sent south. She will never be allowed to live in Galeth again.”

I couldn’t judge too harshly. It was a better fate than Varenian banishment, and certainly better than being put to death, but after what had happened to Sami, I wasn’t sure if it was just, either. “Where are the stones?” I asked Talin.

“On the way to Leesbrook.”

“Roan could have brought them to me,” Adriel said. “He knows I don’t like going there.” She was mostly talking to herself, but Talin and I exchanged a glance. “Besides, the stones on their own aren’t much use. All this tells us is that Ceren is using the stones to control his men, which we already know.”

Talin shook his head. “That’s not entirely true. The Galethian with the stolen necklace seemed listless, half-asleep, just like the captured guard in Leesbrook. She didn’t struggle when Roan approached her, so he decided to try taking the necklace. Whatever hold the stone had on her was gone. It didn’t kill her. It was as if she woke up from a dream. She remembered nothing after she’d taken it.”

“Now we know what skin-deep means,” I said. Talin looked at me questioningly, and I explained Adriel’s book and the lines about bloodstones. “It seems that wearing the stone, having any kind of physical contact with it, causes the bond to form. Which means we can take it from the captured guard, and it won’t harm him. If anything, it will help him.”

“Exactly.”

I smiled at Adriel, but she didn’t seem as pleased with the news.

“When are we leaving?” she asked Talin.

“Immediately. Roan and the others already rode ahead. I stopped to collect the two of you.”

Adriel folded her arms across her chest. “Collect us? Like specimens?”

“I’m sorry?” Talin looked at me, clearly confused.

I shrugged, but Adriel only hitched her bag on her shoulder. “I need to go back to the cottage and leave a note for my patrons. I can catch up with you if you want to go with them, Nor.”

Talin smiled at me encouragingly, clearly eager to spend time with me, but I didn’t feel right leaving Adriel to finish up our work alone.

“You ride ahead,” I said to Talin. “We’ll be right behind you.”

I was relieved when he didn’t argue. “We’re meeting at the fort. I’ll see you soon.”

I kissed him lightly on the cheek and watched him ride back to the road leading to Leesbrook with Grig.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Adriel as we gathered our belongings. “This is a good thing. We might actually learn something useful about the bloodstones and Ceren’s goals.”

“You forget,” she said, mounting her mare. “I don’t actually care about Ceren or the bloodstones. Your prince’s cause is not my cause.”

I flinched, stung by her tone, but my hurt was quickly followed by anger. “None of you understand,” I said under my breath.

“Understand what?”

“Understand what’s at stake! If Ceren defeats Talia’s army, do you think he’ll just let the people he’s controlling go? Do you think he’ll let my parents go?” Hot tears pricked my eyes. “Ceren was close to stripping Varenia bare of pearls. He’ll take all the bloodstones he can, and if he finds something else he thinks will give him an advantage, he’ll take that, too. Everyone is so focused on their own concerns, they aren’t seeing the bigger picture.”

Adriel’s brow furrowed. “And what’s that?”

“Varenians are Ilareans, and Galethians are Varenians. The freedom of both groups depends on the other’s. Perhaps Ceren wasn’t willing to waste his men on breaching the Galethian border now, but once he has thousands of mindless soldiers? What will stop him then?”