Kingdom of Sea and Stone

As I assured him for the tenth time that I was fine, my eyes snagged on a small figure standing among the horses, her pale skin and hair luminous in the darkness. She stepped forward, her sky-blue eyes welling with tears.

I was having another vision, I thought wildly. It was the only explanation for why my former lady’s maid from New Castle could possibly be standing in front of me.

I rubbed my eyes and she was still there, and then I was running into her arms, crying and laughing. “Is it really you, Ebb?” I asked, holding her thin shoulders in my hands.

“It’s really me. And thank the gods I’m here,” she said, taking in my disheveled hair and torn skirts. “You’re clearly in desperate need of my help.”

22



Roan apologized for leaving us in Riaga, but I was grateful we’d split up in the end. If we had all stayed at the inn, Ebb might not have found us. Our party ventured farther into the woods, away from Riaga, to set up camp for the night. Ebb and I sat together on a fallen log a short distance from the others.

“How did you make it here?” I asked as I passed her my waterskin.

Ebb thanked me and took a long drink. “After Ceren returned from Varenia, I questioned the other servants to see if any of them had seen you. Only a few of us were allowed near your people—they’re being kept in the caves closest to the mine. No one had seen a set of identical twins among the captured. I couldn’t just sit by wondering where you were, so I snuck out in a wagon of dirty linens.”

“Do you know how the Varenians are doing?” Zadie asked.

Ebb frowned. “I don’t. Your guess was correct though,” she said to me. “Grig told me you thought he was using your people to mine the bloodstones.”

It wasn’t a surprise, but the thought of my parents being forced to dive repeatedly in the freezing underground lake reignited my fury toward Ceren.

“Many of the nobles left when Ceren recovered from his injuries, knowing war was on the horizon.” Her features twisted in disgust. “He promised wealth and power to any who stayed. Those who did were given bloodstones that they fashioned into rings and necklaces, not realizing they would be under Ceren’s control as soon as they put the jewelry on.”

“He’s enslaving the nobility, too?” I asked.

Ebb nodded. “He’s even done it to some of the servants. It’s like a castle full of ghosts. The only people who aren’t under his control are his war council and those too far below his notice to bother with.”

New Castle had always been full of ghosts. I shuddered at the thought of those dark halls, made even more haunted by the presence of mindless royals. “Lady Hyacinth?” I asked, remembering the cold woman who had been a part of the war council when I was at New Castle. She was young and beautiful, using her charms to act the coquette one minute, while silently plotting against you the next. She had no doubt been a part of the capture of my people.

“She heads the war council. Some say she’s in love with Ceren.”

I scoffed. “Good luck to her, then.”

Ebb took my hand. “He’s been looking for you, Nor. When I crossed the river to reach Queen Talia’s camp, the border was crawling with Ilarean soldiers.”

After this last vision, Ceren definitely knew where I was. The only question was whether he’d risk coming out to get me. “What were you doing at Talia’s camp?”

“I was hoping to find Grig,” she said, blushing. “I thought that if he and Talin were still alive, that’s where they would have gone, and they were the most likely to know what had become of you.”

“And?” I asked anxiously. If Ceren had never left New Castle, Talin would have ridden south to his mother, unless something had happened to him.

“I found them,” she said, smiling, and relief flooded through me. “Talin couldn’t leave the camp, but he said you and the Galethians might be passing through. He sent a soldier with me to intercept you.” She gestured to the stranger standing a few meters behind us.

I embraced her again. “Thank you for looking for me. It must have been terrifying.”

“Fortunately, the soldiers and mercenaries aren’t conscripting or capturing people like me. I’m clearly too weak to fight.”

She did look weak, I had to admit. Perhaps it was just that I’d gotten stronger since I’d seen her last, but her arms were as thin as branch coral, and there were purple smudges below her eyes.

“What about your brother?” I asked. He’d been a prisoner in New Castle since before I had arrived.

Ebb bowed her head like a wilted flower. “He’s still in the dungeon as far as I know. The alternative is too grim to consider.”

“We’ll rescue him when we free the Varenians,” I said hopefully.

A shadow passed over her pale eyes. “I wish it were going to be possible, Nor, but I don’t see how. All the secret routes the servants used to get around the castle have been cut off. The passage you escaped through was sealed up after the bloodstones were extracted. You might be able to smuggle in one or two people the way I escaped, but Ceren is surrounded by guards at every moment. As long as he lives, you’ll never defeat his army.”

Seeing the utter hopelessness on her face made my stomach twist with unease, but I did my best to hide it. I made my way to where the horses were grazing. Titania’s black coat was difficult to see in the dark, but she whickered when she heard me approaching.

“There you are, girl,” I said, handing her a small lump of sugar I’d pocketed back at the inn. “I missed you.”

“She missed you, too.” Roan stepped out from behind his gelding, materializing like a wraith in the dark. “Apologies if I startled you. I was just checking Kosmos’s hoof. He bruised it earlier.”

“Hello, Roan. I figured you’d be here when I didn’t see you at the campfire.”

He came to stand beside me as I ran my hands over Titania’s legs, checking for any heat or injuries.

“I really am sorry,” he said after the silence began to grow uncomfortable. “I shouldn’t have left you alone in Galeth. It was foolish of me.”

I straightened to look at him. “You couldn’t have known. Besides, you didn’t have a choice.”

His profile was even sharper in the moonlight, as if he’d been carved from stone. “There is always a choice.”

I scratched behind Titania’s ears. “And what will you choose now? We’re almost to Talia’s camp. You can head back to Galeth at any time.”

“I thought we might meet with this woman king,” he said. “Or girl king, as the case may be.”