Kingdom of Sea and Stone

by Mara Rutherford

  I should be angry with them, I knew. They had turned their backs on my family and nearly killed Sami. But despite everything... “I suppose I still want them to accept me.”

  Adriel was quiet for a long moment.

  I tucked in an errant sleeve on the folded tunic beside me and placed it on top of my small stack of clothing. “Adriel, I don’t want you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I just want you to know that I would love for you to join us, if you want to. If not, then I will hope we meet again, in this life or the next.”

  She glanced at Foxglove, who had returned to sunning himself in the window. “I can’t bring a cat on the road, Nor.”

  “No. I suppose not.”

  “I’ll ask one of my customers to look after him for me while I’m gone. Just promise me that you won’t leave me behind.”

  I leaped up, toppling my stack of folded clothing, and hugged her. “Never.”

  * * *

  We joined the rest of our traveling party at Fort Crag that evening. Roan seemed surprised to see Adriel with me, but he didn’t question it. There were eleven other Galethian soldiers, their mounts saddled and ready, waiting outside the fortress. Sami, still learning to ride, had been loaned Duster, who was so wide and cushiony that Sami said he felt more like a sofa than a horse.

  Roan looked powerful atop a stocky, muscular gelding with a golden coat, dark mane and tail, and a dark stripe down his back. I could tell immediately this was a special animal, one that seemed far more fitting for a commander than Duster ever had. I wondered if he rode Duster just to show that he didn’t need a fancy horse to be the best rider in his region.

  “I’d like to go over a few ground rules before we set out,” Roan said. “First, Nor, Zadie, Sami, and Adriel should be in the center of our group at all times. If I ever find one of them riding first or last, I’m going to make sure your next few days of riding are incredibly uncomfortable.”

  A few of the soldiers winced, as if they’d experienced the alluded-to punishment before and weren’t eager to try it again.

  “We will be walking and trotting for most of the journey. We’re not going for speed. This is about safety, first and foremost. I know, I know,” he said to the grumbling riders. “Not the most exciting. But we don’t know what to expect, what Ceren has planned, or even what the terrain will be like. Our mission is to see our guests safely through to the woman king’s camp, not to have an adventure.” He paused and grinned. “All right, I’m hoping for a little adventure along the way, too.”

  The soldiers whooped and cheered. It was clear they both respected and liked their leader, similar to the way Talin’s men regarded him. There were five female soldiers in the group and seven men including Roan. There didn’t seem to be any hierarchy among them. They trained, ate, and slept together. Most of the women had shaved heads or close-cropped hair, like the men. To avoid the spread of lice, Adriel told me. But it also made them look fierce; Varenian standards of beauty—grace, delicacy, softness—had no place here. These women were tanned and muscular, unadorned and rough around the edges. But the way they moved with their horses, as if they were one with the animal, was far more graceful than any curtsy I’d ever seen.

  One rider, a tall woman with short blond hair that matched her palomino’s mane almost perfectly, had found her way over to where Adriel and I stood.

  “You should take a saddle pad from the supply room before we go,” she said quietly to Adriel. “Your mare needs a riser to counterbalance her flat withers.”

  Adriel arched a dark eyebrow. “You think I don’t know what my mare needs?”

  “I can tell you’ve never ridden her for more than a few hours at a time,” the woman said, but there was nothing accusatory about her tone. She was merely stating the facts. “And I can tell you care for her and wouldn’t want her to suffer on our journey.”

  Adriel nodded. “Would you show me which one would work best?”

  The woman escorted Adriel to the tack room while the others made their final preparations.

  I mounted Titania, checking her girth one final time.

  “Are you nervous?” Roan asked, his gelding earning a skeptical eye from Titania.

  I cut him a similar glance. “About what?”

  “Getting back on the road. You have no idea what you’re facing.”

  “No,” I retorted. “But then, neither do you. Isn’t this your first time leaving Galeth?”

  We started filing down the mountain from the fortress to the pass that would lead us back into Ilara. According to the scouts, they hadn’t seen any of Ceren’s guards since the first night, but the archers would keep watch from the fortress until we were out of range. Then we were on our own.

  “I haven’t,” he admitted. “But there isn’t a man alive who can outride me.”

  “Ah, but what about a woman? I believe you said Yana was the best rider in Galeth.”

  He flashed one of his wry grins. “I haven’t challenged her in a while.”

  “Why did you really agree to come on this mission?” I asked. The border pass was just up ahead. Soon we would need to ride single file.

  “What if I said it was because I wanted to spend time alone with you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I would say you are a flirt and a liar.”

  He chuckled. “Fine. I volunteered because I don’t believe that Galeth should continue to cut itself off from the rest of the world the way it has. We would benefit from a safe continent with more open borders between countries.”

  “How?” I asked, my curiosity piqued. “It seems to me that most Galethians are very happy.”

  “We’re people just like you, Nor. Some are happy, some aren’t. And our strict borders don’t just keep foreigners out. They keep us in. I would like my children to see the rest of the continent someday, if they so choose.” He paused as if waiting for me to challenge him.

  “I agree with all of that. And I’m glad you’re joining us.”

  “Why?” he asked as his horse pulled ahead to lead the way. “Afraid you’d miss me?”

  “Hardly,” I said, driving Titania forward at the last second to cut him off before we entered the pass.

  “Thanks,” he called from behind me. “The view is much better from back here.”

  * * *

  We crossed the border without incident and soon found ourselves back on the road. The forest was dense on either side of the road, and Roan’s soldiers were extremely vigilant, surrounding us civilians to ensure we were in the middle of the herd. Zadie and I were pressed close together, which Titania wasn’t particularly fond of. Sami and Adriel, who both had slower-moving horses, had naturally fallen in line with each other and were talking behind us, too quiet to hear. I could see Roan’s dun up ahead. He was riding with the tall blonde, Shiloh, who appeared to be the second-in-command since Kester had remained behind at Fort Crag.

  We had gotten a late start, and the sun was already dipping below the trees. “When do you think we’ll make camp?” Zadie asked me. She was back in her riding clothes, her gowns and petticoats left behind.

  “Soon, I hope. We’re not in a hurry. I think Roan just wants to get beyond these trees.”

  Just as I finished speaking, I heard the sound of rushing air, followed by a startled grunt.

  Titania and Zadie’s mare were instantly on high alert, as were the rest of the horses. The riders pressed in closer around us, turning their backs to us and drawing their weapons. Some had swords, others crossbows.

  I glanced around, wondering if Sami and Adriel were all right, and saw an arrow sticking out of the thigh of one of the men closest to me. Beyond the grunt, he hadn’t made a noise.

  Zadie and I shared a horrified glance just as another arrow came flying through the air, landing at the feet of one of the other horses. It didn’t flinch, and neither did the rider.

 
“There,” someone called, pointing to the woods. Just as the riders had turned their attention to that place, a third arrow flew toward us, followed swiftly by a fourth and fifth.

  We were being ambushed. Roan whistled between his teeth, one long note followed by a short one, and the horses turned as if one animal and began galloping south. It happened so quickly I barely had time to gather my reins before we were flying down the road, more arrows than I could count whizzing overhead.

  “I thought they wanted you alive!” Zadie screamed. “What are they doing?”

  “I have no idea,” I shouted, stealing furtive glances behind me. Despite their laziness earlier, Adriel’s and Sami’s horses were having no problem keeping up with the herd. I saw an arrow pierce the flank of one of the horses, but it didn’t falter, even as blood began to seep from the wound.

  I looked farther back on the trail and saw a group of five or six guards clad in black armor. Ceren’s men. The arrows had ceased, with only a few having found their mark, but we were weighed down with more supplies and more riders, and the guards were gaining.

  “We’re not going to outrun them,” Zadie said, just as Roan whistled three times. The horses to our left came to an abrupt halt as the rest of us kept going. As I looked back, I saw that the Galethians had turned on their heels and were riding toward Ceren’s guards.

  I expected the Ilareans to fan out or turn around, as anyone would when faced with six Galethian war horses and an array of weaponry coming toward them at high speeds. But Ceren’s men rode straight ahead, colliding with the Galethian troops in a clash of horseflesh and swords.

  Roan whistled again and two more Galethians peeled off the back of our group to help their comrades. A moment later, Roan yanked his horse to a halt, and our mounts followed.

  “Surround the outsiders,” he ordered. There were only a few Galethians left, but they did it immediately, without hesitation. I had taken a short sword from the armory at Roan’s insistence, and I drew it now, though I had absolutely no idea how to fight with it.

  “Easy there,” Roan said to me as he brought his dun up beside Titania. “I don’t think you’re going to need to kill anyone just yet.”

  From where we stood, we could hear shouts and the sound of fighting, with the occasional scream from a horse that froze my blood.

  “Shouldn’t you help them?” I asked as more time passed and no one returned.

  “I trust my riders,” he said, though his jaw was tight and his own sword was drawn.

  Even though I knew the members of the Galethian cavalry could match any Ilarean guard under normal circumstances, I couldn’t help but worry. Ceren’s guards were fearless in the face of danger thanks to the bloodstones. They would mindlessly throw themselves off a cliff if Ceren commanded it. I scanned the woods, wondering where he was. If my theory was correct, Ceren couldn’t be far.

  A moment later, the first of the riders appeared, and I found myself breathing a sigh of enormous relief. The rest followed in quick succession, bloodied and battered but alive.

  I waited for Ceren’s guards, but the lead Galethian gave Roan a quick shake of his head. “We killed several, but the rest fled. We decided it wasn’t worth the chase.”

  “Did you search the bodies?”

  “Yes,” a rider said. “No bloodstones that we saw.”

  “That explains why the guards retreated,” I said, relieved that Ceren wasn’t controlling everyone around him with the bloodstones. “The good news is we know they aren’t nearly as loyal when they’re free to make their own decisions.”

  “The bad news is, Ceren isn’t following us,” Roan added.

  “Not yet, anyway.”

  “We can only hope those who escaped will tell him we crossed the border.” Roan dismounted and helped take stock of the injuries. Aside from the man who’d been shot in the leg, the horses were the only ones who had shed blood.

  “We should get off the road and set up a camp for the night,” Shiloh said. The sun was already below the treetops. “Adriel can tend to the wounded when we’re settled.”

  I glanced at the man with the arrow still protruding from his thigh. He wore thick leather breeches, so the arrowhead didn’t appear to have gone deep, but I could see Zadie going a little green around the gills at the sight.

  Roan nodded and sent several riders off into the forest to look for a camping spot. By the time a place had been settled on, it was completely dark, and exhaustion had replaced the adrenaline that had rushed through my bloodstream earlier.

  The horses were allowed to graze—they knew not to stray far—while we made camp. Zadie, Sami, and several of the Galethians began to prepare supper while others made the fire and scouted the area to make sure there were no more guards waiting to ambush us.

  “Care to help me?” Adriel asked. She had a satchel full of healing supplies slung over her arm.

  I nodded, grateful to have something to do. We approached the man with the arrow wound first, but he shook his head when he saw Adriel’s bag.

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re going to refuse treatment because I’m a—”

  “It’s not that,” he blurted. “I’d just rather you treat the horses first.”

  She blinked, clearly surprised by his request. “I’m not an expert in horse healing, but I promise I will check on the animals. First, however, we need to remove that arrow.”

  He was young, with shaggy brown hair and a crooked nose, and he seemed as intimidated by Adriel as I had been when we first met. “Yes, miss. Er, ma’am?”

  Adriel arched an eyebrow as she reached for a knife. “Call me Adriel. I’m going to need to cut off your breeches. Nor, I need boiled water and clean linens. I don’t think the wound is deep, but we’ll need to keep it well wrapped to prevent infection.”

  I watched in awe as she worked methodically, maintaining perfect composure even as she pulled the arrow out of the man’s flesh. He was remarkably stoic, but the arrow was designed to inflict damage on the way in and out. When I saw sweat breaking out on his forehead as Adriel doused the wound in alcohol and used a knife to widen the opening in his flesh, I held out my hand. He gripped it so hard I worried he might shatter the bones, but I could tell it helped to have something else to focus on.

  Afterward, when the wound had been cleaned and the soldier rested, we went to check on the injured horses. Adriel cleaned their scrapes and placed a salve on their wounds.

  “What is it made of?” I asked.

  She handed me the small pot so I could smell it. It had a strong herbal scent. “Calendula flower, for pain and swelling. It helps prevent infection, too. Comfrey, to stop the bleeding and aid the healing. Beeswax to bind it.”

  I studied her for a few minutes. She had a calming effect on the horses, I noticed. They lowered their noses to the ground as she ran her hands over their muscles, checking for soreness. When she’d finished, I followed her to the stream, where she rinsed off her hands and instruments.

  “Adriel,” I said, coming to sit beside her on a rock. “What you’re doing—healing, I mean—it isn’t magic, is it?”

  She glanced at me as she dried off her knives. “No, Nor. It isn’t.”

  “Then why do the Galethians call you a witch?”

  “Not everything I do is healing, although the vast majority of it is. You’ve seen the spells in that book of blood magic. That goes far beyond herbs and flowers.”

  “But you said you don’t do blood magic.”

  She pushed her dark hair off her face and leaned back against the rock. “I said I don’t like to do it.”

  “Then you know how?”

  She turned to face me, her eyes glittering in the moonlight. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you’re dealing with, Nor.”

  I nodded and reached for one of her clean blades. “I think it would be easier if I show you.
”

  20

  “What are you doing?” Adriel grabbed for the blade, trying to stop me, but I had already stepped out of her reach.

  “Don’t worry,” I said as I dragged the blade slowly across my forearm, doing my best not to wince at the sharp bite of pain. For the span of several heartbeats, I saw Ceren’s face, just like I had the time I caught my hand on the splinter, but it was gone before I could make out where he was or what he was doing.

  “Nor!” Adriel reached for one of her clean cloths and grabbed my arm, clamping the cloth onto the wound. “What were you thinking?”

  I shook my head to clear it. If it wasn’t just drinking my blood that brought about the visions—if I really could bring them on myself by bleeding—then I might have more control in this situation than I’d thought. “I’m fine,” I said to Adriel. “Go ahead and remove the cloth.”

  “I have to staunch the bleeding. Honestly, I would never have considered taking you on as an apprentice if I’d known how careless you are.”

  I placed my hand over hers until she looked up at me. “You were going to make me your apprentice?”

  She shook her head in annoyance. “I had considered it, yes. But now...”

  Gently, I pushed her hand aside. As the cloth moved, it wiped the blood away, revealing my already healed arm.

  Her eyes flashed to mine. “What is this?”

  I shrugged, unable to keep the lopsided grin from tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Magic.”

  “How?” She pulled my arm closer, struggling to see in the dark.

  “I’ll tell you everything. But first I need to know something.”

  She nodded, eyes still wide with surprise and fascination. “All right.”

  “If I asked you to do blood magic for me, would you?”

  She ran her fingers over my forearm where the cut had been. The skin was as smooth as if nothing had happened. “I don’t know, Nor. As far as I can tell, you’ve already dabbled in it yourself.”

  “I haven’t,” I assured her. “This came to me naturally, from a blood coral.” I told her about the incident when I was ten, how I’d cut my cheek on the blood coral saving Zadie. “No one ever understood why I can heal the way I do. As far as I know, no one else has sustained that kind of injury and survived, let alone gained powers from it.”