“You’ll have to take it to her yourself. I won’t serve a flea-ridden horse lover.”
I was about to say something when Adriel cut me off with a sharp look. “Don’t get involved,” she said when the woman had gone. “It’s better not to call attention to ourselves. The innkeeper might call the guards.” She pointed to the room on the left. “Nor and I will take this room. We can reconvene when we’ve all bathed and rested a bit.”
The bathroom, it turned out, consisted of one metal tub filled with tepid water that had a brownish tinge to it even before I got in. But it was the first time my entire body had been immersed in water since I left Varenia, and I was grateful. I scrubbed the filth off my skin with the bar of soap provided by the innkeeper, then worked it through my long hair, which had been braided throughout the journey to keep it from getting tangled.
When I’d finished, I changed into my last remaining clean item, the dress Talin had purchased for me from the Riaga tailor before we went to Galeth. It felt strange to wear a gown again after spending so long in trousers, and the corset felt restrictive even though it lacked the boning that my New Castle gowns had.
When I returned to our room, Adriel sat up on the bed and smiled. “I’d forgotten what you looked like under all that dirt.”
“Me, too.” I dug a comb out of my bag, then began the long, tedious task of combing my hair. I was tempted to ask Zadie for help, but she and Sami hadn’t had a moment alone together in a week.
“Let me,” Adriel said, sitting behind me on the bed. She soaked up the remaining moisture from my hair with a towel and began to comb gently from the bottom. “Soon you’ll be walking on your hair if you’re not careful,” she said. “I could cut it for you, if you like.”
“I’ve never cut my hair,” I admitted. “Neither has Zadie.”
“Then I’d say you’re about fifteen years overdue.”
I chuckled. “Mother said long hair was a sign of femininity. The longer we grew it, the more alluring we’d be.”
“Nonsense,” Adriel said. “Shiloh’s hair barely reaches her ears, and I’d say she’s plenty alluring.”
I turned to glance at her. “Really?”
“It’s not about hair, Nor.”
I shrugged. “I know. But it’s hard to let go of something that was ingrained in me from infancy.”
“And you wonder why you still want acceptance from the Varenians? You’ve tried so hard to escape that way of thinking, but it still controls you subconsciously. Real beauty can’t be painted on with cosmetics or pinned up onto your head. I know you know that.”
I remembered what Zadie had told me before I left for Varenia, how it was my inner strength that made me beautiful. But maybe Adriel was right. Maybe, deep down, I hadn’t let go of all the stupid rules I’d spent so many years trying to break.
“I like my hair,” I said finally. “Even if it’s because some part of me believes it’s feminine, or because it’s the same as Zadie’s. I don’t want to cut it.”
“Good,” Adriel said. “I like it, too. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a bath myself before this dirt decides it’s happy where it is and chooses to take up permanent residence.”
* * *
The innkeeper’s idea of supper turned out to be a thin soup that looked frighteningly similar to the bathwater.
“That will be another of those gold coins,” she said, setting a tray down on the wobbly and suspiciously sticky table in our room.
Adriel and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
The innkeeper sniffed and looked down her crooked nose at us as if gravely offended. “You’re lucky I took you in at all. No one else in this city is open-minded as I am. I could report you just for being on land,” she added, looking directly at me.
“What?” I asked, my stomach twisting.
“I know who you are.” She lifted her pointy chin with an impressive degree of imperiousness. “And I know what you are.”
The blood drained from my face. There was nothing about my appearance that marked me as a Varenian, which meant Ceren must have put the word out about us. “What do you want?”
“Coin,” she said with a gap-toothed sneer. “Or I’ll call the king’s guard myself.”
“Do it,” Adriel whispered to me.
I removed the small coin purse from my waist and handed it to the woman, who hefted it greedily. “Enjoy your dinner,” she said and closed the door behind her.
“We have to leave,” I said the moment she was gone. “I don’t trust that the innkeeper won’t call the guard anyway. Not if there’s any kind of reward involved.”
Adriel was already stuffing her belongings back into her bag. “I’ll finish packing. Get Zadie and Samiel.”
I nodded and opened the door a crack, listening. The only sounds were coming from the common area downstairs, along with a faint creaking from one of the rooms down the hall. I darted out and knocked briskly on my sister’s door.
There was no answer. Heart pounding, I tried the door and found it locked. “Zadie,” I hissed. “Open up.”
I was just beginning to panic when the door opened to reveal a shirtless Sami, blinking sleepily. He scratched at his bare torso. “What is it? We just fell asleep.”
“The innkeeper knows who we are,” I said, pushing past him. “We have to go, now.”
Zadie sat up. She was clad in only her shift, her hair in loose waves around her. “What’s wrong, Nor?”
“Just get dressed and meet us in the alley behind the inn. Quickly.”
I returned to my room and grabbed my pack, motioning for Adriel to hurry. “We’re meeting them in the alley. Let’s go.”
We made our way down the stairs slowly, but they groaned beneath us anyway. Fortunately, whatever was happening in the common room seemed to be wildly entertaining, judging by the whoops and howls of laughter.
I pulled my cloak up over my head and opened the front door of the inn, peeking outside. People were going about their business in the fading daylight. There was no sign of Ceren or his guards.
“Come on,” I said, waving Adriel behind me. I glanced around, looking for Shiloh. She was leaning against her horse to the side of the building, smoking a pipe. When she saw Adriel and me, she straightened immediately.
“What are you doing out here?”
“The innkeeper knows who I am,” I said. “We need to head for the woods.”
Shiloh nodded. “I’ll get the horses and meet you there. You should get moving. It might take me a while.”
“Thank you.” I took Adriel’s hand and headed back into the alley. Straight into one of Ceren’s guards.
I would have known he was one of Ceren’s even without the black armor and the bloodstone hanging from the chain around his neck. He had that same dazed, stupefied look in his eyes as the captive in Galeth. But the moment he saw me, his pupils shrunk to pinpricks in his blue eyes, as if some part of his brain had just activated.
“Halt in the name of the king,” the guard said, but Adriel and I had already turned back and were moving toward the front of the inn. I heard the man shout something behind us, and another guard stepped out from a shop, his eyes finding mine instantly.
“Thalos,” I breathed. “Where are Sami and Zadie?”
“I’ll wait for them,” Adriel said. “You should go.”
“We are not splitting up.”
“Yes, we are.” She shoved me aside as the guard’s pace quickened toward us.
“Halt in the name of the king,” the men said in unison, one in front and one behind.
“I’ll catch up,” Adriel shouted as I broke into a run, heading into the streets of Riaga.
I had no idea where I was, and I couldn’t have been dressed worse for the occasion. My stride was restricted by my skirts, and the corset made it difficult to fill my lungs
. The streets were less crowded than they’d been earlier, but no one moved out of my path as I tore past the shops and stalls where merchants were hoping to sell off the last of their goods.
“Stop her,” the guards called from behind me. Fortunately, no one seemed to understand they were referring to me until I was past them, and I was small enough to slip through cracks they couldn’t.
But they were gaining regardless, and my breaths were coming in ragged gasps, the way they had when I ran from New Castle. Memories of that night were the last thing I needed. Desperate, I ducked into an alleyway, hoping my pursuers hadn’t seen me turn and I could catch my breath for a few moments.
I realized quickly I’d stumbled upon the back of a blacksmith’s shop. I could hear hammering from somewhere on the other side of the building. My knife was strapped to my thigh, and I started to lift my skirts when the end of the alley darkened with shadows.
“Halt in the name of the king!” the guards said, their voices eerily identical.
I cursed and dropped my hem, reaching into a pile of metal scraps for a hatchet with a crooked handle. I hefted it in front of me, knowing I had no chance against two fully grown men but refusing to go down without a fight. I had hurt someone before, and I would do it again if I had to.
Ceren wouldn’t have told them to kill me, I thought desperately as the nearest man grabbed me. I struggled in his grip, but one of his hands was on my throat in seconds, causing me to drop the hatchet. He pushed me up against the wall, and as I scrabbled at the fingers around my neck, he brought up a knife with his free hand. I felt the bite of steel against my chin, felt my blood seep out from the wound.
There was a blinding flash of light that made my stomach churn, and then everything around me faded, and I was staring at Ceren.
He recognized me immediately this time. “Nor.”
“Call off your men!” I gasped.
His brows knit in confusion, and then I saw the bloodstones on the chain around his neck begin to pulsate with light. He wasn’t in his study from what I could see, and there was no vial of blood nearby. His face was paler than the last time I’d seen him, with dark circles beneath his eyes. Somewhere far away, I felt the steel bite further into my skin.
Help me! I screamed silently before I was wrenched out of the vision by the pain at my throat. My hands flew up to my neck, slick with blood, and I had the terrible thought that this wound was too deep for my healing magic. I watched wide-eyed as the bloodstone at the man’s throat pulsed like a heartbeat, and his pupils dilated rapidly, the black swallowing the blue.
He released me so suddenly I fell to my knees. I fumbled for the hatchet I’d dropped, but the guards were already turning on their heels. They walked slowly out of the alley, as if I wasn’t even there.
I gasped for air, still clutching at my bleeding neck, and attempted to stand, but my legs were too weak to support me.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard footsteps approaching.
“Nor!” Zadie was at my side, gently brushing my hair away from my neck. I could feel the wound healing, but it was deep enough that it hadn’t stopped bleeding yet. “We saw the guards come out of the alley. What happened?”
“Ceren called them off,” I croaked.
Sami’s strong hands were beneath my arms, helping me to my feet. “Why would he do that?”
“They would have killed me if he hadn’t intervened, and Ceren wants me alive.” But why hadn’t he ordered them to capture me instead? All I could think of was how sickly he’d looked, how bone-weary. It must be incredibly taxing to control an entire army with his mind, particularly with men spread out all over Ilara.
Zadie pulled me into a hug. “It’s okay. We’re here now.”
“Let me look at her,” Adriel said.
I peered behind Zadie at the sound of her voice. “Thank Thalos you found each other. Where’s Shiloh?”
Adriel was examining my neck for bruising, but the pain had subsided considerably. “Hopefully waiting for us in the woods with the horses. Are you all right?”
I nodded, though my tears hadn’t dried. I hated how vulnerable I’d been against those men, even armed.
With Sami next to me for support, we made it out of Riaga without incident and found Shiloh waiting for us on the edge of the woods, along with the rest of the Galethians. By now I had fully healed, though that didn’t stop Roan from asking us a dozen questions about our encounter with the guards.
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.”
Kingdom of Sea and Stone Page 19