Crown of Coral and Pearl

by Mara Rutherford

  I didn’t blush or cringe, as he’d no doubt hoped I would. “No.”

  “Here, let me cut your meat for you.” He came to stand behind me the way he had when he’d presented the bat pie. “I’m finding it especially tough this evening.”

  Something was definitely not right. I glanced at Talin out of the corner of my eye, but he looked as confused as I was. Then I heard the knife screech against the plate and felt a searing pain in my arm. I looked down to see a deep cut, already welling with blood.

  I was too shocked to speak, but Talin was on his feet immediately.

  “What have you done?” he asked Ceren as he clamped a napkin down on my forearm. “You clumsy—”

  “Calm down,” Ceren said coolly. “You’re in the presence of ladies. The knife slipped. I’ll take Zadie to have her arm bandaged.”

  “You’re not taking her anywhere,” Talin said, helping me to my feet.

  Ceren stepped in front of me, his gray eyes flashing with anger. “Keep your hands off my wife.”

  “She’s not your wife yet.” I’d never heard Talin so cold.

  Ceren lowered his voice to a growl. “Stand back, or I’ll have you put in the dungeon.”

  “Talin,” I said quietly. “I’m fine.”

  Ceren glanced between the two of us, and whatever he saw there only angered him further. He pushed me roughly toward the doors. I could feel the eyes of every lord and lady on us as he marched me out of the dining hall, one hand placed firmly on my back, the other still gripping the knife. He didn’t stop until we’d made it to his study, where he shoved me over the threshold and locked the door behind us.

  “Show me your arm,” he said before I’d even turned around. He ripped the bloody napkin off my skin. The wound was deep and hadn’t fully healed yet, but the bleeding had stopped.

  He grabbed my wrist and brought my arm closer to his face. I’d forgotten about his poor vision. “So the bastards weren’t lying,” he said. “I wondered how you managed to heal so quickly when Salandrin bit you. Does your arm hurt?”

  I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “Not anymore. Who told you?”

  “My fool guards. They couldn’t save you from the woman king’s men, apparently, but they did manage to catch this. How is this possible?” His eyes were wide and wild, and somehow the excitement on his face was more terrifying than his usually stony demeanor.

  My blood pulsed loudly in my ears. I had hoped to hide this truth from Ceren, at least. Now I’d made things even worse. “I don’t know. There was an...accident. When I was a child. Ever since then, I’ve been able to heal quickly.”

  “What kind of accident?”

  I hesitated, and Ceren stepped forward with the knife. “Don’t disgrace us both with lies, my lady.”

  I bit my lip, wondering how vague I could be. “It was a cut.”

  “From?”

  I had no hope of getting out of this with both my secret and my life, but I had to try. “A coral,” I said.

  “Not a normal coral, surely.” Ceren cocked his head, considering. “I’ve heard that the pearls get their healing properties from the blood coral.”

  I tried to keep my face impassive, but he already knew he’d hit the right line of questioning.

  “How bad of an injury can you sustain and still fully heal?”

  My blood went cold, and I took a step backward, in case he was hoping to find out. “I don’t know.”

  “Miraculous,” he repeated, still staring at my arm. “I wonder if it’s possible the coral entered your bloodstream. And now, whatever is in the coral that makes the Varenians so healthy and the pearls so potent...is inside you.”

  That had been the doctor’s theory, though how I’d survived the poison in the first place remained a mystery. I crossed my arms behind my back, hating the way he looked at my skin, like it was one of his inventions.

  He reached for a small silver knife and a dish. “I’ll need to collect some of your blood to test my theory.”

  I darted for the door, but Ceren held the keys up in front of him. “You’ll leave this room when I say you can.”

  I wanted to be brave, but my voice cracked as I leaned forward, hoping to reach the coral knife hidden beneath my skirts. “I’m begging you not to do this, Ceren.”

  He strode forward with his silver knife, and though the mountain may have weakened him, I knew in my heart that he was still much stronger than me. “Hold still, my lady,” he crooned, taking me by the throat. “This is going to hurt.”

  * * *

  Ceren filled five bowls with my blood that night. I gave up screaming after the first three gashes. By the time he was finished, I was too weak to struggle any longer.

  We were both covered in blood when Talin finally burst through the door, leaving it hanging on one hinge. I’d heard him pounding and yelling throughout the process, but his voice had seemed as far away as Varenia.

  “What did you do to her?” Talin demanded as Ceren scooped me up and shouldered past his brother into the corridor.

  “I needed samples of her blood.” He clucked his tongue at me. “She put up such a fuss.”

  Talin took in the bloody streaks and half-healed wounds as Ceren carried me past. He followed us all the way to my rooms, where Ceren laid me down on my bed with surprising care.

  “Come along, brother. My intended needs her rest.”

  Talin’s eyes hadn’t left mine. “I’m staying with her.”

  Ceren scoffed. “That’s out of the question.”

  Talin stepped forward until they were chest to chest, closer than I’d ever seen them. The contrast was startling. Talin was a finger or two shorter than Ceren, but his shoulders were broader, his muscles more developed. All of Ceren’s strength came from his singular devotion to one thing: power. He had no other weakness, nothing else he cared about enough to distract him.

  And Talin? What did he care about? My eyes were glazing as I slipped in and out of consciousness.

  “Whatever happened between the two of you on the journey is over,” Ceren said. “Zadie is mine.”

  “You don’t love her, Ceren.”

  He tossed his hair aside with a wry laugh. “Who said anything about love? If that girl’s blood can be passed on to our children, just imagine what it will mean for Ilara.”

  “You’re a monster,” Talin hissed.

  “And you’re a fool. Now leave. The girl needs her rest, and I’ll likely need more of her blood tomorrow.”

  Talin moved in front of the bed, blocking Ceren. “You won’t touch her again.”

  Ceren sneered. “Save your ire, brother. You’ll need it to bring down the man who attacked Zadie.”

  “What are you talking about?” Talin demanded.

  “We can’t let the woman king get away with something as heinous as attempting to assassinate the future queen. You leave tonight. Don’t come back until you’ve found the assassin.” Ceren turned to a guard outside my door. Where had he come from? “You, see to it that my bride doesn’t leave under any circumstances.”

  The rage on Talin’s face was the last thing I saw before I surrendered to the darkness.

  * * *

  I woke sometime in the middle of the night. My wounds had healed and the throbbing in my head was gone, but I was weak and thirsty. I changed into my riding breeches and one of my old tunics, then tucked the coral knife into the top of one leather boot, pausing every few minutes to rest. When I was dressed, I folded up a crude, hand-drawn map of the castle Ebb had made for me after I told her I got lost and clasped the pearl necklace from my parents around my neck. Finally, I pulled Sami’s green cloak over my shoulders.

  If I could make it to Old Castle, I could steal a horse and maybe, somehow, make it to the port. I would barter the pearls to a trader from the floating market for a ride to Varenia.

  I knew my
odds of escape were miniscule, but whether or not I made it home, there was nothing worse Ceren could do to the Varenians than what he would do once he learned about the blood coral and its connection to my people. And by staying here, I was just providing him with more blood for his experiments. At least this way I could warn them.

  I went to my door and cracked it open as quietly as I could. The guard was awake, probably on high alert thanks to Ceren. I hefted the heavy porcelain ewer from my washstand in my right hand, hidden by the door, and began to weep.

  The guard turned. “Milady? Are you hurt?”

  “I’m so sorry to disturb you,” I sobbed. “My arm is bleeding again, and I can’t stop it.”

  “I’ll fetch Prince Ceren,” he began, already taking a step toward the hall.

  “No,” I said, pretending to cry harder. “I’m afraid I’m going to faint.”

  He glanced over his shoulder once, clearly worried about disobeying Ceren, but turned back to me. “Don’t worry, milady. I’ll help you.”

  I’d never intentionally hurt anyone before, and this was a man who was offering to help me. But I couldn’t let one guard stand between Varenia and me. As soon as he was through the door, I brought the ewer crashing down on the back of his head. He grunted as he slumped forward, and I hit him again for good measure.

  Once I was sure he was unconscious, I dropped the ewer and slid into the hallway. There would be other guards on the way to the servants’ entrance in the base of the mountain, and I told myself I was prepared to use my knife if I had to. Fortunately, it was the night of the new moon, and the lanterns were so dim I could barely see. If I was careful, I might be able to make it through the corridors undetected.

  I didn’t have time for detours, but I was fortunate that the portrait gallery was on my way. I wanted to say goodbye to Zadie, just in case I didn’t make it back to Varenia. The possibility was more real than I wanted to admit. The guard at the entrance was asleep, and I skirted past him, pausing just long enough to press my fingers to my lips, then onto Zadie’s perfect painted mouth. The guard on the other end of the gallery was slumped against the wall. I noted the jug near his feet and thanked the gods for potent Ilarean wine.

  I moved closer, my back pressed to the wall. The knife was a last resort. One cut with the coral blade would be lethal, and in my heart, I knew I didn’t want the weight of a man’s life on my conscience. As I inched nearer to the guard, I made a deliberate effort to slow my breathing and heart rate, the way I would before a dive. I needed my wits about me now.

  I took one last look at the guard to make sure he was truly passed out and darted forward, my feet barely touching the ground as I ran. And then I was past him, in another corridor, and I almost laughed with relief.

  “Going somewhere?”

  My blood froze in my veins as I turned toward Ceren’s voice. The drunk guard leaning against the wall straightened, and his black and red cloak fell back, revealing the prince’s pale face. He wore a castle guard’s uniform: leather armor beneath a heavy cloak, worn to keep out the chill of the damp halls at night.

  “Ceren,” I said, my mouth dry. “What are you doing here?”

  “I know you better than you think. I didn’t expect you to willingly remain in this castle knowing what I’m going to do to you. I also know how much you love to visit this portrait gallery, staring at your own picture.”

  My heart was like a caged animal clawing at the walls of my chest. I thought fleetingly of lying, saying that I’d needed to stretch my legs, but Ceren was too shrewd, and I was too exhausted. “I can’t stay here anymore. Not like this.”

  “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. Not if you don’t want your family to suffer the consequences. And next time, it won’t be just their water supply that gets cut off.” He stepped toward me, even more imposing in the leather armor. “I know you’re not who you claim to be.”

  I clenched my jaw to keep it from trembling. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  He closed the space between us and raised a finger to his lips. His tongue darted out as he licked his fingertip. When I balked, he grabbed me with his other hand, pressing the finger against my cheekbone and rubbing in a small circle. He held the stained tip up to my eyes.

  “Your governor is a fool, but not so foolish that he would send a damaged girl to me. Not without good reason.”

  Not damaged, I thought. Stronger. “It’s not what you think.”

  He cocked his head in mock confusion. “So you didn’t come in place of your injured twin sister? Odd, that’s not what my emissary told me when he returned from Varenia.”

  He couldn’t mean his brother. Talin would never betray me like that. “What emissary?”

  “The one I sent to deliver your bride price, after you told me how difficult things were for your family. Imagine his surprise when he discovered a girl who looked just like you, responding to your name, when he went to your family’s house. Your parents tried to cover for you, but when the emissary offered the bride price to anyone willing to share the truth, it spilled out like fish guts.”

  I didn’t blame the others for talking. They were half starved, and they believed I’d brought their misfortune upon them. “What difference does it make to you?” I asked. “My scar won’t prevent me from giving you what you want.”

  He grabbed my arms and yanked me to his chest. “I warned you to stay away from my brother.”

  I struggled against him. I should have gone for my knife when I’d had the chance. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  But even as I asked, I knew. His silver eyes were full of the same pain and shame I’d seen that day at the lake. He didn’t just want an heir to the throne. He wanted me to choose him over Talin, even after everything he’d done to me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and I was. Not about my feelings for Talin, or for doing everything I could to help my people. But I had never set out to cause him pain. Somewhere inside Ceren was a boy who only wanted to be loved. Unfortunately, the people who had convinced him he was unlovable had also ensured that he would be.

  He looked momentarily taken aback. “You know, I believe you truly do mean that,” he said. “But I’m afraid I can’t let you leave. Not after the crimes you’ve committed.”

  “Crimes?”

  His expression turned sly. “In addition to betraying the crown by posing as your sister, there’s the dead guard.”

  “What dead guard?” A wave of guilt flooded through me. Had I accidentally killed the man outside my room with the ewer?

  Ceren jerked his head toward the man at the entrance to the gallery. “I slit his throat just minutes before you arrived.”

  I knew Ceren was a murderer, but to hear him admit to it so callously made my stomach roil. “So what’s your plan, then? Are you going to have me killed?” I was still so weak from the bleedings, but I bucked against him, desperate to get to my knife.

  He chuckled softly. “You’re worth far more to me alive. But now I have a good reason to keep you locked up. I suppose I should thank you for trying to escape, really.” He twisted my arm and whirled me around so that my back was to him, then grabbed my other arm and wrapped something hard and cold around my wrists.

  I cried out when he wound his fingers in my braid and yanked my head back, his breath hot against my neck, his smooth cheek pressed to mine. “Nor,” he purred, his tongue curling around the r in the perfect imitation of a Varenian accent. “I always knew you were special. From the moment you defied me in my chambers. Maybe since the moment I felt your heart beating beneath my fingertips.” He brought his right hand up to the center of my chest, as he had the first day I met him. Coming from him, the word special didn’t feel like a compliment.

  “I prayed to the gods for a queen who would be the salvation of Ilara by strengthening our bloodlines,” he whispered in my ear. “I never dared to hope you
might be my salvation as well.”

  31

  As the metal door to my cell clanged shut, Ceren’s face appeared briefly between the bars, his skin a sinister green in the foxfire torchlight. “I’ll be back tomorrow for more blood. Try to get some rest before then.”

  The dungeons were deep in the mountain, not far from the entrance to the underground lake where the monster, Salandrin, had lived. As he’d dragged me down to my cell, Ceren had explained why the corridors down here were so narrow and cramped. They were part of the original bloodstone mine, before Queen Ebbeela had it flooded to stop the wars. The royal crypt was down another tunnel nearby, and if I breathed too deeply, I swore I could smell the stench of decay wafting into my cell.

  One of the two guards on duty had patted me down for weapons, but he’d been too focused on my breasts and hips to check in my boots, which meant I still had the knife. I knew I would only have one chance of escape, so I waited, hoping an opportunity would present itself.

  I slept fitfully on the straw covering the floor of the cell. The dungeon appeared to be mostly empty, though I’d heard coughing and moaning coming from a few other cells as Ceren led me to mine.

  He came for me hours later in what I assumed was the morning, although there was no natural light here, or even any lunar moss, to confirm my guess. I had hoped he would take me back up to his study to bleed me, but the satchel he carried when he entered my cell made it clear I would be staying in the dungeon.

  He crouched down next to me in the straw, carefully laying out his instruments. “I’ll have some food and water brought,” he said, though without any pity or compassion. “And a change of clothes, if you’d like them.”

  I didn’t say anything, just remained tucked into my corner. I was too weak to fight him off, and if I was going to escape, I needed to save my strength.

  “I wasn’t able to learn anything useful yesterday, unfortunately, but I think fresh blood will help. I’ll be making a trip to Varenia myself soon, to collect some of the coral. I thought I might check in on your sister while I’m there. Just to see how she’s doing in your absence.”