Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,10
been to marry him or die. “Is he coming after me?”
“I imagine he will, eventually. He’s too busy preparing in case my mother decides to mobilize her army again.”
I nodded, but I was lost. What was I going to tell Governor Kristos? What was he going to tell the council?
“Why did you come here?” I asked. “Why didn’t you join your mother and sister? You could have had an entire army between you and your brother.”
“I had to warn you about Ceren. And I can’t go to my mother yet, not without reinforcements. Her army is large, but it’s not skilled enough to mount an attack on New Castle.” He took my hands in his, running his thumbs along my skin. “Besides, I needed to see you again.”
I couldn’t help smiling at that. “I’m not happy that you put yourself at risk, but I suppose I can’t be mad at you, either.”
His grip tightened. “Will you come with me, Nor?”
I blinked at the urgency of his request. “What?”
“I know you just got back, but we shouldn’t stay in Varenia. It’s not safe for either of us, and I fear by remaining here, you could put your family in danger as well. We’ll find more troops and join my mother in the south.”
I had already been preparing myself to leave Varenia to look for Sami, but only because I believed my family would be safe and I would be able to go on land without fear of reprisal. With Ceren alive, I no longer had those assurances. My heart began to race as my ribs constricted around my lungs, making it a struggle to draw a full breath. No matter what I did, the people I loved would be in danger. “Gods, this is impossible!”
“I know things look dire right now, but we’ll think of something. Together.” Talin pulled me closer, but even though I knew the gesture was intended to be comforting, I found myself more desperate for release.
I shrugged him off as delicately as I could. “I just...need a moment,” I panted, and without another word, I plunged off the side of the boat.
The cold water helped immediately. Within a few seconds, my heart rate slowed as my body instinctively prepared for a dive, and my thoughts began to settle. Talin was right. We’d figure out a way to fix things, together.
I had just closed my eyes to rest for a few more moments when a strange light flashed across my vision. I opened my eyes, afraid lightning had struck the water, but the ocean was gone. I was staring at a man wearing a dark metal crown studded with red stones. He was facing away from me, but I would have recognized his long white-blond hair anywhere. Ceren.
He was in his study, surrounded by vials and flasks. Slowly, he turned toward me, until I was looking directly at his face. His gray eyes widened, almost as if he was seeing me, too. And then I saw the blood on his pale mouth.
I gasped, inhaling seawater, and the vision vanished. I raced toward the sunlight above me, sputtering as I broke free of the surface.
I reached for the boat as I retched up water and bile, but my hands met empty air. The untethered boat must have drifted while I was under. I spun in a slow circle, trying to get my head above the waves, but I couldn’t see Talin anywhere. I ducked back under for a better view, and that was when the first hint of panic crept in. There was no sign of the boat anywhere.
“Talin!” I shouted when I resurfaced, even though I knew how easily sound could be lost on the water. Talin wouldn’t have left me. The idea was absurd. I must have drifted farther than I realized. The vision had only seemed to last a few seconds, but it could have been much longer.
“Talin!” I called again. There was nothing out here, no way to orient myself. Treading water seemed safer than trying to swim toward a boat that could be anywhere. Talin would have a better idea of where I’d gone than I did.
Unless he wasn’t looking for me.
Unease tugged at the corners of my mind. What if Talin hadn’t come to Varenia just to be with me? What if he hated me for allowing Ceren to live, twice? What if he thought my blood was the reason his mother was still in exile, rather than on her throne?