Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,118
a network of followers who were willing to risk their lives for her. True, not all her troops were loyal, but there were many who had joined her cause of their own volition. They must have seen something in her that inspired enough confidence to risk the consequences of an uprising that was by no means guaranteed to succeed.
“I do,” she admitted. “And I’m grateful you chose not to tell Talin. You were right, of course. He never would have stood for it, not if it wasn’t coming from you.” She cleared her throat, looking uncharacteristically discomfited. “The truth is, I have seen very little of genuine love in my life. My parents’ marriage was not a happy one. And though I cared for my late husband, it was not the kind of love you and Talin have for each other. I was wrong about you, Nor.”
The best I could offer her was a tight nod of acknowledgment. I wasn’t about to thank her.
“And the truth is, I owe you a debt for ending this war,” she continued. “We might have won without you, but at the cost of many more lives.”
I stopped and turned to face her. “I didn’t do it for you, Talia. I did it for my parents, the Varenians, and all the innocent Ilareans who would have died if you’d had your way. I did it for the good of the kingdom.”
“I understand,” she said, annoyingly unflappable.
“Besides, I’m not even sure if the war really is over. Ceren asked me what it was you loved so much about Varenia and why you wanted to go back. And I honestly couldn’t answer him. I don’t know what you want, Talia. Is it to see your daughter on the throne because you think she’ll be a wise and fair ruler? Or is it simply because you’re as blinded by power as every other royal?”
She sighed and looked away, but not before I saw her brow furrow like Talin’s, a timely reminder that he was her son, no matter her flaws. And while her cold detachment and ruthless pursuit of power hadn’t been passed on to her son, I knew that the things I loved most about him—his loyalty, his selflessness, his compassion—had come from her.
“I don’t know what you want to hear, Nor. Ruling is a messy business. Peace, as you seem to envision it, isn’t real.”
The last thing I wanted to do was agree with her, but what if she was right? What did I know about ruling? I had seen several different ways of governing of late, and any system that put few people in control of many was going to have flaws. I could acknowledge that there were others with far more wisdom and experience who could make these sorts of decisions, but did I really want to spend my life with someone so close to all this? If I married Talin, I would never be able to escape the drama and danger of court politics.
“What will you do when we find Zoi?” I asked finally. “What if Ceren demands the crown in return?”
She shook her head. “I would think you would understand better than anyone, Nor. I have spent my life obeying the commands of men. First to leave Varenia, then to marry Xyrus, then to bear his children, and then to sit by while my stepson rose to the throne, even though it wasn’t his by right. Why should I give up anything else? Why shouldn’t I have everything a man has?”
“Of course I understand all that. But that’s not a good enough reason to rule a kingdom or to force people to follow a cause they may not even believe in.”
She placed her hand on my arm. “At the end of this, Nor, someone will be responsible for Ilara and all the people in it. You need to ask yourself who that someone should be. And if you don’t believe in me, at least try to believe in my children.”
“I’ll try,” I said, then returned to the camp alone.
* * *
We rose before the sun to resume our chase. Several of the Galethians had searched the woods through the night, their surefooted horses capable of navigating the road in the dark. But they circled back by midday, having seen nothing. When the road wound north, toward Riaga, Talin brought our party to a stop.
“Would he go into the city?” Roan asked Talin, his hand shading his dark eyes from the sun. “Seems