Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,47

small covered walkway, and into an even more diminutive structure.

There was a long wooden table covered in bottles and jars filled with various liquids, reminding me vaguely of Ceren’s workshop. But the similarities ended there. There were plenty of windows, which, when the storm cleared, would let in lots of sunlight. Lacy white curtains hung next to them, creating pretty shadows on the clean whitewashed walls, which were decorated with bouquets of dried flowers. Crystals and colorful stones had been collected in little handmade clay bowls, and a striped orange animal I’d never seen before—a cat, according to Adriel—lay curled in an armchair in the corner.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s lovely, Adriel. But I can’t ask you to clean it out for me. I can sleep in the corner, on my bedroll. Or in the barn, if that’s easier. I won’t be staying long.”

“Nonsense. You’re welcome as long as you like.”

I almost insisted again that I would be leaving soon, but I knew it would be more to reassure myself than her. “Thank you. That’s very kind.” I went to look through one of the bowls of polished stones. “I understand that you’re a witch, but what exactly do you do?”

“I’m a hedge witch,” she said. “I work with plants. Healing, medicine, that sort of thing. Women come to me when they have cramps from their monthlies, or if their children have the croup. I create salves for chafed skin and teas for sore throats.”

“We have a healer in Varenia.” I wondered where Elder Nemea was and if Ceren had even spared the elders. I picked up a chunk of blue crystal that reminded me of Talin’s eyes and twisted it in my fingers. The storm was picking up; raindrops plinked against the windows, and the door rattled on its hinges.

“I’ve heard about your pearls. I’ve never had the opportunity to study them.”

Her words made me think of Ceren. “Maybe some things are better left a mystery. Like the bloodstones.” I looked up at her then, our eyes meeting across the room.

“What did I say about blood magic that upset you so much back in the council meeting?” Adriel missed nothing, I realized.

I shrugged. “I suppose it was the way you said that it’s messy.”

“And that troubles you?”

Of course it did. But I didn’t know this woman, and I wasn’t comfortable telling her about my abilities, not when she was clearly so curious about the blood coral and Varenian pearls.

When I looked up, Adriel had turned to remove a leather-bound book from a shelf. She blew on the cover, sending a cloud of dust into the air. “Perhaps you’ll find something in this book that I missed. If it were up to me, we’d forget about the bloodstone.”

“And the guard?”

She waved dismissively. “He can stay in the dungeon until he decides to talk.”

“You saw him,” I said, taking the book from her. “I don’t think it’s his decision to make.”

“Perhaps not. Either way, I don’t want to get involved.” She pulled a bouquet of dried flowers off the wall, took them to the long table and began to crush them with her fist. Not a decoration, then.

“Some of us don’t have a choice,” I mumbled, turning the book over in my hands. There were no words on the red leather cover, only an engraving of a tree with long, skeletal branches.

A knock sounded on the door, causing me to nearly drop the book.

“That will be Roan,” Adriel said, setting aside her herbs. “Come in,” she called.

“How are you getting on?” Roan asked as he entered the cottage. Behind him, Talin, Osius, and Grig stood in the rain, their cloaks soaked through. “We came to deliver your belongings on our way to Fort Crag, Nor. Your bed will come after the storm passes.”

“Go on inside and warm up,” Adriel said to Roan. “But take your cloaks and boots off first.”

I hadn’t realized I’d get another chance to see Talin, and I eagerly followed them into the cottage. There wasn’t enough room for all of us there either, but fortunately Osius and Grig decided to wait in the barn.

Roan looked back over his shoulder at the sky. “We should keep going. I’m hoping we can outride the worst of the weather.”

“I’d like a few minutes alone with Talin,” I said, taking him by the hand and leading him back to the little workshop before Roan could argue.

“How are you?” I pushed his dripping hair out of his eyes. “This all feels