Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,53

steaming cup. “This will help warm and calm you. I didn’t realize you had such a fear of storms.”

“I don’t, normally.” My violent shivering had finally slowed to the occasional twitch. “I think it’s just that I was on my own. I’ve never lived by myself before.”

She gazed at me with a sad, pitying sort of smile. “You were hardly alone, Nor. I was right here.”

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I would have preferred that to finding you talking to yourself in a field.”

My cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry.”

“You weren’t talking to yourself, though. Were you?” Adriel pulled a stool over and sat down next to me with her own cup of tea. I was a little relieved to see she was drinking it, too.

She was studying me again in that unnerving way, and while it made me want to curl in on myself, I knew that if anyone might understand my link to Ceren, it was Adriel. Her interest in bloodstones and pearls had worried me at first, but of course she would be interested; they were linked to her heritage, too, via the bone trees. And she had taken me to the grove, a place that was clearly meaningful to her. Maybe it was time for me to be vulnerable, too.

I took a sip of the tea, which had a light berry flavor. “No, I wasn’t talking to myself.”

“Care to tell me about it?”

I told her about the visions and dreams, how twice I’d seen Ceren drinking my blood, which might help explain our link. “I spoke to him this time,” I added. “And he responded. He said he has the Varenians, but he wouldn’t tell me what he plans to do with them.”

She watched me intently, and I couldn’t fight the feeling that she was gathering up my thoughts like she would gather herbs, as if they were ingredients in some potion I couldn’t fathom.

“I understand your fascination with blood magic now,” she said when I’d finished.

I snorted. “I wouldn’t call it a fascination. It’s more of a necessary interest.”

“Fair enough.” She took my cup from me and rose to her feet, stretching. “As I said before, I know very little about blood magic. The bond that you and Ceren have... I can’t say I’ve never heard of anything like it, but I have no experience with it. And for now, it sounds like it might be useful.”

I raised my eyebrows and pulled the blanket closer around me. “How so?”

“You’re able to communicate with him. Perhaps, if you learned to control it, you could even spy on him.”

I shook my head. “I tried my hand at spying once. It didn’t go well.”

“Roan was right about you,” she said with a twist of her lips. “You are an enigma.”

I laughed dryly in response.

“You disagree? You’re a girl from a tiny village in the sea who should never have set foot on land, and here you are communicating through visions with the king of Ilara and telling me you’ve already tried your hand at spying. I’d say that makes you something of a riddle.”

Maybe she understood me better than I wanted to admit. Riddles were in want of answers, and Thalos knew I was in short supply of those these days. Ever since I’d returned to Varenia, all I’d felt was doubt and uncertainty.

She handed me a dry shift. “Here. This belonged to Ana. She left it behind, and it doesn’t fit me.”

“Thank you.” I pulled it quickly over my head. It was a bit long on me, but it would do. “I’ll return it to you as soon as mine is dry.”

“Keep it,” she said as she helped me to my feet. “It isn’t as if she’s coming back for it.”

She said it matter-of-factly, but there was hurt there, clearly. She had taken a lover knowing she wouldn’t stay, and yet she still missed her.

“There’s something I don’t understand, something from my vision,” I mused aloud after a moment. “Why did Ceren take all the Varenians? If it was only my blood he wanted, he could simply have taken my parents hostage and lured me to him that way.”

“They must have something Ceren wants,” she said. “Or more importantly, something he needs. More soldiers for his army, perhaps?”

I shook my head. “They’re malnourished. And they’ll never fight for Ceren willingly. He would have to use bloodstones to control them.” Was that his plan? To lead his soldiers with his mind? The thin vein I’d seen in the tunnels below