Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,76

of the Galethians. By now I had fully healed, though that didn’t stop Roan from asking us a dozen questions about our encounter with the guards.

As I assured him for the tenth time that I was fine, my eyes snagged on a small figure standing among the horses, her pale skin and hair luminous in the darkness. She stepped forward, her sky-blue eyes welling with tears.

I was having another vision, I thought wildly. It was the only explanation for why my former lady’s maid from New Castle could possibly be standing in front of me.

I rubbed my eyes and she was still there, and then I was running into her arms, crying and laughing. “Is it really you, Ebb?” I asked, holding her thin shoulders in my hands.

“It’s really me. And thank the gods I’m here,” she said, taking in my disheveled hair and torn skirts. “You’re clearly in desperate need of my help.”

22

Roan apologized for leaving us in Riaga, but I was grateful we’d split up in the end. If we had all stayed at the inn, Ebb might not have found us. Our party ventured farther into the woods, away from Riaga, to set up camp for the night. Ebb and I sat together on a fallen log a short distance from the others.

“How did you make it here?” I asked as I passed her my waterskin.

Ebb thanked me and took a long drink. “After Ceren returned from Varenia, I questioned the other servants to see if any of them had seen you. Only a few of us were allowed near your people—they’re being kept in the caves closest to the mine. No one had seen a set of identical twins among the captured. I couldn’t just sit by wondering where you were, so I snuck out in a wagon of dirty linens.”

“Do you know how the Varenians are doing?” Zadie asked.

Ebb frowned. “I don’t. Your guess was correct though,” she said to me. “Grig told me you thought he was using your people to mine the bloodstones.”

It wasn’t a surprise, but the thought of my parents being forced to dive repeatedly in the freezing underground lake reignited my fury toward Ceren.

“Many of the nobles left when Ceren recovered from his injuries, knowing war was on the horizon.” Her features twisted in disgust. “He promised wealth and power to any who stayed. Those who did were given bloodstones that they fashioned into rings and necklaces, not realizing they would be under Ceren’s control as soon as they put the jewelry on.”

“He’s enslaving the nobility, too?” I asked.

Ebb nodded. “He’s even done it to some of the servants. It’s like a castle full of ghosts. The only people who aren’t under his control are his war council and those too far below his notice to bother with.”

New Castle had always been full of ghosts. I shuddered at the thought of those dark halls, made even more haunted by the presence of mindless royals. “Lady Hyacinth?” I asked, remembering the cold woman who had been a part of the war council when I was at New Castle. She was young and beautiful, using her charms to act the coquette one minute, while silently plotting against you the next. She had no doubt been a part of the capture of my people.

“She heads the war council. Some say she’s in love with Ceren.”

I scoffed. “Good luck to her, then.”

Ebb took my hand. “He’s been looking for you, Nor. When I crossed the river to reach Queen Talia’s camp, the border was crawling with Ilarean soldiers.”

After this last vision, Ceren definitely knew where I was. The only question was whether he’d risk coming out to get me. “What were you doing at Talia’s camp?”

“I was hoping to find Grig,” she said, blushing. “I thought that if he and Talin were still alive, that’s where they would have gone, and they were the most likely to know what had become of you.”

“And?” I asked anxiously. If Ceren had never left New Castle, Talin would have ridden south to his mother, unless something had happened to him.

“I found them,” she said, smiling, and relief flooded through me. “Talin couldn’t leave the camp, but he said you and the Galethians might be passing through. He sent a soldier with me to intercept you.” She gestured to the stranger standing a few meters behind us.

I embraced her again. “Thank you for looking for me. It must have been terrifying.”

“Fortunately, the soldiers and mercenaries aren’t conscripting or