Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,86

the interim: a garrison, mostly. The rooms we were given were full of faded furniture and dust. Those who couldn’t fight were tasked with making the place habitable, but there was only so much that could be done.

Adriel and I were given a room together since Zadie was with Sami. I hadn’t seen Talin after our argument, and I hated parting on bad terms. But I hadn’t been invited to any of the war council’s meetings, and neither had Grig and Osius. I could only assume that Talia’s plans remained unchanged, and for now, so did mine.

I went in search of the rescued Varenians as soon as we were settled. I didn’t know any of them well, but it was good to see familiar faces. One, a girl who had been in our choosing ceremony, seemed eager to speak with me. I invited her to have tea with Zadie and me, hoping she might be able to tell us something I could use in the coming days.

Blaise sipped her tea carefully. She’d had poor vision from birth, and therefore couldn’t dive for the bloodstones, which was why she was at Old Castle and not the mines. “The Ilareans who came for us had swords and arrows,” she said, bringing back painful memories of that day for all of us. “A few men fought back, but they were killed immediately. After that, everyone went into the boats willingly.”

“Was anyone left behind?” Zadie asked.

“A few people hid, I think. Some of the elders, and maybe a few of the youngest children. But almost everyone was taken, as far as I know.”

I wasn’t sure which fate was worse, to be a prisoner in New Castle, or to be left behind without food or water. “What happened when you were on the ship?”

“They chained the men and the strongest women. The rest of us stayed with our families. A man put those bloodstones on anyone who resisted, and it was like it turned them into sleepwalkers. Those with the jewels did everything they were told then, and the rest of us just went along with them. We were scared we’d be killed otherwise.”

“The man who put the bloodstones on the others. Was it Prince Ceren?” I asked.

Blaise shuddered. “He had long white hair and the palest skin I’ve ever seen.”

“That was him. Did he talk to anyone?”

“Not that I saw. He kept mostly to himself, I think. He didn’t tell us anything until we got to Old Castle. Once we arrived, most of us were weak and dehydrated, but he divided us into those who could dive and those who couldn’t. The others were taken away within a few hours. We’ve had no word of them since.”

“Your family?” I asked.

“They were all taken. Do you know if they’re all right?”

I sighed. “I wish we did. I’m afraid we have very little information about the rest of the Varenians. Our parents are there as well.”

“You’re going to save them, right?”

Zadie and I exchanged a glance. “We’re going to try.”

Blaise was quiet for a while, then turned to Zadie. “My mother said Nor scarred you so she could go to Varenia in your place. She said we shouldn’t trust Nor, that she’s wicked. But I saw you two throughout the choosing ceremony. You clearly love each other so much.” She looked at me again. “Why would you ever want to hurt your sister?”

Zadie placed a gentle hand over Blaise’s. “I made Nor help me so that I wouldn’t have to leave Varenia. It was the most selfish thing I’ve ever done.”

I shook my head. “Zadie—”

“I’ve waited a long time to have someone finally want to hear the truth,” she said to me before turning back to Blaise. “I told myself I was doing it to help my sister, too, because she wanted to go to Ilara. And maybe if I’d managed to do it myself, I could have made that true. But I was weak, and I made her help me against her will.” Zadie dropped her gaze to her empty cup as she spoke. “If anyone should have been punished, it was me. I thought sacrificing my beauty was the bravest thing I could have done, but I should have done it long before the ceremony.”

“But then someone else would have had to marry that awful Ceren,” Blaise said.

I took my sister’s hand. “And nothing would have changed. We’d still be dying of thirst and starvation. Ceren would have finished his devices and forced the