Kingdom of Sea and Stone (Crown of Coral and Pearl #2) - Mara Rutherford Page 0,87

Varenians to dive. You did what you believed was right at the time, and no one can fault you for that.”

Zadie blinked, releasing tears onto her cheeks. “You always see the best in people, Nor. I wish you could do the same for yourself.”

I smiled and wiped her tears away with my thumbs. “I’m trying.”

* * *

Late that night, Adriel was lying back on her bed, reading, when she suddenly let out a startled shout. She’d fallen asleep, and the book had landed square on her nose.

“Are you all right?” I asked, trying not to laugh at the disgruntled look on her face.

“I told you this book was dangerous,” she said, rubbing the bridge of her freckled nose. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted at something on the page the book had fallen open to. “Wait. Did we read this before?”

“We’ve read every page in that book at least three times, Adriel.”

“Maybe it’s because I was just hit in the head with a heavy object, but this looks different to me. ‘To break a bond that blood has made, the price must once again be paid. Drink the blood of both as one, until the magic is undone.’”

“You have to drink our blood?” I asked, sitting up. “That can’t be right. Wouldn’t that just bind you to both of us?”

“Not if I say the right spell, apparently. But I would have to have Ceren’s blood to do it. If we’re close enough to Ceren to get his blood, that means we’re close enough to kill him and put all this to an end.”

“Not necessarily,” I said. “In the vision I had during the storm, Ceren was bleeding himself. It’s possible he has blood already available for the taking.”

“That would require sneaking into New Castle. We’ve already determined that’s impossible.”

“We have three days until Talia attacks New Castle. Thousands will die, and there’s a very strong possibility Ceren will come out victorious. It seems to me it’s worth at least trying to talk with him. If we send out an emissary to negotiate, someone he’s unlikely to harm—”

“Talin will never allow it, Nor.”

“No,” I conceded. “But his mother might. I have to at least ask.”

“You can’t go behind his back like that. You’d be pitting him against not only you, but his mother as well. He’ll feel like you’ve betrayed his trust. You will have!”

“I know,” I sighed. I understood that trying to fix everything on my own was not necessarily the right way to do things, but I also hadn’t heard an alternative other than all-out war. “Ceren won’t kill me, not if he wants my blood. If there’s any chance I can reason with him, I have to try.”

I pulled on a robe and stepped into the hallway. The castle was dark at this time of night, with a few soldiers posted in the halls, but they knew me by now. I walked toward the wing where Talin and his mother were staying. The soldiers would probably assume I was on my way to see Talin, but I was beyond the point of caring.

I passed his room and found the largest chamber at the end of the hall, guarded by two armed men.

“I need to speak to Queen Talia,” I said. “It’s a matter of urgency.”

“The queen is sleeping,” one of the men replied.

“It can’t wait until morning,” I insisted.

They looked at each other. “Wait here,” one man said as he disappeared into the chambers. He returned a few moments later and gestured for me to enter. Talia wasn’t sleeping, as it turned out. She was poring over a map while her daughter slept soundly in their large bed.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” I said as quietly as I could. “I didn’t realize Zoi was here.”

“She hasn’t wanted to leave my side lately.” Talia looked at her daughter and sighed. She wore a simple nightgown, her hair pulled back in a braid, looking more like the mother I imagined Talin had grown up with than the warrior queen she’d become.

“That’s probably natural,” I said. “She must worry about you.”

“It’s all too much for a small child, I know. I would have left her back in the south if I’d trusted anyone to protect her as well as I can.” She rolled up the map and gestured for me to sit in the chair across from her. “What can I do for you at this hour, Nor?”

I took a deep, steadying breath. “I’d like your permission to attempt to speak