mara rutherford crown of coral and pearl

A lump formed in my throat at the realization that Talin had caught up to me, that I hadn’t completed my mission after all. My knees started to buckle when I felt an arm at my waist. There, at the far end of the row, I could just make out a sliver of turquoise winking in the sunlight. “Perfect for a day at the seashore,” he said, turning to look at something down the row of stalls. “Can I help you?” the old man asked, gesturing me forward. The sun was high overhead, but Sami wasn’t here, and I might only have a minute until the guards came. I should have asked Talin for some money before coming. There were no customers, and the man was watching me expectantly, perhaps hoping to make a sale to a wealthy lady. The stall itself was a shabby wooden thing, with smaller kites laid out on the table in front and others tied to the frame of the stand. The man behind the stand was stooped with age, and a few strands of silver hair poked out from beneath his flat gray cap.

I twisted and turned between the rows, growing more and more convinced that I was lost, when suddenly the kite seller’s stall appeared in front of me. It was possible he wouldn’t even make it today, and all this had been for nothing. I rushed back into the throng of people and stalls, afraid I was moving too slow and Talin and the guards would catch me, or that I would get lost, or that I’d miss Sami. Satisfied that I had nowhere to hide a purse, she scowled and pointed across the clearing.

She flicked her eyes up to me and scanned my body. I just need to know where the kite seller’s stall is.” She held out her hand, never raising her eyes from her blanket. “Where is the kite stand?” I asked one of the women selling jewelry. I shaded my eyes against the sun and tried to follow the string down, but it was too bright. I looked up and smiled at the sight of a large orange and yellow bird kite swooping overhead.

I ducked between stalls and darted around carts until I came to a small clearing, where women were selling necklaces and other decorative baubles on blankets. I backed up a few steps until I was in the aisle I’d been in before, and then I turned and ran. They were all so distracted they weren’t even looking at me. I watched them for a moment, my heart pounding, before I realized this was my chance. One of Ceren’s guards pushed me behind him at the same moment Talin reached for his sword. “I’m surprised your brother didn’t marry her right away, so he could-” I was wearing riding leathers, and my tan had faded slightly from weeks in the mountain, but he definitely recognized me. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Riv said as he took in the sight of me.

Mara rutherford crown of coral and pearl