Page 23 of Of Blood and Banes (The Arterian #2)

THE SECOND RING

A fter I leave Sethan’s office and head toward my room, I spot Marge hobbling across the cobblestone street a few blocks to my north and struggle to keep myself from breaking into an overeager pace toward her. She slips down an alley out of my view.

As soon as I’m close enough, I rest a hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking. “I need to talk to you.”

I whisk her further away from Midkeep and into the forest, away from any potential listening ears.

As soon as we are outside of town, I turn to her. “Why the hells didn’t you tell me about this ring linking me to the King?”

Irritation flickers in her narrowed gaze as soon as I use profanity, remaining when I finish my sentence. “He told you?”

“He did.”

She mutters something inaudible under her breath.

I lower my hand to my side. “When were you planning on sharing that information with me?”

She grumbles, “You weren’t quite ready to know that bit yet.”

“But you felt like you could trust Cole over me?”

“That wasn’t my intention, and you know it. But I knew out of everyone here, he can be trusted the most to protect you.”

“And so you told my brother?—”

“He’s not your brother. So, let’s stop pretending he is.”

“W-what?”

“Everyone is so busy looking at you, they don’t see how he looks at you. How he speaks about you, whether or not you’re in the room. Let’s cut the facade.”

I take a step back. “But…you never said anything?”

Even after she knew Cole was engaged to Celeste. To King Aaric’s granddaughter. It’s enough to convince me of her loyalty to me. After all this time, she could have easily ratted me out.

She shrugs, turning her attention back to Midkeep. “I’ve learned not to stick my nose in affairs that don’t involve me. It’s none of my business. Besides, I see the way you watch him, too. The way you speak of him. You love him.”

Or…maybe loved. I’m not so sure anymore, and if I let myself think about it for too long, it’ll only open a world of pain. I shove it aside.

She must notice the turmoil in my expression, because she quickly averts her eyes and scans the forest. “I didn’t want it to scare you. And I didn’t want you to make any rash decisions. Cole understood that. Why he suddenly had a change of heart and mind is beyond me.”

“Stop dallying, Marge. What else aren’t you telling me because you don’t feel like I’m ready for it? This ring links me to the King. You want me to hide it, and I know it’s powerful. But what else?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying! For someone who loves to tell everyone else how much she trusts me, you have yet to share everything.”

Finally, she turns to me with a sigh. “Do you remember what I told you back in Arterias? How there used to be an old, ancient language, forgotten after Aaric came to power?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what the first word was in the common tongue?”

“No.”

She slowly draws something in the dirt with the tip of her staff, leaving a single word a shade darker than the rest of the ground.

I tilt my head in confusion after she finishes. “Not a ‘hello.’ Or ‘how are you?’ Blood? ”

She nods and traces the two Os again, linking the letters together.

“Blood was the first word, because our ancestors believed there was power in blood, and we were all born with some bit of magic—all of which ranged in potency. The Gods created us through magic. So, naturally, some bit of magic courses through our veins. Our elders believed the Gods also created two rings. They forged them through the rawest form of magic and their own blood and bone. Those two rings could be used for powerful things—things you and I couldn’t even think or dream of, if harnessed in the proper way. ”

I glance down at my gloved left hand, where I’ve memorized the cold ring against my skin. “Like healing a wound?”

“Your ribs…yes. That was likely magic. When you were wounded back in Arterias while wearing the ring, King Aaric suffered the same injury. And since it links you to him, you too were healed if he used magic to repair his ribs.”

“So, he knows someone else is wearing it. Why wouldn’t he just remove it?”

“Because the longer you wear it and the more you wield magic with it, the more ingrained it becomes with you. The King has worn it for over a hundred years—so it’s sealed to him. He couldn’t take it off even if he tried.”

“And no one can take it off of him?” I squeeze my hand into a fist.

“Correct. Only the wearer can remove it. Unless the wearer is dead…that’s why he’s so desperate to find it.

The Kings and Queens before us wore them.

Since the two rings together were far too powerful for one singular person, the rings were split.

One for the Queen, and one for the King.

Thus, how the tradition of wedding rings came about.

The rings were around far longer than the first dragon riders.

And generations before Aaric and Elara were born, the rings were separated to balance the power of the two halves of the continent—Vitalis and Arterias. ”

She sighs. “And then when Queen Elara died and King Aaric took the throne, all of it changed. Aaric took the first ring from Vitalis where they resided, but the second one from Arterias disappeared.” She motions to my hand.

I flick up a look at her. “This…this is the second ring? This was Cole’s mother’s ring?—”

“Exactly. Cole’s mother likely either got that ring by stealing it from the rebels, or she was a rebel herself,” Marge whispers. “But I don’t know if we’ll ever truly have an answer.”

She hobbles over to me, grabs my hand, and removes my glove. She lifts my fingers closer to her face to inspect the metal ring. “Based on what I’ve seen, the King has the Bone Ring. And I have a sneaking suspicion this is the Blood Ring.”

“You…you’ve met the King? You’ve seen him?”

She chuffs. “Did you forget I know Darian, Edith, and Celeste?”

Truthfully, I had never asked. As far as I’d been concerned, I didn’t need to know more about Darian. At the time, I didn’t even know Celeste.

Marge continues, “Yes, I’ve met the King.

Worked for him, even. I lived in the castle for years as a healer, and that’s how I came to know Darian and his sisters.

I often helped mend broken bones and stitch gashes.

Darian in particular was a frequent visitor—the boy was rambunctious and often injured himself.

Not to mention his rigorous training with his father. ”

“How did you come to the northern outpost in Arterias, then?”

Her voice dips. “Well…I suppose I was assigned to it.”

Her answer is short enough for me not to ask anything further on the matter. I tilt my head to the side. “So, what could King Aaric possibly need both rings for?”

“I’m not sure. But one thing is for certain: there’s never been anyone within our knowledge that’s worn both.

If he gets his hands on the second ring, it’s sure to be catastrophic for the rest of the realm.

” She hands me her staff to hold, then fishes at her chest for something hidden beneath several layers of clothes.

Attentively scanning our surroundings, she unclasps and removes a necklace.

The chain carries a glass vial filled with a swirling gray mist, as if encapsulating a small storm.

“Here, I want you to have this.” She urges me to open my hand before dropping the necklace into my palm. Quickly, she closes my fingers over it and pushes my fist close to my chest. “For an emergency. You don’t let anyone know you have it. Understand?”

I nod, and ask her in a small voice, “What is it?”

She glances around the forest once more to double-check we’re alone.

“Remember when I told you about all the properties of dragon’s blood?

An earth dragon’s breath has similar effects.

But it’s a less concentrated dose. It’s mainly used for strength.

Should you find yourself gravely injured, I want you to take it. ”

“I can’t. Didn’t you say dragons hate Spoileds?—”

“It’s not the same. First, your dragon is so attached to you, I doubt she’d be phased by anything you consumed.

Second, dragon’s breath is much milder. Dragons cannot sense it as much because breath fades much quicker than something that fuses with your blood as you drink it.

Besides…it doesn’t come with the nasty aftereffects that dragonblood does. ”

I finally open my hand to peek at the vial. “How did you get this?”

She dismisses me with a wave of her hand. “It shouldn’t matter how. You only use it for yourself. Do you understand?”

“I…”

“ Katerina Blackwind .”

I flinch. She knows—she knows my actual name. Hearing it for the first time in so long sounds nearly foreign.

She hisses, “Answer me.”

I dip my head in response, securing the necklace to my neck and tucking it into my shirt. “I understand.”